Hi! I’m Amanda and this is My Life, I Guess…
But don’t let the name fool you.
This website isn’t all about me and my life.
It’s about you and your life, too!
Let me elaborate.
(And thanks for stopping by!)
I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to my money and my career. By sharing my story, experience, and bad decisions with you, I hope to help you avoid ever making those mistakes yourself.
Or if you already have, I hope to help you get past them.
Does Any of This Sound Like You?
I’m a real person, with real problems.
Especially when it comes to money and figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. (Let’s just ignore the fact that I’m already a “grown-up”, okay?)
It’s not that life’s bad – but I’m certainly not where I hoped I’d be:
- I’m happily married and in a Dual Income, No Kids (DINK) household, but we still live paycheck to paycheck.
- Since graduating from university almost a decade ago, my “career” hasn’t really gone at all how I’d planned.
- Instead of making 6-figures a year like many other personal finance bloggers, I have 6-figures in debt. Which is more than my annual household income has ever been.
- Paying back my $53,000 student loan feels impossible. After 10 years, I still have 65% of it to go.
- In those last 10 years, I’ve worked in 11 different jobs. (Usually balancing 2 jobs at once.)
- At my first job after graduation, I worked 60+ hours a week for years in a toxic work environment with abusive management. And only made $35,000/year before ultimately taking a stress leave.
- I’ve been unemployed – twice – through no fault of my own. The first was because of a layoff, and the second was thanks to a horrible boss (who then replaced me with 5 people!).
- I spent most of my early 30s under-employed working part-time, minimum wage survival jobs. But I still racked up over $25,000 in credit card debt, just to get by.
- Which often meant deciding what bill to skip paying this month.
If you can relate to any of this, there is good news.
You don’t have to do this alone!
What You Will Find Here
Career & Unemployment
- How to Survive Unemployment
- Career & Job Growth Advice
- Free Job Search Downloads & Resources
Personal Finance
- How to Get & Stay Out of Debt
- Manage the Money You Have
- Improve Your Financial Situation
Life on a Budget
- Living Paycheck to Paycheck
- Save More & Spend Less
- How to Get the Most from Your Money
Make More Money
- Side Hustles, Freelancing & Self Employment
- Making Money Online or In Your Spare Time
- Improve Your Skills and Learn Something New
Health & Well-Being
- Self Care & Managing Your Mental Health
- Personal Development & Personal Growth
- Finding a Work Life Balance
… And More
- Budget Friendly Gift Ideas
- Recommendations for Products & Services I Use
- Tips to Start & Grow Your Own Blog
How it All Began
My goal is to keep the “person” in personal finance.
In 2012, I found myself in a pretty serious work/life UN-balance after my dream job became a complete nightmare. Everything I had worked hard for was falling apart.
I turned to Google for answers and discovered the Personal Finance blogging community. The more I read, the more I learned. And the more I wanted to be a part of it, too. With their support and encouragement, I decided to take my little hobby blog (which started in July 2011) that only a handful of people knew about up a notch. In April 2013, My Life, I Guess… debuted.
I started blogging about what I was going through.
What it was really like being unemployed. How I struggled for nearly 3 years to find a full-time job. What working a minimum wage job in my 30s did to my mental health. And what all that meant to our finances.
As it turns out, many of these stories resonated with you, as well. So I kept writing.
Who Am I, Anyways?
Who you get your information from matters. So let me tell you a little more about myself and my background.
As you know, my name is Amanda Kay. I am in my mid-30s and live in Ontario, Canada with my husband and our 3 rescue cats. I am a professional Employment Specialist and a (semi-anonymous) long-term career and personal finance blogger.
Although I try to live a life worth blogging about, I’m an average person, living off an average income. And I have the debt to prove it.
I am not one of those bloggers that saves half their income or makes an “extra” few thousand dollars a month from their side hustles. (But maybe one day I will be?)
I’m a Job Search Pro
I graduated from university with a B.A. Honors degree in theater and a post-grad diploma in Arts & Non-Profit Management. Right in the middle of the 2008 recession…
Between dead-end jobs, being unemployed, under-employed, and miserable at work, I’ve spent more than a decade job searching. Little did I know how valuable spending all that time applying for jobs would actually be. Or that it would teach me the skills and experience I’d need to qualify for a job.
How? I am now an Employment Specialist at an employment centre, where my job is to help other people find jobs.
I get paid to look at job boards, edit resumes, and give other unemployed and under-employed people the same advice and encouragement that I was just getting myself. And I love it!
But as you can see, it was not easy getting here. For years I was left moving backwards. Instead of paying down my debt, I went further into it. Instead of advancing in my career path, I fell off track entirely.
I’m also (Unfortunately) a Pro at Living with Debt
In the 7 years my husband and I have been together, our combined annual income has ranged drastically. It’s been as low as $51,000 and as high as $95,500 CAD (which is approximately $39,000 to $73,500 USD). And yes, that’s for 2 people.
Part of this is because my husband’s hours at work varied up until a few months ago. He might work 50 hours one week and then 0 the next. But a lot of it was because I was laid off in early 2014 and struggled to get my career back on track.
Even though I’ve fallen way behind and feel like I’m starting over again in many ways, I know that by focusing on what matters, I’ve got this. I’ve already made it this far, right?
So I’m going to keep sharing my story, my struggles, my mistakes, and hopefully my successes right here on my little piece of the internet. After all, this is my life, I guess…
Contributors
You may have noticed that I’m not the only author here.
Although this blog is a one-woman operation, I do publish articles from other talented writers that are more knowledgeable than I am on certain topics. This is so I can bring you the best and most accurate content that I can.
Author biographies are included at the bottom of each post to tell you more about their specific credentials.
I don’t accept posts from just anyone, though. Most of these authors are part of the Money Mix Insiders blogging group, an exclusive program designed for highly dedicated bloggers.
Are you a blogger and want to learn more about the Money Mix Insiders program? I’m happy to answer any questions you have, or you can check out this post for more about how it’s helped me grow: Want to Learn the Secret of How to Make Money Blogging? Join a Mastermind Group!
How Does My Life, I Guess… Make Money?
I make an average of $150 per month running this website. Yup, that’s realistically what bloggers make – it’s not a way to get rich quick!
This site is mostly ad free but does include affiliate links for products or services I honestly recommend. I am not a part of any advertising networks, so you won’t see pop-up ads or banner ads here – with the exception of the occasional affiliate ad. These will be intentionally placed within an article, only if it’s relevant to the topic. (For example, a review post will probably include ads or sales images for that item or service.) But the majority of the articles here do not contain advertising.
The affiliates I promote the most are free to use, so you can support me – without spending a dime.
I also accept sponsored content on a limited basis. This content will be labeled as sponsored (at the top or bottom of the post) and will remain live for a limited time.
You can also support me with a straight-forward donation through Ko-fi. (Aww, thanks!!)
Want to Get In Touch?
I’d love to hear from you! Please contact me or message me through social media:
Disclaimer
While I hope the content found on my site is informative and entertaining, I am not a personal finance expert. So if you came here looking for advice on dividend investing or how long-term capital gains are taxed, I’m sorry, but you are in the wrong place.
I’m also not a mental health professional, but I am willing to listen and offer my support and advice.
Please seek professional financial or mental health advice if you need it.
Please click here for more information.