From $70K in crypto losses to a $20K emergency fund in 18 months

Two years ago I posted on here about losing $28K on a rapper's crypto tip. What I didn't mention was that was just the beginning. I kept chasing losses and eventually blew through $70K total. I was eating ramen, dodging calls from my credit card company, and genuinely considering sleeping in my car. The turning point was embarrassingly simple: I got a library card. Started reading actual finance books instead of following Twitter gurus. I canceled every subscription, sold my gaming setup, picked up a second job delivering groceries on weekends, and set up automatic transfers of $800/month to a high-yield savings account. 18 months later I have a $20K emergency fund, zero credit card debt, and I haven't opened a crypto app once. I still eat ramen sometimes, but now it's by choice.