🧨 Debt Is Not a Dirty Word

A sacred permission slip to stop punishing yourself and start partnering with possibility.

I have a bankruptcy on my record.

We’re not starting there because I’m ashamed.
We’re starting there because I’m not.

It was the result of medical debt—mountains of it.
I didn’t buy a yacht.
I didn’t live lavishly.
I got sick. And the system doesn’t just fail people—it devours them.

For years, that bankruptcy lived in my nervous system like a permanent stain.
Every time I applied for credit, made a big purchase, or tried to “get my shit together,” I could feel it humming below the surface.
Like a whisper saying: You’re not good with money.
Like a warning: Don’t let anyone see this part.

But the truth?
That shame was never mine to carry.

This system—this beautiful mess of capitalism, credit scores, and compound interest—was never designed to support dreamers, artists, healers, or women building empires from kitchen tables and conference calls between school pick-up and client Zooms.

It was designed to punish the unaware, not partner with the awakened.

And yet…

Debt doesn’t have to be the villain.
It can be the bridge.
It can be the soft place you land when the world falls apart.
It can be the strategic runway that lets your business take flight before the revenue catches up.

It’s a tool.
A bridge.
A strategy.
A pause in the timeline that says: I’m choosing to receive something now and trust myself to repay later.

I don’t disagree with the folks who follow Dave Ramsey and go fully debt-free, cash-only, cut-up-all-the-cards. If that path feels empowering and aligned? Bless and keep it. Truly.

But let’s tell the whole truth.

Most people? That level of austerity doesn’t feel like sovereignty—it feels like suffocation.
Like shrinking your life so small that your joy becomes collateral damage.
Like making your healing contingent on a zero balance.

And in Shaneh’s World?
Money. Loves. Joy.
Sacrifice is not the only route to success.

Do I pay down my debt?
Yes. With reverence and gratitude for the blessings already received. That reframe alone released years of resentment and self-blame.

But do I also travel, invest in support, and say yes to the occasional indulgence?
Also yes.

Because this is the gift of both/and.

We don’t have to martyr our way to zero balances.
We don’t have to delay our delight until the ledger is clean.
We get to be strategic and spacious. Responsible and resourced.
In devotion to our future while dancing with joy in the now.

Debt doesn’t make you broken.
It makes you human.

And here’s something tender I want you to know:
If you’ve made mistakes with money, you’re not alone.
If you’ve used debt to survive? You were resourceful.
If you’ve gone into debt to fund a dream that didn’t pan out? You were brave.
If you're climbing out of a hole right now? You are worthy of love and celebration—not just when you're "back on top," but now.

Your balance sheet does not measure your value.
Your character is not defined by your credit score.

The system might be rigged, but your choices can still be sacred.

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Reflection + Expansion

• What financial decisions have you been judging yourself for that actually demonstrate resilience or courage?

• Where have you internalized other people’s shame or scarcity stories?

• How would your relationship with debt shift if you viewed it as neutral, or even sacred?

• Are you willing to let joy be part of your debt payoff plan?

• What would the both/and version of financial freedom look like for you?

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PS: The world doesn’t need more women in financial shame spirals. It needs more sovereign ones—strategic, self-trusting, joy-soaked. In this world? Profit is Protest. So is healing your relationship with money. And so is refusing to shrink your life just to be called “responsible.”

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Song of the Day: Masterpiece by Josh Kelley