Enjoy the Dance

Hard work and determination are the keys to success. If you want something in life, you have to work for it. Period. There is no other way. There is nothing free in life and if you think you’re getting something free, you better look for the strings…

To be perfectly honest, I don’t want anything free anyway - unless it's buy one get one free- then bring it on!! LOL!!)....Anyway, I want the glory of hard work attached to the triumph. I thrive on that feeling!

Jason and I have struggled financially for years and we’re finally in a good place! We have worked extremely hard to get here and it feels really good.

Our financial struggles started before we got married. A series of events chained together to create a really bad situation for us.  I can’t say that we weren't at fault, because we made decisions that got us to that point, but I can definitely say it was truly another person’s actions that led us down the path we were on. And, we wish every day that we didn’t follow it! Long story short: a bad roommate caused our financial strain before our wedding and that snowballed out of control. Our financial decisions from that point on were not the best. We should have made different choices and we didn't.

But, we owned it. It was our fault. We made the decision for him to move in with us (the living situation was a bad move too, but again, we made that choice). We also didn’t change our budgets to reflect what was really happening. Truly, had he paid his way- we would've been fine. But, he wasn’t and it was our job to fix that. So, live and learn.

We had another battle with our finances about 18-20 months into our marriage. The economy was tanking and the gas prices were outrageous- we drove big vehicles that were about $100.00 each to fill up at that point. When the company I worked for started having troubles, my job outlook began to dim. I realized that I needed to find a new job, one where I had upward movement available to me. We decided to make the change at that point and not look back. We moved in with my grandparents, paid off some of our debt and began changing our budget. We knew that we needed to really cut back. Soon after, I laid myself off. Thankfully, I found a subbing position within a few weeks and a few months later that turned into contract. But, it was a big pay cut. Once again, hard work and determination paid off and we were in much better shape in less than 2 years and we were able to move out on our own again, and afford it!

As my lost post points out, within 18 months of getting out on our own again, we had gotten ourselves to a good place in our finances where we were actually able to buy a house. Also, we had learned a lesson: things need to change when you’re not comfortable. If we are using credit to survive, our budget isn’t working for us. Scale back. Work harder and cut things out. Now, we save for things. We understand that instant gratification only lasts for a little while…sometimes waiting for something and the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment you have when you receive it feels WAY better, especially if it takes a long time...victory is much sweeter when it’s earned!

There is always a lesson in every experience in life. You just have to search for it. I am the first person to admit sometimes life really sucks and no matter how hard you work, sometimes you just don’t get what you want. Life truly is a “cha-cha”, sometimes you take a few steps forward and another back. But, so what? It’ll make the end result so much more.

Xoxo-Ladylewy