The weight of the debt on its own was crushing. I cried myself to sleep for weeks, feeling as though I’d lost my chance of having any kind of strong financial future. In the two years that followed, I paid off all my debt, took control of my health, moved to Toronto and then Vancouver, and quit drinking for good (after a few more failed attempts). I documented all the changes I was making on my blog, Blonde on a Budget , which brought in more and more readers with each update. I won’t pretend any of it was easy, and I can’t tell you I followed all the experts’ advice. I just did what worked for me, and I was grateful to have people to stay accountable to.