We’ve all been there: bills are due, things around the house keep breaking, a child gets sick, we of course need to eat, and basically the expenses just don’t stop rolling in.
I would say our “low” point was right after our first daughter was born (this was about four years ago). I had quit my full-time job when she was born and was just starting to break into freelancing. My husband was working for himself in construction and remodeling. We had just gotten back from a week-long family reunion (that my parents so graciously paid for or else we would not have been there) which meant my husband missed an entire week of work. We had savings, but for a few months, we were forced to make so many withdrawals that we were practically down to nothing.
I hated that feeling. Every day I woke up with a pit in my stomach. We lived in a very, very modest house (we purchased our first home for less than $150K), we ate pasta with sauteed onions for dinner multiple times per week, we didn’t go out to eat, and we by no means went shopping for fun. We were on a super tight budget, and even then we were still just scraping by.
Can anyone else relate to this?
Stressing about money sucks, period. And heck, I’ll say it, being on a tight budget sucks, too!
Fast-forward four years later (now), and we’ve completely changed our situation. I can honestly say that I haven’t been stressed about money (in that sense) in a while, and it feels incredible. I’m sleeping better, I’m happier and have a healthier outlook on life, my relationship with my husband is better than ever, and I’m truly enjoying life.
Want to know what I did to stop stressing about money? Grab a cup of coffee, this one’s a long one…
