Luck
I feel like the luckiest girl ever.
I get to hang out with my kid all day. I'm studying for my dream job. Probably about 99% of the stress in my life disappeared almost overnight.
Then I remember that it's not just luck. I started thinking about the luck aspect when a (former) coworker told me "how lucky(!)" I was that I got to stay home with Oliver. It bugged me and, at first, I couldn't figure out why.
It was because luck didn't have a lot to do with it. I am able to stay at home with Oliver and live the life I have been dreaming of because of smart choices and sacrifices.
We only have one car. It's getting old now, but it's functional and we take good care of it. I love my car and hope that it lasts forever. I don't WANT a car payment, even if it means I could have a shiny new car.
We bought a condo instead of a house. I don't think it's small, but compared to the average house size, it's well below. We don't have a yard, but we spend a lot of time outside (mostly at the zoo... yay for annual passes!) and I LOVE my balcony with it's gorgeous sunset views over the mountains. It wasn't in my DREAM location, but it's close to Marc's work, so he has nearly no commute (meaning we see him more often), and when I really think about it, anywhere within 30 minutes north/east of Seattle is my dream location.
We don't eat out anymore. Well, rarely, but mostly we just don't. I have been batch cooking. It saves a ton of money, we eat fresh, and it means I do most of my cooking 1-2 days a week. Win, win, win.
Shopping. We don't really do that anymore either. Gone are my days of random impulse shopping, stopping off at one of my favorite stores after work (I'll miss you, Michaels!). But I actually LOVE it. My new shopping philosophy fits in perfectly with the KonMari method (which I still need to finish!) AND with our new budget. We don't buy crap. We save and research and we have been really focusing on making sure that we only bring in quality items that will last a long time and spark joy. I don't stop at Michaels anymore, but I did keep my subscription to The Planner Society kits. Christy's beautiful kits spark SO. MUCH. JOY and have enough goodies to keep me planning and creating for way more than a month. PLUS, I have tons and tons and tons of planner and paper goodies stockpiled from the shopping trips I used to justify with coupons!
Basically, we try not to spend money outside of our monthly bills. We buy smart. We save money. We don't purchase what we can't afford. Luck didn't get me here. I did.
Today's post brought to you by parentheses.
I get to hang out with my kid all day. I'm studying for my dream job. Probably about 99% of the stress in my life disappeared almost overnight.
Then I remember that it's not just luck. I started thinking about the luck aspect when a (former) coworker told me "how lucky(!)" I was that I got to stay home with Oliver. It bugged me and, at first, I couldn't figure out why.
It was because luck didn't have a lot to do with it. I am able to stay at home with Oliver and live the life I have been dreaming of because of smart choices and sacrifices.
We only have one car. It's getting old now, but it's functional and we take good care of it. I love my car and hope that it lasts forever. I don't WANT a car payment, even if it means I could have a shiny new car.
We bought a condo instead of a house. I don't think it's small, but compared to the average house size, it's well below. We don't have a yard, but we spend a lot of time outside (mostly at the zoo... yay for annual passes!) and I LOVE my balcony with it's gorgeous sunset views over the mountains. It wasn't in my DREAM location, but it's close to Marc's work, so he has nearly no commute (meaning we see him more often), and when I really think about it, anywhere within 30 minutes north/east of Seattle is my dream location.
We don't eat out anymore. Well, rarely, but mostly we just don't. I have been batch cooking. It saves a ton of money, we eat fresh, and it means I do most of my cooking 1-2 days a week. Win, win, win.
Shopping. We don't really do that anymore either. Gone are my days of random impulse shopping, stopping off at one of my favorite stores after work (I'll miss you, Michaels!). But I actually LOVE it. My new shopping philosophy fits in perfectly with the KonMari method (which I still need to finish!) AND with our new budget. We don't buy crap. We save and research and we have been really focusing on making sure that we only bring in quality items that will last a long time and spark joy. I don't stop at Michaels anymore, but I did keep my subscription to The Planner Society kits. Christy's beautiful kits spark SO. MUCH. JOY and have enough goodies to keep me planning and creating for way more than a month. PLUS, I have tons and tons and tons of planner and paper goodies stockpiled from the shopping trips I used to justify with coupons!
Basically, we try not to spend money outside of our monthly bills. We buy smart. We save money. We don't purchase what we can't afford. Luck didn't get me here. I did.
Today's post brought to you by parentheses.
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