Good Afternoon Everyone!
So my husband was out of town this weekend. He had a boys weekend in Miami and I was at home with the babes by myself. It went well, fast (thank God!) and I was even able to get some housework done.
Most important thing though is the kitchen was clean and the dishes were done when he walked in the door today. That is hit BIG thing in the house. The rest of the house could be falling apart but, as long as the kitchen/dining room are clean and picked up, he is happy. I can do that.
So, I normally try not to write back to back blogs about the same or a similar subject but, I was reading the news online and ugh, it is doom and gloom! So, I thought I would write about finances again. Just with a different spin.
Let me tell you all something right now. There is absolutely NO reason to be so doom and gloom about the economy or your retirement account right now. Yes, things are not great out there and you may have lost a job or might be losing a job. You might even be wondering if you will be able to keep your home or car, etc.
Steve and I have been there done that. However, we went through it when everyone else was riding the high horse of a great economy. It was horrible and it sucked and we don’t want to have to go through it again. But, very rarely were we doom and gloom. Why? Because life is so much more than money. We chose to look at the positive parts of our lives and our family and kept the focus there. We continued to focus on our children and our marriage. We knew that is our family unit was strong, we would and could make it through anything. We were right and we did.
It was over 4 years of clinging to our family and really holing up together and just focusing on God, us, and our children. We were on our knees daily and we were grateful for each moment. We were all healthy, we had kept our home(it was touch and go many times!), we had to adjust our lifestyles but, our children never knew. Nor did they care. They only knew that mom and dad were happy, they were happy and life was good. It was hard sometimes but, life was good. We had a love for a God that loved us more than we could ever imagine and he was watching over us, even if we couldn’t feel it, we knew he was there.
I believe it was our faith in God that pulled us through those times and in the end, we were a stronger family unit, stronger in our faith, and were happier with life.
Having no money is NOT doom and gloom. It is NOT the end of the world. Money does NOT bring happiness. It doesn’t even make life easier sometimes, it makes it harder. It was a very simple life we led while my husband looked for work or worked odd jobs. It wasn’t filled with overloaded schedules and packed weekends. We hung out more as a family and as a couple. We cherished our family game nights, our card playing, our simple BBQ’s in the yard. We grew to love the challenge of finding bargains and coupon clipping. Our weekly grocery lists became a family affair as everyone listed what they wanted for dinner one night based on the Sunday ads for our local grocery stores.
Life doesn’t have to suck because you can’t retire when you wanted to or you have to work a 2nd job or, gasp, you can’t buy yourself a new outfit! Life is so much more than shopping, going out to eat, fancy dinners, new furniture, new cars, etc…. Life is what you make of it. Life is great! You can choose to be miserable or you can choose to be happy with what you have been dealt and find a way to make it work.
Sometimes you need to re-evaluate your previous thinking on money and what makes you happy. I read in the Star Tribune (our local paper) today something that really stuck with me. It was from a life coach with no financial background. She said that often people need to get rid of old money beliefs because they tend to hold people back. Oh so true! She then said for example, ‘the belief that with each new job you need to make more money to be successful, even though you could life on less.’ I couldn’t agree with her more!
We as American’s are told we can’t be happy without new shiny cars, new clothes, new kitchens with granite counter-tops, we need bigger and better! Not true. We need to minimalize our lives and our lives will be richer and more fulfilled. We will me more grateful for the things we have and for our family and friends.
I need to end here, baby woke up from nap. Blessings to you all!!!