I was laid off 2 months after closing on my first home

"On St. Patrick's Day weekend, 2023, I closed on my first house, attended my two daughters' first ballet, and went to their dad's funeral - all in the same weekend. Two months later, I was laid off and stuck in a town I likely would have left under different circumstances. While I did consider moving, I was living in my newly purchased home with three grieving kids. Uprooting them would be too many life changes, and I had no equity in my home anyway."

"Two years earlier, in 2021, my marriage to my children's father went south, and I moved to a small, cornfield town in Illinois for grad school. I was lucky enough to find a funded master's program with a teaching assistantship. Between the small stipend my program offered and my side hustle as a freelance journalist and content writer, I was able to keep the bills paid and live a modest yet comfortable life with my kids."

"A few months into the job, my intuition told me to buy a house. Interest rates were going up, and so was the rent. I had a steady income stream now, and the cost of living was low in my area. So I got prequalified for a mortgage and found a 100-year-old farmhouse in a walkable neighborhood in town. Then, everything happened at once."

After a divorce in 2021, moved to a small Illinois town for grad school and secured a funded master's with a teaching assistantship. A modest stipend plus freelance journalism and content writing covered expenses while raising three children. With one semester remaining, pursued job hunting and accepted a director role at a local domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center managing prevention education and marketing. Intuition led to buying a 100-year-old farmhouse; on St. Patrick's Day weekend 2023 closed the house, attended two daughters' first ballet, and attended their father's funeral. Two months later a layoff occurred; stayed to avoid uprooting grieving children, broadened work search, took part-time work, upskilled, and now runs a business while continuing side hustles.

Read at Business Insider