jschmidt
12-12-12, 12:17pm
Early in their 20's, a new hubby with a few thousand in debt, and a wife with a few thousand in savings do not mesh too well ... especially when they discovered their interest in eating out!
We blew threw money left and right by way of restaurant. We also signed up with a stupid time-share / cruise thing that we never used.
We buckled down, and here we are, 10 years later. No debt, house paid off as of 3 years ago, a good amount of savings, and in our early 30's.
What story is any good without a plot though, right?
Well, business was going just fine for me. I was humming along while carrying my usual load of financial stress/worry about "tomorrow" when a huge project was put into my lap. For the better part of a year, I was enjoying patting myself on the back for landing something so huge, and having a number of people working for me.
Then, it all went to hell in a hand basket.
The workers were not doing the work well, and the client was not happy. I ended up losing a lot of money (and hairs on my head!). The stress was very close to unbearable. This actually allowed me to "let go and let God" as they say.
Thanks to about a decade of penny pinching (well ... not compared to many of you, but compared to the people we know, anyway!), and vigilant saving/debt paying, I have been able to find a new money-making passion, and dive into it. The business that has caused me so much stress and grief, is still there, but is not THE main part of my life anymore. It is only until this past few months that I have been able to fully appreciate the goodness of having lived simply. Had I not, I would have been a ticking heart attack, stress infused time bomb. It is nice to be able to say FORGET THIS!!!! I'm doing something else that makes me happy! ... and actually do it!
For those of you on the path to more financial freedom (I am saying "more" here, because we still have bills to pay and still have to work ourselves) keep on keepin' on. It is WELL worth it. You never know when life will throw you a curve ball. You want to be able to have the choice whether to swing at it or not!
We blew threw money left and right by way of restaurant. We also signed up with a stupid time-share / cruise thing that we never used.
We buckled down, and here we are, 10 years later. No debt, house paid off as of 3 years ago, a good amount of savings, and in our early 30's.
What story is any good without a plot though, right?
Well, business was going just fine for me. I was humming along while carrying my usual load of financial stress/worry about "tomorrow" when a huge project was put into my lap. For the better part of a year, I was enjoying patting myself on the back for landing something so huge, and having a number of people working for me.
Then, it all went to hell in a hand basket.
The workers were not doing the work well, and the client was not happy. I ended up losing a lot of money (and hairs on my head!). The stress was very close to unbearable. This actually allowed me to "let go and let God" as they say.
Thanks to about a decade of penny pinching (well ... not compared to many of you, but compared to the people we know, anyway!), and vigilant saving/debt paying, I have been able to find a new money-making passion, and dive into it. The business that has caused me so much stress and grief, is still there, but is not THE main part of my life anymore. It is only until this past few months that I have been able to fully appreciate the goodness of having lived simply. Had I not, I would have been a ticking heart attack, stress infused time bomb. It is nice to be able to say FORGET THIS!!!! I'm doing something else that makes me happy! ... and actually do it!
For those of you on the path to more financial freedom (I am saying "more" here, because we still have bills to pay and still have to work ourselves) keep on keepin' on. It is WELL worth it. You never know when life will throw you a curve ball. You want to be able to have the choice whether to swing at it or not!