#underearning

In the personal finance community, I go by MJ - which are the initials to my first and middle names. I'm about to turn 40, and I live in Ohio with my two rescued dogs. I volunteer for conservation and preservation organizations. I consider myself a pancake connoisseur.

When did you start blogging about personal finance?

I started blogging about PF in January 2015 at my computer in Ohio. I'm brand new! I knew that I wanted to start focusing on making big payments toward my student loans, and I needed a way to keep myself accountable. I'd been reading Wise Bread for years, and lurking on other PF blogs off and on, so I had an idea of how I wanted to frame it.

What are your favorite blogs?

Well, now that I've been actively blogging and engaging with other bloggers for six months or so, there are so many blogs that I love! I regularly read Dear Debt, The Debt Myth, Making Sense of Cents, Budgets Are Sexy, Budget and the Beach...but I also read Yes & Yes, Brevity Magazine's blog, xojane, Post Everything... the list goes on and on.

Which part of financial literacy do you focus on most?

I focus on paying off student loan debt. That includes budgeting, saving money, and earning more money, of course. I focus on student loan debt because I have it. And I don't want it. But it is part of my story - whether I like it or not. I decided to embrace it, because its essentially a tool at my disposal. The story of how I accumulated the debt - and how I'm paying it off - is useful. It's also empowering.

When did you decide to take control of your finances?

I think there are two phases here:

In 2013 when I decided to declare bankruptcy, and...

At the end of 2014 when I decided to focus on paying off my student loans. After I declared bankruptcy, I started reading more about underearning, which I'd been doing, and how to overcome it. I started building an emergency fund. And, I took a long hard look at my life in the summer of 2014 to be sure I wanted to keep doing the work I was doing. I investigated a few new careers, and even went so far as to get offered a full ride to study one subject at the graduate level. In the end, I decided I wanted to stay on my current career path, but change my attitude and treat it a little differently. I did, and things opened way up. A new opportunity fell in my lap. It was because of that opportunity that I started entertaining the idea of paying off the loans. By the end of 2014, I was taking on extra work, selling stuff on Craigslist, and brainstorming blog names.

What was your biggest financial success?

Honestly, I'd say it's the current progress I've made on paying off my loans. I started with a balance of $47,554 and in eight months I've paid off $31,500. As I'm writing this, my current balance is $16,054, and I intend to make a $3,000ish payment next month. That's my biggest financial success.

What keeps you motivated?

Personal finance blogs. Seeing my progress. The gratitude I feel. The new opportunities that have come my way. Oh, and my very specific set of dreams. I know what I want, and I know my priorities. I didn't for a long time. I let too much of life just "happen." Once I started declaring what I wanted, my life has started to take a more defined shape.

What applications do you use for personal finance?

Mint and Digit. I love Mint, because I can see it on my phone every morning and practice gratitude for the declining balance AND for the amount in my emergency fund. I love Digit because it's very hands off. I don't even think about it. I haven't missed any of the money it's saved me in the last few months. I'm trying to avoid looking at it until the end of the year to see how much it accumulates.

If you could go back in time what would you do differently to better your financial future?

I would not have cashed out all my retirement funds from various jobs in an attempt to pay down my credit card debt! I mean, I cashed out so many. I miss that money. I wouldn't feel so far behind today. Last summer, I was working a temporary job, and one of the younger girls was talking about cashing out a retirement fund to pay for some travel she wanted to do. I was like, "NOOOOO." There are plenty of other ways to fund the travel - and I don't mean on credit. I'm all for traveling. I do think it's necessary if you have any interest in it at all. But, keep your hands off your retirement accounts, folks.

On one of your recent posts you write about disrupting your comfort zone, can you touch on that briefly?

I'll never forget the first time I heard the phrase, "disrupting your comfort zone." A colleague introduced me to Brian Grazer's This I Believe essay with the same title. He talks about the need to consistently disrupt your comfort zone in order to grow. I was still actively moving myself from state to state and doing everything I could to overcome some residual shyness. The essay resonated, and I never forgot it. I recently made a VERY big payment to my loans, and it made me VERY uncomfortable. Yet, it made a huge difference. I realized something about my comfort zone then: disrupting it doesn't always mean making huge moves. You can disrupt it in small ways, too. And that will make a difference. You've got to step outside your comfort zone to grow. Period.

What's keeping you from revealing your full name and identity on your blog?

Well, I originally wanted to stay semi-anonymous because I was afraid that one of my employers might see that I'm sharing my income on Payment Days. I thought that might upset someone, even though I don't reveal any employer by name, it would be easy enough to find out who they are by searching for my name. I'm starting to rethink this decision, though,because I want to be transparent and be myself with PF community. I also want to write for other sites... I know other bloggers who share income reports who have their full names on their sites. And yet J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy stays anonymous because he's sharing net worth. There are pros and cons to both staying anonymous and revealing yourself, I suppose. If anyone has any advice on this matter, please email me or offer it up on Twitter.

Where can people learn more about you or follow you?

Underearning is no joke!

Women and underearning is a serious topic however, and one I feel strongly about. Pay equity is something that we all need to consider, not only for ourselves, but even more importantly for our daughters.

There is a lot written about both topics and there has also been a lot of research into pay equity, both here and elsewhere in the world. There is still a significant gap here between women and…