Rise from the Air Mattress: Less is More

We all start somewhere:

When I started living on my own, I knew it would be tough, but I never imagined I'd be sleeping on an air mattress and watching television from the carpet floor instead of a couch. Transitioning from living with four roommates who ate my food, I faced tight budgets even with a bachelor's degree. Despite working full-time, I struggled to save, pay off student loans, cover car expenses, and pay rent without going into the negative.

Mastering Survival: Multiple Income Streams and Minimalist Living

I knew the only way to solve this was to have multiple sources of income coming in, as reducing my expenses further just was not an option. So, either I increase the income from my primary source, start a side hustle or gig economy job, or start my own business. I couldn’t rub two pennies together, so I had to give up some things when I went out on my own. The biggest lesson I learned was that I could live on a lot less, and it didn’t define me as a person.

I went to IKEA and bought two table end tops for $7 each for furniture and a $20 coffee table. I had these in my living room with no couch. In my bedroom, I had no bed because my first apartment was fully furnished, and I moved with just my 1998 Honda Civic in my name. I was basically starting my life knowing I couldn’t get help from my parents because they didn’t have anything to give me. I actually just got out of the hole from owing taxes due to my mother claiming me on her taxes as a dependent, combined with me putting my deductions so high to squeeze every penny out of my paycheck. I quickly learned from that mistake how the tax system worked and read more than three books on taxation laws by the IRS to never make that mistake again.

Navigating Challenges to Achieve Ownership

I started to understand that owning a home would benefit me not only from a taxation perspective but also because I could use it to generate real estate income. I knew that if I could just get my first house, I could do it. This was the best and most fearful time to buy a home, with many houses in foreclosure, as I worked full-time in that department. It was a race against the clock to find a place. I knew that I had to go without a bed and couch if I could focus on that long-term goal. It was my driving force because I could see the long-term effect of homeownership and changing my trajectory in life, not only from a taxation standpoint but also in building a future that would help generate multiple sources of income.

Asking for Aid: Humility, Relationships, and Support

When I told my ex-NFL player friend about my goals and dreams, he didn’t realize everything that was going on with me and took it upon himself to not only invite me over to his home for a meal one night but also walked me through his huge house. He led me to a bedroom and pointed at the bed in the room. He told me that not many people have slept on this bed since it’s our guest bed and we were thinking about upgrading. Would you want to have this bed for yourself? I literally said to him that he cannot be serious. What I realized is that when you ask for help, most people want to assist you, but sometimes our pride stands in the way. But more importantly, relationships with people and empathy are crucial throughout life. I truly believe that this humble attitude in knowing when you need help and asking for it or taking it is wonderful. It shows you that you cannot make it on your own. I know that now there are two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Conclusion: Grateful Growth - Lessons Learned in Resilience and Determination

It’s the same way God wants us to be in our relationship with Him, knowing that we depend on Him and need Him just as we need relationships with people in our lives. It’s funny because shortly after that, another coworker heard about my situation and sold me their couch for super cheap and delivered it to me since they lived less than 3 miles away. It was all coming around for me because I stopped being ashamed, since I believe shame is a feeling about yourself and self-pity. When we can accept and embrace who we are and understand that we all need help, we can live fruitful lives. In Philippians 4:19 God states how He will meet our needs: "And my God will meet all your needs accordingly to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."

I didn’t need the bed or couch, honestly, but it made things easier. I was so focused on my goal and purpose that I was driven forward in my quest. I understood that my fuel and energy need not be wasted on things that were not important. I am even more grateful now when I lay down at night, knowing it’s a real mattress instead of an air mattress. However, if times were to ever get rough again, I wouldn’t have an issue, since that’s where I started from originally.