How did I get here?


 My name is Meg.  I'm already feeling my emotions well up as I begin to type about how I lost enough money to put me at the brink of bankruptcy.  This blog is about my recovery, real time.  My goal right now is to get back on my feet and be able to take care of myself and my daughter comfortably.  

Long story short, I started a business that failed.  I wanted to save the planet with public transportation to recreation.  I bought a fleet of old school buses and started running routes on a regular schedule with individual ticket sales to the ski areas in the winter and to the mountains for hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing in the summer and out to The Gorge Amphitheater for all their concerts.   I think the business itself would have done well, but I made more than one disastrous hiring decision.  All in, I lost about a quarter million dollars, all in debt I took on.  Some of it was money from friends and family (thank you, and I'm sorry).  A big chunk was a HELOC on my house.  Another piece is maxed out credit cards secured by my personal credit.  I'll spill the details on the business mishaps in its own post.  

Am I at rock bottom?  I hope so, but there are debts I can't pay, and consequences seem to be piling up.  I've lost all the retirement savings I had, but so far I haven't lost my house.  

In my life I've repeatedly created "learning units" where I work hard on learning something for several years.  I learned about gardening in my 20s, then about canning and preserving food.  I learned to knit and crochet obsessively for about a decade.  Then I went to fashion school and learned to sew clothes so that I could extricate myself from fast fashion and supporting sweatshop production.  I've never really studied money.  I'm ready now to focus on finances.  What can I learn?  I'm looking at debt consolidation, bankruptcy, generating income, accounting and tax structures, life insurance vs. retirement accounts.

I've started attending meetings with Business Debtors Anonymous, which is free and offers counseling and accountability.   I'm speaking with a debt consolidation counselor.  I have a two friends who are accountants.  And I'm working ($2000/month) for a startup that is currently seeking funding, which is very interesting to watch and learn from.  I also started a Pinterest board about business and finance stuff.  Are those suggestions true about fixing your credit, getting business funding, etc.?  I signed up for an MLM while I look for a full time job.

This blog is my journal of this journey.  Posting is my accountability log.  Hopefully it will help someone else who is struggling with money, at least to know you're not alone.  Right now I'm confused and unsure what advice is safe and not a scam.  At least if I make another mistake I can share about it as a warning.  

TTYL,

Meg 

 

 

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