The whole idea behind this blog is to why paying attention to your money is essential. Because, like it or not, money can and does positively (and negatively) affect our lives in a big way.
The differences in our own lives – between when Alan and I were deep in debt to today when we’re financially secure – are huge, to say the least.
This post contains some of the most impactful things that have changed in our lives since we took control of our money.
The most important Then and Now in this post is the last one. This is the one I regret not learning sooner. So if you read nothing else, read that one (and then let me know what you think!).
Then and Now: The differences financial security makes
Then: If we lost our sole source of income, we were just a couple of months from financial ruin.
Alan’s job was our only income. His IT job was relatively new to him and he was still building skills in the field (his degree was in Business, not IT). If he were laid off, finding another job with similar pay and benefits would have been challenging.
We had debt totaling close to $190,000 (including the mortgage), and it took every penny of his income to make ends meet. Also, we had very little savings, just started our family, and were sued in a frivolous lawsuit for a fender bender (think 5mph).
It stresses me out just to type this.
Now: We have multiple sources of income and the potential for even more.
Not only do we have Alan’s income, but I earn money freelancing. Also, though it’s not really income per se, we do receive money through investing too.
We’ve dabbled in many side hustles over the years and developed some mad skills that we could use to make money if we wanted or needed to. For instance, we’ve made money building and refinishing furniture, and we flipped a house. We aren’t opposed to doing those things (and more) to earn money in the future.
Then: We barely had enough savings to pay bills for one to two months.
We had a couple thousand in savings when we were at our lowest. And, I guess, it’s better than nothing, but when savings hardly pay the bills for one month, it’s scary.
Now: We have enough savings to cover well over a year of expenses.
We have enough savings in various accounts to cover our expenses for over a year (not including our retirement savings). This feels good. We don’t worry or stress about not being able to cover an emergency or job loss.
Then: We felt trapped by our mountain of debt.
Not only did we have a mortgage, but we had significant student loan debt, and a car loan to boot. This kept us stuck in debt payments with little room to save for other things.
Now: We still have debt, but don’t feel trapped by it (it’s a choice).
We still have a mortgage at a very low interest rate. Our housing costs are affordable, we have significant equity, and we could make changes to rid ourselves of the debt – either by selling and moving or using savings to pay it down. The point here is we still have debt, but we have multiple options so we can deal with it if and when we choose to do so. (This is something that’s on our radar – more in a future post.)
Then: Work was an absolute necessity then and in the foreseeable future.
We backed ourselves into a corner and the only route of escape was working. Of course, we were younger then, plus the idea of work being optional, even later in life, wasn’t even fathomable to us at that point.
Now: Work isn’t an absolute necessity for living, though we still need to earn some money.
We could both work part-time or side hustle and still be okay.
For a long time, the goal of “retirement” was the dream. Now that FI is on the horizon and work is becoming less of a necessity, we are re-thinking it. We now see work as a natural and necessary part of life. That is – meaningful work, work we love, work that provides value and helps others.
Then: Money controlled us.
Our debt and lack of savings dictated what we did with our time and money. It limited our choices and restricted our freedom.
Now: We control our money.
Money is a tool we use to live our lives. However, we decide to use it is our choice.
Then: We thought: “When we , then we will .” Always waiting for tomorrow.
We thought 40 was old and we had our whole lives ahead of us. We assumed we had all the time in the world. I mean, shit happens, but only to other people. We have plenty of time, right!?
Now: We want to live our lives today! Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
There is a new sense of urgency for us to live life right now with no regrets. Let me be clear that we haven’t gone all YOLO. It’s not about spending money. It’s about spending time doing the things we value – spending time with family and friends, doing work we love, spending our days in nature, and soaking up the goodness of every day.
Life happens and we have no idea what’s in store. The only thing we have is today. We need to make it count. 🙂
What are your thoughts, friends? How has money affected your life? What valuable lessons do you wish you would have learned years ago?
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