Money Makeover Series: New Beginnings

We’ve got just one more check in before the final reveal of everyone’s Money Makeover results, and this one’s a doozy! The last time you read about Krystle, our New to the Workforce participant, she was just getting her budget in order to match her new job. Since then, Krystle has been through alot and is no longer at her first job. But before you start to fret, know that Krystle is more prepared than ever to reach her goals. Read on to see what’s she’s up to next.

Silver Linings

Losing a job can be scary – both financially and emotionally. But…when I talked to Krystle she sounded happier than she had in a long time! In fact, when I mentioned that to her, she joked that she had her “glow” back. Turns out her work situation was becoming unhealthier by the day and started to wear on her mentally and emotionally. She came home from work every night tired, stressed, and feeling abused. Not easy to deal with right out of the gate for our new to the workforce participant!

Now Krystle’s mind is clear and open to new possibilities. She’s already planned out doing temp work and nannying to keep her finances afloat and moving her focus to what’s next. She has a challenging time ahead of her, but her new happiness has made her more prepared than ever to achieve her goals.

Adjusting Priorities

When an unexpected life event occurs, the first thing to do is evaluate your priorities and adjust accordingly. Last month Krystle and I were talking about how she can start paying off small debts to free up money in her budget to move out on her own. Now that her income is less stable we created a trimmer budget which will allow her to focus on the necessities until she has another full-time job.

The good thing is that adjusting priorities doesn’t mean you have to get behind on your goals. In fact, it can be the very thing which increases your drive to succeed. While Krystle can’t focus on debt payoff yet, this situation has lit the fire in her to succeed in both her finances and her career…

Dreaming Big

Once we finished talking about finances, a light bulb went off in my head. I asked Krystle, “Would you even want the same job again?” to which she replied with an immediate, “No.”

Well, that started a whole new conversation! We started to explore what she’s passionate about what she does well, and what she does and doesn’t want in a career. Suddenly our conversation was more fun and exciting than any we’ve had before. Since it’s a tough job market for anyone, she and I talked about ideas for going outside of the box to build the career of her dreams. One of these ideas was to volunteer for leadership opportunities in her community – something she had already thought about doing before but feared taking the plunge.

Krystle’s passion and excitement for the future is infectious and truly inspirational. Not once has she seen this job loss as a setback. Rather, she sees it for what it is – an opportunity! Krystle knows she can make enough money to get by with her temp work and is now intent on finding the next move in her career. My newest assignment for her? To spend some time dreaming big. To Image what type of career she would build if she had no limitations. Then, we figure out how to make that happen!

“When one door closes, open the window.” We all get hit by curveballs in life–some that we can plan for and some that are totally unexpected. The key is not what happens, but how we handle it. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see the exciting window Krystle comes through next!