February 24, 2021

People of EarnIn: Joy Burrows

When the going gets tough, Joy rises to the occasion. She’s been through struggles in her life, but she’s an absolute fighter. Read along as she describes her journey towards financial success and how her mentality brought her to where she is today:

“I didn't do too well back in the day. I went to college and I did all right, but then I came home and some events led to me becoming a mom. I wasn't making good money and I could barely support my family. I had been married twice and those didn’t work out.

The second marriage in particular was really difficult. He left me in a fair amount of debt because I was a sucker and got credit cards in my name and he used my credit which I had to pay for after he left so that really put me back. My mom helped me out a lot, bless her soul. She has helped me through so many things. That woman is an absolutely wonderful, amazing woman. Without her, I'd be nowhere. She helped take care of my kids, but financially, it got me.

During that time, I did a lot of work in the food industry, I cooked, I waited tables, I was a bartender, I was even a security officer at one point in time, but I just couldn't find what I really wanted to do. I moved and started working at a newspaper office for a while, and then a fashion store, but I still wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. I knew I had to start doing things for me.

After I got divorced, I was working as a hairstylist and my wages were sitting at about $620 a month. With three kids, you cannot live on $620 a month. My car payment was $300 a month and then my phone was $300 a month. There was nothing else I could pay for so if I had a bigger bill that was due, and I didn’t have enough money from my paycheck. I would use Earnin so my bills were on time, and that really helped me get on my feet.

I quit smoking a year ago and that was a big turning point in my life. I lost a lot of weight, 149 pounds. I still have more to go, but I'm getting there. I brought my credit up so many points, I paid my car off, I paid off so many bills, and other than my student loans, I'm pretty much debt free right now.

I had been studying pharmacy for a while, but I never finished it because I moved. But I applied for this job at a local grocery store for a pharmacy technician trainee position. I eventually got my CPHT (Certified Pharmacy Technician) license in January so now I'm working from home as an official pharmacy technician! The wages are great and I love it. I just had to find me, do what I want to do in my life, and not let anything stop me ever.

I decided I was going to do better. I was going to climb that ladder, and here I am, making a really decent wage. I'm able to be off of any sort of welfare, which a lot of people are on right now. I just thank my lucky stars that everything has happened the way it has. So now I've been single for three years and it's actually great. I get to find out who I am.”

We’ve all had something to overcome. By sharing these stories with the rest of our community, we hope that you realize you’re not alone and we’re in this together. Send us your story to stories@earnin.com.