As someone who’s been working since the age of 16, I have little to show for it financially. I’ve been telling myself that it could be worse – I could be drowning in debt, juggling maxed-out credit cards, or dealing with an alarmingly low credit score. But that mindset, knowing it could be worse, has been part of the problem. It’s kept me from actually trying to be better.

Despite not being terrible with money, I’m not particularly great with it either. My relationship with money has mostly been indifferent. I never obsessed over it, but I never truly valued it, either. It was something I earned and then spent. Something I had, and then didn’t.

I’ve usually managed to pay my bills (though not always on time), and I’ve never relied on overdraft or bumping up my credit card limit. But I’ve also never saved consistently. Any time I tried, it didn’t last long enough to matter – I’d eventually end up spending it. I’ve also hit a few financial rough patches since the pandemic and only recently started to get back on my feet.

Now that I’m earning a steady income again, I’ve had time to reflect on my financial goals – and it turns out I have some pretty important ones. I want to invest in my first home, pay off the student loan debt I’ve been ignoring for over a decade, and build a substantial emergency fund. I want to be good with money.

And this blog is where I’ll be documenting how I get there.

If you’re working toward your own financial goals, I hope you’ll join me. If you have helpful advice, I would genuinely appreciate it. Whatever it is that brought you here, I’m glad you came – and I hope you leave with something useful, too.