It was a crisp Sunday evening, the kids (preschool and kindergarten age) were at their dads for the weekend. The house was quiet and still. I sat in the living room with my laptop and my phone. I knew these two days would come. What I didn’t count on was that both happened on the same day.

 

Friday was the last day at my temp job, and I needed to file for unemployment. Ironically, this was also the weekend I was eligible to file for my divorce (in North Carolina, married couples must live separately for one year before filing).

 

Luckily, I could file for both online, which was perfect because I was emotionally spent. With no family in the area, I called my closest friend to stay on the phone with me while I handled the paperwork.

 

I was scared, overwhelmed, beaten down, and tired. Once the divorce and unemployment paperwork were filed, I set out on an adventure that, in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined.

 

Wild because this is where I started. Below is a snapshot of my net worth at that moment and where my story began:

​

DEBT:                                                                       $ 257,000

• $ 122,000 House Mortgage

• $ 135,000 “Other” Debt

 

ASSETS (Cash – Liquid):                                     $ 104,050

• $ 20,000 non-retirement accounts

• $ 7,000 savings account

• $ 77,050 retirement account

• $ 4,500 529’s

 

ASSETS (Property – Non-Liquid):                      $ 325,000

• $ 325,000 House (Purchase Price)

​

That Sunday night, after filing all the correct paperwork and saying good night to my friend, I stared at my net worth and all the debt that was now squarely on my shoulders alone. It was devastating. $257,000!!??!! “That’s a quarter of a million dollars!!,” I thought. How did things get so bad so fast? I was never going to get my share of the “American dream” with all that debt. I was never going to get my own slice of the pie if I didn’t make some life changes.

​

That night, I made a promise to myself and my kids. I would never allow us to be in such a vulnerable position again. My priority was to get back our security and achieve financial independence. In my mind, I thought a net worth of $1,000,000 would give me that.

​

From that moment on, I focused and inched my way toward this arbitrary goal and was able to grow my net worth substantially. Did I hit that million-dollar net worth? Here’s my story.