I went MIA for six months. While I was gone, I started rebuilding my finances, learning about investing, and figuring out what it actually means to thrive as a single mom.
So…hi. If you’ve been with me for a while, then you know I’ve been MIA for about six months. And if you’re new here—welcome. You’re catching me in the middle of a story that started long before you arrived.
As the title says, I was getting busy with money. Not rich with money. Not financial guru with money. Definitely not I-have-my-life-totally-figured-out with money. I was learning how to dance with money. And let me be clear: I did not know the steps.
I am 34 years old and, until recently, the stock market was one of those things I knew existed but didn’t really understand. I heard people talk about investing. I heard people talk about retirement. I heard people talk about building wealth. But, the subject sounded foreign to me. My brain immediately checked out.
I was busy raising my daughter as a single mom, paying bills, moving, figuring out life, and simply trying to keep my head above water. Moving back in with family—from Houston to Phoenix—felt like a reset button I never asked to press. But it was in that season that I decided that if I was going to rebuild my life, I wanted to remember what rebuilding actually looked like. So being the nerd I am, I started documenting my journey. Not because I had a plan, but because I wanted to see what would happen if I stayed consistent, kept learning, and actually paid attention to the process.
Where This Began
May 7, 2025
I don’t want to barely survive and barely get by.
I’ve sacrificed. And that hard work has taken me to places I’m incredibly proud of. I’ve had amazing jobs, built a career I love, and gained experiences I once dreamed about. But I’ve learned that achievement and financial security aren’t always the same thing. At 33, I find myself living with family in Phoenix, relying on food assistance, and dreaming about a home I can’t yet afford to buy.
Sharing this feels so vulnerable. I’m sharing this part of my story because it’s where this journey painfully began. There’s a difference between knowing where you were and allowing other people to see it in a world that is so fake. I debated whether to share this at all. But if I’m going to share this, I don’t want to only show the polished parts.
That reality was difficult to reconcile with everything I had accomplished. I knew I wasn’t a failure. But in retrospect, I was about to learn that working hard and building a successful career weren’t necessarily the same thing as building financial security.
I didn’t have a blueprint. I just knew I wanted to understand money, have stability, break cycles, and create something beyond my next paycheck. So, I started documenting everything: The wins, the losses, my goals, baby steps, questions I had, things I needed to study, and even the things I got wrong. The things that finally started to make sense. I definitely didn’t know I’d eventually be sitting on a Saturday morning learning what NAV meant or writing this blog. But here we are.
Some things I’m proud of that people don’t see:
In just over a year, I dramatically improved my credit. That number represents a lot of little decisions, discipline, setbacks, and learning. My retirement savings have grown. I have things I didn’t have when I started this journey: savings, a raise, a home of my own for my family, and money invested for my future. And perhaps most importantly, I’m learning to give my money jobs instead of letting it disappear into whatever needs attention next.
I’m not going to pretend I have it all figured out. I’m still learning, but now I have a direction and I’m thinking bigger. I’m learning to be financially responsible, and maybe I needed this wake-up call. Not because I was irresponsible or didn’t work hard. I think I simply hadn’t been taught how to make all of my hard work work for me. And now I’m learning it next to my daughter. That’s been one of the most unexpected and rewarding parts of this journey. She gets to see me learn something new, make mistakes, celebrate small wins, save for goals, dream, and and actually execute.
We talk about money, habits, goals, and being intentional. I’m not just building a different financial future for her. I’m teaching her the importance of building one for herself—and having her own shit. Because I want her to grow up knowing that being a girl or a woman doesn’t mean waiting for someone else to create security for you. Have your own money. Have your own goals. Have your own options. Have your own shit. Love people. Build with people. Share with people. But always have your own shit.
I want her to grow up knowing that her money belongs to her, her goals belong to her, her future belongs to her, and she gets to decide what she wants to build. I’m figuring it out at 34 so that she doesn’thave to wait until 34 to start.
Here’s to learning out loud, getting smarter with our money, and braver with our dreams.
Let’s connect: Instagram | LinkedIn
With love,
Jeannette
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