I have felt the whirlwinds of financial chaos, suffering significant losses during a divorce and the 2008 real estate banking crash that left me destitute for many years. What you will read from my pages is not hypothetical but my journey to how I remain financially secure, and, for God’s sake, I never want to eat another peanut butter and jelly, tuna fish sandwich, or mac and cheese again. So, help me, God.

I have no affiliation with financial institutions, allowing me to remain unbiased, and I am passionate about helping others live comfortably.

With the information from my accountant, lawyers, and realtors, I learned how to manage my funds, keep my money, and make money. But I determined that is not enough to claim the public’s trust. Forward: I recently received two certifications for completing “Personal Finance and Narrative Economics” to stay updated with the changes that are continuously occurring in the financial industry and ensure you, the reader, that the information is from a reputable source.

My readers are to determine my worth by subscribing to receive my emails, and as my readership grows, it will pave the way to further my financial education. My next step is to obtain a “Financial Counseling Certification” from AFCPE.

But only you can make that happen by subscribing, and when your heart desires to make a small contribution, it will only go towards informing others and education. I aim to help at least one person get out of debt and become comfortable regardless of the uncertain economy.

I want others to take control and no longer need to worry about money.

The road to financial recovery is tearful and grueling; I can assure you of that. I thought that there would be no end to my financial burden. But somehow, we all can learn to survive every financial hullabaloo with great discipline.

So, I say, “You can, too; no matter your background or who you are, you can reach financial bliss.” However, if you have a spending problem, please accept my apology for what I am about to recommend; I suggest you do not do what I have done and seek help instead to break your bad spending habits.

I was a freelance photographer for twenty-plus years. When it came to an end, I did not know what to do. I had gone through a divorce that left me almost penniless. My house, equipment, and my children were pawns in the divorce.

I borrowed money from my family with nothing to spare, and I had a choice: sue to get my equipment or fight for the right to see the kids more often. Of course, I did not think it through, mainly during a court proceeding; threats of the kids living out of state put me in panic mode.

I won shared custody rights; they remained within the state; as for my equipment, my ex-wife kept those, but not forever (I will write more about that some other time), and I lost my home. I had little choice but to change my career, which was challenging since I had thought I was not good at anything except tinkering as a handyman.

I was destitute. What followed days of stress, embarrassment, and no luck. Things were so bad that the person I thought was my close friend would not even take me in; he was more concerned about me paying him rent than he was about me needing a place to live for a few days. I tearfully begged, and he gave in, so he put me up for one night and out the door the following morning (no breakfast). He harassed me for days because I left some things at his home.

When you have zero in your account, the world turns against you.

~Julio Borroto

Unfortunately, my family was on vacation for a month, or I would have never asked “the friend.” Maybe he was right. I was terrible at managing money. Fortunately, it was not cold out, and on my second night, I slept on a park bench and walked to a nearby shelter by a train station the following morning. I stayed for two weeks until my family returned from their vacation.

I still had to show up for court, and I was not ready to have the kids over; after all, I did not want them to visit me in a shelter. I have not shared this story with anyone until now, you, the reader.

I fell for many quick get-rich scams, but then I did discover something, and that was when I jumped into sales. I was way above my head and drowning in the muck of debt.

What I felt was like a blink of an eye (I knew it was coming, but not that fast). The photography industry was changing, and everything was going digital, but I wanted my analog equipment, so I thought, “Well, I have enough to take her to court to get them now.” The other party said, “I don’t have them.” The judge believed her. Which I knew was not valid. However, that was the end of it.

I then gave up the fight for thousands of dollars worth of equipment; having lost that battle too, with an attorney, a good one, I thought, he convinced me that we could win; yeah, he just put me in an apocalyptic crater of debt.

Unlike most who file for bankruptcy once and learn from their errors, I did it twice and did not learn a thing. It changed me when the second time came around, and I vowed that it would never happen again.

I was still trying to figure out where to start and returned to my sixth and last attorney for help, and she directed me to other professionals for advice. My financial recovery was more challenging than I thought, but I finally learned how to save, invest, and manage more money, which is the most important lesson to take complete control.

You may wonder why I am not writing about photography. It is because I found my financial voyage so much more exciting, and I am astounded looking at where I am now. I am so amazed to feel free that I want to share my knowledge. Oh, please understand me. I am not rolling in millions or billions; I am far from it. I know how to manage my money and have it work for me. I am paying my knowledge forward.