Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Lopez.
Hi Elizabeth, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I had uploaded my very first YouTube video back in 2017, originally, I wanted to share my journey to my natural curls. Little did I know, about a year later I would switch gears and talk about FINANCES! A complete change, I know!
The reason I decided to share our personal finances and journey to debt freedom, is because I wish someone would have shared this information with me when I was in high school! I wish that this was a topic that wasn’t uncomfortable to speak about.
So, in 2018, I uploaded my first budget-related video on my Naturally Lizzie YouTube channel! Fast-forward to now I am still sharing our personal budget with the world, encouraging thousands of friends on the internet! How powerful is that?! I believe there is power in testimonies and hearing people’s stories, so here is mine! My husband and I were not the best at handling our finances and we got ourselves into some pretty hefty debt!
No matter what we would do it seemed as if the debt never went away, in fact, it grew more and more each month! How could this be? We had a business, I worked a decent job, how can we still be in so much debt?! The answer was that we did not create a budget for our money! We didn’t have a plan for our hard-earned income and just spent it carelessly.
So in 2018, my husband discovered Dave Ramsey. He shared with me some debt-free scream videos and I just thought, ‘there’s no way we could do that!’. So I did some digging and research and saw that so many people were doing this debt-free journey!! The best thing of all, IT WAS WORKING!!
So we jumped in on the debt freedom train and worked on our budget using the cash envelope system. I tell you, this was the best decision we’ve made! Now I can sit here and tell you that because we were focused on giving every dollar a job, we paid off a truck payment, paid for 3 cars cash, and are now consumer debt free!!!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When it comes to finances it has its ups and downs. Some months and weeks are great, others not so much. But the beautiful thing is, you adjust the next time around. Budgeting doesn’t have to be a complicated thing, it just has to make sense to you and your family.
So that’s what we did! When things didn’t go as planned, like a bill coming in the mail we didn’t expect, we pivoted! We adjusted accordingly. Maybe we have to plan meals at home more often, or “Hey you don’t use this PS2, let’s sell it!”
We put in the effort because we had an end goal in mind and that was to GET OUT OF DEBT FAST!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love to share our real-life struggles in personal finances. I also love to review other people’s budgets to help them move forward in their financial freedom journey. My Pastor’s wife had said to me ‘You help families find freedom in their finances and that stuck with me to this day!
So that’s what I do, I help families on their budget to help them not feel overwhelmed and stressed about their money. When I get messages from women saying that my videos had made an impact in their life and they are now feeling in control of their finances, that makes me so happy!
I tell myself if I can help just one person or one family then I did my job! I’m so thankful that I’ve not only helped one but I have the blessed opportunity to help thousands!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
All I have to say about this is that I try not to live in fear. Fear is crippling and unfortunately, that is what we are seeing being shared on the news and social media. I will add that it is so important to take care of yourself, your health especially. Making an effort to get healthy is so important now more than ever.
Contact Info:
- Email: naturallylizzie@gmail.com
- Website: www.budgetessentialsco.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/naturallylizzie0922
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/naturallylizzie
