Why am I in this position? Well, it's not because I'm a gambler, an alcoholic or anything like that.
It's a long story. It's a pretty interesting story to be honest and I'd wager it'll make a good book or a hefty series of blog posts one day.
I'm currently in what I consider to be some extra-ordinary circumstances.
Over the last few years my debt has been caused by a number of events that seemed to set themselves up in domino fashion. Life seemed to throw me curve balls one after the other.
Throughout the past ten years my ex-wife and I were impacted by these difficult circumstances which included some serious health issues, problems with suppliers for a sideline business and problems with tenants in a property we rented out. The financial crisis was in full swing and it was unavoidable for this to not kick us whilst we were down. This domino effect of tragedy created huge problems with debt.
It's really been one thing after another for the last 10 years.
I was fortunate that in the last five years I got into a position where I earned a lot as a contract web developer, but I had a partner who didn't work. Our spending on things we didn't truly need, given our circumstances, was a problem. It was a situation I couldn't maintain.
I was self employed at the time and this is where I was fortunate, I contracted to a very good hourly rate. This at least gave me the ability to dig myself out of a hole created by circumstances I couldn't control. I would often work long hours, not because I wanted to but because I had to.
I thought working harder and earning more would solve the issue.
It didn't.
Debts were mounted pretty high and we were, for a whatever reason, unable to operate as a team to curb the spending. In terms of my personal cash flow it was like I was on board the Titanic despite my best efforts to turn the situation around. I became burnt out and if I'm being completely open, I became quite resentful.
When the realization hit home that these circumstances would never change I made some drastic changes to my life and ended the relationship.
Divorce is hard. It's supposed to be one of the most stressful things you can go through in life and mine has been particularly difficult. My priority for a long time has been to look after my health and manage my financial position as best I can.
I have continued to remind myself of the problems I faced and why I made these decisions. I had grown so much in so many ways over this period.
It is very true when they say that which does not kill us makes us stronger.
But I was committed to keep advancing myself and growing. You can't change your circumstances by blaming others or blaming the world. If you aren't happy with a situation or set of circumstances that you are in then find the power within yourself to change them. Because you can. Because you have the power of choice.
I made that change. It was radical. It was hard, extremely hard. It's still hard. But I'm moving forward to where I want to be.
I'm now in a position where I need to earn extra money and I want to encourage you to come on this journey with me so that you to can earn extra money and find some financial freedom away from the daily grind that comes with having a job and working for a fixed fee.
If you are short on cash like me and you turn your mind to immediately thinking that the only way out of your current position is to earn extra money then think again. There are some other perspectives you need to consider beforehand.
Here are some of the lessons I've learnt from a few years of self reflection and change.
