As 2009 rolled into 2010, I was 33 and had been widowed for over 2 years. I was still pretty much figuring out being being head of household with 3 children relying on me. I formally adopted my teenage stepdaughter in 2008 and was thus responsible for everything for her moving forward, including impending college. There were still payments due for the small business that I'd purchased, and my toddler daughter was in a pricey Montessori preschool. The house that I sunk a big chunk of savings into in 2007 had lost value, which was dispiriting but not a huge worry as I wasn't going anywhere else in any case. My late husband's 401k had dipped, as did the AAPL stock I'd inherited. I had life insurance funds, and dipped into them against my will every month, as I couldn't quite juggle childcare, mortgage payments, health insurance and the usual grocery and utility expenses. A savvier investor might have seen market opportunity, but I was not yet financially astute enough to do so, and kept more in a money market fund than was prudent. At that time I am estimating my NW at around $300K. Starvation was not imminent but I worried about cash flow. A lot.
It felt like I fighting against the tide of regular expenses, crazy events like the driveway washing away, a septic tank overflow, a transmission dropping to name a few. This is so corny I hate to admit it, but I became a motivational speaker with an audience of one, which was me. I'd write perky things on Post-It Notes (which I'd put on my bathroom mirror and dashboard of my car) like: do your best today!, failure is not an option!, self care is the best care!. It..helped. And then through some hard work and changing circumstances, things started to look up a bit. The economy improved. DD2 transitioned out of preschool and the business was paid off. New clients were added. DD1 received a full ride scholarship. Things around my house and property leveled off. The ACA came into effect, reducing monthly health insurance costs. I read a lot about investing and took the plunge into Roth and taxable accounts. Along with partners, I got into rental real estate. I found MMM. I started an additional business.
2020 finds my family healthy and happy in many ways. DD1, after some fits and starts, has a great job in her dream field. My son will be off to college in the fall, which will leave me with one child still at home for another four years, at which time my primary residence will be paid off. I co own 2 residential properties, and completely own the small warehouse condo I operate my businesses out of, which provide positive cash flow each month. NW including all real estate, but leaving out 529 and business equity is right at 1.1M. I'm kind of proud of myself.
