After that $14K letdown… I swore I was done.

Not just taking a break done.
I mean… done-done.

I was emotionally wiped.
My confidence was shattered.
And even though some tiny flicker of fire was still in me… it was barely holding on.

I picked up a part-time job in November, just trying to stay afloat.
I told myself, “Two days a week. That’s it.”
But two turned into more.
Because the bills didn’t care.
And neither did life.

And quite honestly?
Everything just kept crashing down.
It was one thing after another.

I needed money for this.
Then that.
Then something else.
Unexpected expenses.
Random crap that somehow always shows up when you’re already on your knees.

And it drained me.
It weighed on me.
It felt like I was carrying the world… and still falling short.

I was playing financial Jenga, moving things around, praying nothing collapsed.
I was robbing Peter to pay Paul, and let’s be real… Peter was never getting paid back.

I was falling short.
On paper.
In my heart.
In my pride.
I didn’t recognize myself.

And the hardest part?
Having to ask my husband for help.
Again.
We’ve always split bills. I had my own things to cover.
And the more I came up short, the more it gutted me to say, “Can you cover this too?”
I’ve always been independent. Asking was hard. It felt like failure.

Then my good friend Nikki called me.

She said, “Carrie Oyloe Edwards, listen to me, I found something. I think this could be the one.”

I wanted to ignore it.
I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
Didn’t want to believe again, just to be let down again.

I told her no.

She was persistent. She believed in me more than I believed in myself.

And finally… I said,
“I’ll look.”

But here’s the truth most people don’t say out loud:
I didn’t jump in full of confidence and belief.
I wasn’t “ready to soar.”
I bought the business kit thinking, “I’ll try this, but I’m probably going to prove her wrong.”

Because that’s where I was. So used to disappointment, I didn’t believe things could actually workout.

It felt like one more risk…
One more shot in the dark.

But I did it anyway.

Not because I had the money.
Not because I had it all together.
But because something in me—just enough hope to whisper—said:

“What if this time is different?”

And then… two days later, I hit the lowest point.

I logged into my accounts:
14 cents in one.
$2.28 in the other.

We had travel coming up for sports. Groceries. Gas. Bills.
And I was tapped out.

I stood there, staring at my phone, thinking,
“What the hell did I just do?”

But what I didn’t know…
was that moment wasn’t the end.

It was the beginning.

A few days later, my package came.
I opened it, grabbed the dropper, added it to my water, and got started right away.

That night?
I actually felt… good.
I didn’t want to get too excited, but it caught me off guard.
And then the next morning?

I knew.

I hadn’t slept that good in years.
My back and hip didn’t ache like usual.
I felt rested, clear, lighter somehow.

And I remember thinking… “Wait… is this really happening?”

I started reading other people’s stories, seeing how their lives were shifting too.
And I couldn’t believe how many people were feeling like I was, some even better.

That’s when I thought… Maybe Nikki was on to something.

And I knew I couldn’t keep this to myself.
People I loved were struggling too.
They deserved to feel this shift.

I had to share it.

That first week? Groceries were covered.
The next? A few bills I’d been avoiding… finally paid.
By the end of that first month? Some of them were completely wiped out.

Gone.

Month three?
My income had tripled.
I could breathe again.
I wasn’t living in fear of checking my account.

For the first time in years, I felt steady.
I could sleep.
I could think.
I could dream again.

Today?
I’m chipping away at debt.
I’ve got a goal to be 75% debt-free by the end of this year—with only the house left.
And after that? I’m coming for that too.

That 14-cent moment didn’t break me.
It woke me up.

So if you’re in a place where everything feels heavy…
Where you’re doubting your worth, your value, your strength…
Where you’re trying to keep it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside—

I see you.
I was you.
And I need you to know something:

You’re not broken.
You’re not behind.
And you’re not alone.

Sometimes the lowest point in your life is the exact place your next level begins.

XOXO ~ Carrie ~ Life Lovin Mama