From Under The Bridge, to over achiever, How this homeless man defeated homelessness during the pandemic.

Story by Shawn Breaux

In this guide, You’re starting with $0 and no advantages. No car, no help, No home just the clothes on your back and the ID in your pocket. This is your starting platform as most Americans will find, either as they turn 18, or as they lose everything they’ve worked hard to achieve.

First thing is first, you need to get to a major city by any means necessary. This can be dangerous, depending on your starting point. For those of you fortunate enough to start in a major city, you may elect to skip this next section.

For everyone else, transit is your best bet. Find a hiking trail, a method of public transit, or some mode of transit to get to a major city. For the purpose of this Article, a major city is defined as any location that has relatively easy access to other cities without the need for a personal vehicle. Examples may be New Orleans, Houston, Chicago, New York, practically any state capital or tourist destination. It doesn’t matter how you get there, only that you do.

The next step, admittedly an unpleasant one, is to gain access to a homeless shelter. Eat the food, sleep in the beds, if they have one, apply for the jobs in the center, but otherwise, spend as little time in the shelter as is physically possible. Do not trust the staff, they will fail you, They will Gaslight you, they will never keep their promises, and they will make excuses. The fact is that the shelter is paid for by taxpayer dollars, and they have every incentive to drag their feet (Cue the conspiracy theory criticisms).

Do not provide the shelter staff with any banking information or any sort of financial info. Fake it if you must, but the shelter staff will attempt to take your money from you under the guise of “Building a reputation for rental payments” it’s useless. The reputation will do you no good. From here, You will need to find a job that either requires travel or provides housing, ideally both. Such jobs involve driving trucks, working cruise lines, touring events, escorting as a body guard, etc.

From here you have a few options. Most people will apply for, and obtain a minimum wage job. This can be a useful tool, but you will likely be treated horribly, as is often the case. You will find that Most minimum wage jobs also qualify as essential work, so even in times of national emergency, you can and will be working. You should set your withholding to 30%. This amount will be more than enough to pay any tax penalty for that year. This should not be your end goal.

If necessary, You could use a prepaid account before completing the next step. Get yourself an account at a credit union, bank, or any FDIC insured financial institution. Obtain the cheapest certificate of deposit you can. Under ideal circumstances, you want a minimum of 10% of your income to be locked into Certificate of Deposit at all times. If you make $500 a month on each of your paychecks, You want a $50 certificate of deposit, minimum. Consolidate these when and where you can. A savings account will often yield a 0.2% interest rate per month, whereas a 3 month Certificate of Deposit will often yield a 0.9% rate of interest, which also pays out per month. When the certificate expires, take the interest, add it to your principle, and start the process over again. This is known as compound interest.

From here, your best bet would be training or certification of some kind. A trade can be learned and tested online at approximately $1000 or less, and some can even provide job placement. Gain one or more degrees, certificates, or licenses that compliment each other. Don’t wait for your employer to pay for the training, find a way to get to done yourself, prove to them that you’re not going to need them.

Example: A person seeking employment in childcare might consider gaining a degree in early childhood development, as well as child psychology and teaching. Any daycare would pay top dollar for someone who has those kinds of qualifications.

Once you have the certifications you would want to obtain, promote your skills, get better work, and keep to the financial plan. Keep this process up until you have a minimum of $10,000. This is now your emergency fund. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.

Don’t wait for things to happen, Make things happen. That is how one goes from nothing to thriving. Now get out there and make your world.

Shawn Breaux is a Consultant of exceptional quality, and can be reached Via His Linkedin Account.