How I was Evicted from my Apartment and 5 Steps I took to Overcome it

Eviction can change your whole life trajectory for Black Women, health, and child welfare leading to substandard housing and leading to poor health outcomes. The eviction took control of my life. This is my story and my steps, and how I got out of it. 

The Pink Slip 

I can remember when I saw the pink eviction notice on my apartment. I just returned from pitching a business idea to a potential client, only to find a bolted door locked. The pink slip of rejection was a slow build of rebuilding myself. How got to rock bottom became a fast transition from oh yeah to oh crap. 

For years, I worked for companies, and I was an avid saver. I managed to keep my rent low and always had at least ten thousand dollars in the bank. When I transitioned to a small business owner, all my skills were thrown out the window. 

As a small business owner, I began to overwork, taking any job that I could take. I was working around 80 hours a week. I started taking these money mindset entrepreneur classes, which cost more than I was used to spending. 

All my money mindset classes were telling me to spend over my limit. There were many conversations about what you value, and if you love yourself, you will charge more and save less money. All of the mindset stuff was great, but there was no accurate, practical advice on managing money. So I lost all my money not budgeting and not putting money in the bank to save myself. 

Long story short, I overworked. To make matters worse, I lost my contract that was paying my bills. My body began to shut down. I stopped talking to people.

Here I was thousands of miles away from my family. 

Shamed by embarrassment 

On paper, I  appeared to hit the black privilege lottery. 

I had attended good college; I made more money than my parents did when they were in their twenties. I appeared to look good on paper. I was too embarrassed to explain how I got to this point, that I had failed. All the while, I was also grieving and sad. I had to admit that pride got the best of me, and that pink slip of denial was a wake-up call to go back to what I know.

That night, I slept on my friend's couch. All covered in dog hair. I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to, so I turned to Google to help me find the answers. 

I typed in Eviction and success. I found an article from a guy who didn’t look like me talk about how he went from being fired, evicted, and became a millionaire by 30. 

I turned 29 in three months, and the thought of being a millionaire didn’t seem like it was an option unless I sold my organs and became a surrogate mom to a famous actress. 

I then typed up Black women and eviction. I found several articles around displacement, and there were two unique articles. 

1. Article about how Black women were evicted at alarmingly higher rates than other racial groups due to various factors. 

2. I found a local entrepreneur named Ashley Fox who talked about rising from being evicted to reclaiming her space.

For a wrinkle in time, I was slightly relieved. I heard someone’s experience with money that looked and sounded like me.  

As I sat there angry and unsure of different possibilities, I started to ask how I can change my narrative around money and rebuild my future. I put my business on hold, and I began to get a hold of my well-being because it affected my money story.  

 Steps of How I got out of my evictions 

1. I got a fast pace job

   I immediately got a job working as a waitress at a wine bar. Working night shifts helped me figure out how I would get out of my financial problems in the daytime. It was hard-working those long hours, but I was able to pay my way out of debt one dollar at a time. 

2. I was less hard on myself

   Forgiving myself was the hardest step. I made a mistake, which is normal; instead of dwelling on it, I would see this as my story and move on from this.  I paid for affordable therapy.
   

3. Attended Underearners and Debtor’s Anonymous 

   I needed to feel like I wasn’t alone, and sitting on calls with Under earners and debtor anonymous helped me understand my debt one dollar at a time. I attended the meaning for six months, and occasionally, I’ll hop on a call to figure out my next steps.

4. Attended the Court Hearings

   At that time, I’d never been in court before. I went with my head down, and it was hard dealing with the shame around it, but I did it. The experience was odd, but it ended up being a funny story because the lawyer trying to help me out asked me on a date. 

5. Paid Down Debt

I got laser focus on paying my overdue bills. I was able to pay off all my undergraduate student loan debt. Crazy! I did it!