Later this year will mark 7 (SEVEN) years of blogging. That’s like going to high school twice through.
That’s almost as much time as I spent at my last government position in recruiting – which, by the way, I absolutely loved. I love the Army – both as a Soldier AND as a Dept. of the Army Civilian – it’s such a great career option for kids… and was an option I think both of us would be willing to do again (in fact, one of us still serves!)
7 years is almost half of my marriage!
It’s pretty safe to tell you that I’m passionate about several things – perhaps not all in this order, but nonetheless – Money, my Health, (and the health of my family), and good (REAL) food.
Nothing else gets me fired up as much as those three topics. It’s hard for me to think about anything outside those topics, but for me, those three pair up nicely. At this point I think it’s somewhat safe to say that some of you are interested in reading about these topics, or I wouldn’t still be here – right?
Thanks for being here and coming back to read.
This past 7 years I have learned quite a bit about blogging – life, and even money, even food. I was up late last night thinking about the things that I have learned, and I figured I’d share – because it may strike a chord with someone else out there who’s in the same shoes.
#1 – Money itself does not change
Over the last few years, perhaps you have made more… some of you perhaps earning less (hopefully not?)… our economy has changed – unemployment has also changed too. We’re getting ready to enter a new term with a new president so I’m sure it will change even more.
Money itself hasn’t changed – the habit of saving, thriftiness, and the art of saving are still the same. Living on less than you make is still very prevalent. .. and does not involve deprivation – but instead, it involves your ability to say no to things you know you really can’t afford, and things that perhaps aren’t necessities.
It’s hard, but so worth it.
#2 – Self Employment – Can be Just as Aggravating as it can be Amazing
Working from home has its perks – it’s great to be able to make your own schedule. Work in the comfort of your pajamas… .. and change out a load of laundry at the top of the hour.
But, it also has it’s disadvantages to. If I had a nickel for everyone that told me “how easy it must be to work at home with the kids” – I’d be a rich woman. Or, entertaining comments to the extent of “well, don’t you ‘just’ stay at home?”
Working at home with kids has it’s challenges. Working at home as a parent in general has people convinced that it’s not a real “job” but a hobby. Anything that takes up that much time per week isn’t really a hobby – is your Full Time job a hobby? I don’t think so.
Working at home and making your own hours may seem fun to most – but it’s not fun when you find yourself doing 70, 80 or 90 hour weeks, and pulling all nighters, 7 days a week (after all…. you know that nobody else will do it!) It’s not enjoyable to have that obligation when your children are home on Spring or Summer Break, or when family is here from out of state, and you are feverishly trying to multi-task on 8 things at once, and help them understand why you can’t spend all day at the Zoo (or, movies!)
Owning your own business is rewarding – but it’s also taxing too. After being on both sides of the fence, I have a greater appreciation for small business owners, just as much as I do for traditional employers. I’m thankful we have that freedom to do that here in the U.S., others may not have the same opportunity.
#3 – It’s not about the Money but the Time
Being a small business owner can be incredibly challenging in the sense where you feel like you MUST work, ALL the time, in order to DO the best, BE the best and sometimes, just to prove that you can stand the test. You take on more projects, more hours, more products, etc. — in the end, sometimes it’s not so much about being the best for yourself or for profits, but making time.
Working for yourself can sometimes lead people to spend even LESS time with those they love, in comparison to working a regular job. It’s important to set limits, and cut off at a specific time. Make time for those in your family so that they don’t always see you glued to a computer/phone… you do need to put in extra time (more so than a regular job) but you also need to be more diligent about knowing when to cut that off, too.
Others will never care about the time you don’t spend with your family so at some point you have to disregard what doesn’t personally benefit YOU and make your own decision in the end.
#4 – Your Personal Challenges with Money are Due in Part to Habits
Habits are the reason you are where you are now. Want to save money? Then stop spending. It’s really very common sense. Every time you run into ANY store you risk spending money. Even if you are saving with coupons… wandering store aisles is probably the worst way to cure boredom – especially if you are trying to save.
In order to move forward on your financial quest to get better (out of debt, saving for retirement or even saving for an emergency fund) it requires YOU to change your habits.
I love this quote.. because it’s monumental.
#5 – Your Goals will Change Over Time
One thing that is clearly evident as the years fly by (because they honestly are…) is that your goals will shift each year. Seven years ago, JUST after having child 2 (and starting this blog), my personal goals were entirely different than what they are now.
Then again I didn’t have 4 kids + 1 more coming and my entire mentality was different.
- 2009: I wanted to be more productive about the money we were earning.
- In 2010: I had tunnel vision to get out of debt – pay off all of our consumer debt, student loans included. Family said it couldn’t be done, after all, most people have their student loans for years. If not lifetime. Anyways.. if we would have listened to them we’d probably be in the same place they still are. ;)
- In 2011: With a husband who was deployed to Iraq, my goal was surviving with my 2 children and keeping that tunnel vision to help pay off as much as we could with that deployment income.
- In 2012: Baby 3 joined us, and surviving at that point was a little different. .. my goal was to find a greater balance between work and family so I could master both… yet still finish paying off the debt we held on to – we were almost done.
- In 2013: It was about maximizing our contributions to our College Funds for our children – we were in the home stretch of paying off debt .. and although we never stopped contributing to our child’s college funds, we did want to give them a boost after we had some extra income.
- In 2014: It was more about living and spending time with the family and learning how to be more productive in less time… while also learning how to better take care of ourselves and our health.. We now had 4 kids and at their young age they needed both of us more than anything.
- In 2015: It was about learning how to be more self sufficient – cutting our relationship with stuff, focusing on self reliance. Re-energizing our relationship with real food, eliminating our dependency on traditional stores and learning how to support our local business that cared more about our health than the grocery store does.
- In 2016: It’s all about the family.
Focus on what is important in your life at the time – things will always change based on your circumstances. And realize that time really DOES fly by – in terms of your finances, procrastination can cost you dearly. Make that time with your family, and even more, set aside that time every month to review your finances – from Life Insurance to Budget, to Retirement and College Funds.
Your finances should never be on auto-pilot… that monthly session with you and the pen or, you, the pen and your spouse are a requirement to know where you are going.