Swimming Your Way Out of Debt

by Rochelle Griffin on August 20, 2012

Swimming Your Way Out of Debt

by Rochelle Griffin

When you look at your life today, are you happy with what you see? Or are you knee…even neck…deep in debt and can’t seem to get ahead? If you picked the latter, I want you to know that I understand. I want to share something today that I haven’t really talked about in detail publically before. In life, we tend to look at people as we see them today without thinking about what they’ve been through to get there. I didn’t wake up overnight with a successful business. Let’s go back in time 10 years ago…

Due to poor financial choices (basically I wanted to live a lifestyle that we couldn’t afford,) we found ourselves with $50,000 of credit card debt plus 2 mortgages. We woke up one morning and thought “What have we done?!?!?!” We were drowning in debt, so we made a decision to change our situation.

We put our Central Florida house up for sale. It literally sold to the very first couple who looked at it at the asking price! We both felt that this was a sign from God that we were doing the right thing. We moved up to the rural part of Gainesville into my mother-in-law’s house. Actually let me be more specific…we included me, my hubby, our 7 month old, and our 3 big dogs, and “we” moved into my mother-in-law’s 600 sq ft cottage along with her 2 big dogs.

Talk about culture shock. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone with the following statement: I used to call the area we had moved from the “armpit” of FL. I told my hubby that I felt like we moved from the “armpit” to the “crotch.” The pullout couch in the living area was our bed for 6 months. We had zero privacy, and I’m a girl who needs her privacy. I truly have to commend my mother-in-law for doing such an incredibly noble act. It wasn’t a picnic for her either.

About 6 months into living there, I couldn’t take it any longer. We had to have a place for ourselves. Our son was walking and needed the space. We were still in the midst of paying off debt using my nursing job salary, so we couldn’t afford to buy a house. We choose, instead, to buy a mobile home. It was one of the hardest decisions that I had ever made up to that point of my life. I had preconceived ideas about what it meant to live in a mobile home, and quite frankly, I was embarrassed. Wow, I was a snob and needed to be humbled.

We worked really hard to pay off the credit card debt in 6 years, but it was at a cost. I became an exhausted, burned out, unhappy nurse who turned to food to cope with the stress of life.

Fast forward a few months, I had lost 10 lbs using Slim in 6 and my coaching business was born. I wasn’t interested, however, in making money with my business…I simply wanted to help people. Well, about 3 months into my business, my younger brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and would require 2 surgeries to reduce the size. During the first surgery, he suffered a brainstem stroke and was left paralyzed on the entire right side of his body. He needed intense rehab, but we discovered that his insurance wouldn’t cover the type of treatment that he needed. My hubby & I made the decision to private pay for it. This meant that we had to pull out our credit cards again and max them out. We simply did what we needed to do.

It was at that point that I decided to treat my business like a business…out of necessity. I had no idea how my life would change with that one decision, but I’m so thankful. As a result of treating my business as such, we’ve been able not only to pay off all the credit cards, but I’ve been able to quit my nursing job, bring my hubby home, AND become debt free in the process. Yes, we are still in our mobile home, but we are getting ready to build the house we’ve always wanted.

So you see, where I sit right now is a long journey of personal growth, blood, sweat, & tears. I had to persevere even when I didn’t want too. I had to be humbled. It didn’t happen overnight. If you are struggling right now, please know that I truly “get” it. I would love nothing more than to help you along the path to your freedom. It IS there…just waiting for you to grab it.

Contact me and let’s get you started.

A Toast to Your Health,

Rochelle Griffin

Rochelle Griffin is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years experience who has transitioned her love for fitness, health, & freedom into a 6-figure company that now helps others live the life of their dreams.

She founded GOFITCOACH with her husband Keith after stepping onto the edge of financial & physical ruin. Having experienced a complete turn-around, they now desire to give hope & support to those who are dissatisfied with their current situation.

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