I thought it might be helpful to share some of the challenges I faced—and the solutions I discovered—as I transitioned from a life marked by financial stress and depression to one filled with peace and strengthened faith. The eight-year struggle that unfolded before I found this more peaceful, empowered way of living is something I believe anyone truly hungry for change can learn from and gain valuable insight. By reading about my mistakes and lessons learned, you might even save yourself precious time… and a lot of money!

Besides being potentially valuable for you in your own unique journey, revisiting these beginnings is important for me too. Repeating and reabsorbing the principles I’ve learned keeps me encouraged and inspired to keep living them—for ongoing growth and even greater success.

So, here we go! I’ll share more details about our story than I usually reveal in my live presentations…

In faith that God would prepare a way for us to make ends meet—since we were determined to live worthy lives to receive His blessings—my husband and I married young in the summer of 1991. We drove a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle and set off on our honeymoon from Arizona in June (yes, June!) with the car’s broken heater stuck on full blast. But we were in love! The discomforts and details were just part of the adventure.

I was nearly finished with my teaching degree, and Trevan was in his second year of school, still figuring out his path. We planned for me to stay home once the kids came—and before long, our first baby was on the way.

Both of us worked at a home for the mentally handicapped, making less than $5 an hour. I worked until about four days before our first was born, then quit my job. “God would provide,” we believed.

Meanwhile, Trevan landed another job at a factory making gun safes, earning around $7 an hour. He was also toying with the idea of starting a business we could build together from home.

Disagreements started creeping in over our spending habits. When the idea came up to use our wedding money—about $1,000—to fund a weekend personal business seminar 12 hours away, I fought tooth and nail. I felt Trevan was rushing and that investing in the seminar was unwise.

For a year, I stayed home without working. During that time, we got into some credit card debt—not from extravagance, just everyday life and business seminars promising to teach us how to make more money.

Eventually, I relented. To my surprise, during one seminar, a speaker shared something that actually saved our marriage. It didn’t make us rich—but it rescued our relationship. Who would have expected that from a money seminar?

To find out what happened next, stay tuned for the next episode of The Young and the Thoughtless!

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