ABOUT US
Saved an emergency fund to cover expenses for up to six months.
Paid down approximately $48,000 in debt.
Increased my credit score by over 100 points.
Reduced my total monthly debt payments and am no longer at a deficit.
Consistently tracked my income and expenses.
Have established
Took on another job that pays more than my previous job
Broke by Food
OUR STORY
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I'm Marissa. I'm a mother, wife, full-time banker, and sporadic writer & filmmaker.
I'm also broke, a fact I discovered in 2017 when I realized that I dug myself into a hole of debt a little over six figures deep, consisting of a mix of student loans, mostly credit cards, a few personal loans, and a car loan. I became manic, checking my account balances daily to see that it's been depleted instantaneously, mainly going toward debt payments.
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I was drowning. Overwhelmed, anxious, exhausted, embarrassed - all the horrible emotions that accompanied the self-awareness of how much shit I got myself into and not knowing how I was going to get out of it.
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You might be wondering, how does a banker dig herself into so much debt?
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The simple answer is that I was after a particular lifestyle, and I had an insatiable appetite for food that I kept feeding no matter the cost. I was in total denial. I thought I knew what I was doing and that I was in control, but my no-budget irresponsible spending led me to my demise.
Without being aware of it, I wanted more than I could afford, so I borrowed money.
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It wasn't until I decided to apply what I do at the bank as a commercial banking analyst and thoroughly analyze my total monthly income and expenses. Once I did, I realized how out of control my spending was and how much debt I incurred over three years.
I'm happy to report that since then, I've been able to pay down my debts aggressively and have achieved major financial milestones all within the past year:
All this has ultimately led me to launch a blog to write about two topics we all can't live without: money and food. Here I'll document my financial journey toward financial freedom and share my passion for food, which was one of the things that led to my financial demise. Yup, looking at my historical spending, I ate my way into debt. Despite that, I don't believe in having to starve my way out, not yet at least. But, I've really come to enjoy cooking at home and I'll share recipes that you can easily follow that were inspired and stitched by past travels, 5,000+ hours I've spent binging on Food Network shows, as well as the unique melting pot of the place I've called home my entire life, Guam.
If you're also broke and hungry, I hope you find my blog useful enough to help you avoid and navigate through the reckless financial mishaps I got myself in.
Keep your wallets and stomachs happily full,
Marissa