Hi! I’m Kat. Thanks for stopping by to my corner of the internet and reading my take on money stuff.

I grew up in poverty or near poverty in rural New York and now live on an average income in Boston with my husband Derek and our daughter Lu. I got where I am today thanks to some smarts and good choices that overpowered some of my previous bad choices.

I had a piss-poor financial education that didn’t cover important basics of how to manage money successfully. If you grew up in the good ol’ U. S. of A., you likely also learned very little of relevance in school. Hurray for our education system! In 6th grade I learned how to balance a checkbook as part of a math lesson and that was about it as far as money smarts goes. At home I learned how many shut-off notices it takes before you need to actually pay part of the electric bill to keep the lights on. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about earning, saving, spending, hustling, and negotiating.

This blog will capture my own journey to financial independence. Along the way, I’ll dispense my wisdom. I can say some beautiful profound things. Sometimes.  I’ll try my best to keep it interesting and as real as possible. Enjoy!