One of the first thing that Crystal dives into is that Financial Freedom doesn't look the same to everyone. The first chapter, First Steps to Financial Freedom, starts out explaining what financial freedom looks like for her and also helps you to dig deep and find out what it means to you.
"We used what we had, wore a lot of hand-me-downs , drove used cars, and learned a lot about contentment in the process." (pp 2-3)
That quote really spoke to me. When I was growing up my brother and I didn't want for a lot of things. I am so grateful to my parents for working so hard in order for my brother and I to have whatever we needed, and continue to do so for my children. However, that being said, we also didn't see the struggles that my parents did go through, because all of their hard work was most often kept behind the scenes. I continue to guard my children from our struggles, however our struggles are much greater than my parents were, because we have not been financial responsible. Because I never had to want for anything in my childhood I have continued that need into adulthood, even if it meant using credit cards, an equity line, and even my husbands retirement. So, contentment is something that I have never really felt and is something I desperately want to work on achieving.
"We celebrated when we moved into our new house, not only because we finally had a house with the many conveniences we had missed, but because my parents had fulfilled their dream of building a house debt-free." (pp 5)
A long term goal is not something that my husband and I have really sat down and discussed at any time in our marriage. We have had goals; buy a house, have children, get a new car, but nothing that we have saved for, nothing that we had to really have a plan for...it's always been more fly by the seat of our pants. We've never sat down and said, "What is our dream?"
"This, my friends, is the heartbeat of financial freedom. It's being in the place where you can be intentional with your money." (pp 7)
We are anything but intentional with our money. I've tried to budget, I've tried to assign each dollar a job. So far it hasn't stuck.
"I want you to take some time to stop and consider where you are right now and what financial freedom might look like for you." (pp 12)
This is a hard thing for me. Right now we are literally living paycheck to paycheck. I'm not working, we decided last year that I needed to stay home so that our kids could have a more stable after school routine, especially since my son was recently diagnosed with Asperger's. So, financial freedom to me would be not living paycheck to paycheck and not having to say no to my kids when they want to go and do something fun. I think it sounds so petty though. I feel like my financial freedom should look more giving. It is what it is though, right? This is what it looks like for me right now and it could change; after all life is fluid and every changing right?
"You have to believe that you can stand on your own two feet and live in financial freedom. You have to believe that there are options out there that will work, regardless of your particular season of life or unique circumstances. You have to believe in your vision then make positive changes that help propel you and that vision forward." (pp 13)
What a great quote to leave you with. You have to think that you can do it. You are the only one that can make things happen in your life. I struggle with this, but I am determined. I will make my own difference in my life and you can too.
If you made it to the end of this post, thank you! My future posts for the book probably won't be this long, but I wanted to give you background on me and what this book means to me. I would love to hear what you thought of the first chapter of the book. If you would like to read my future posts make sure that you follow me.
No comments:
Post a Comment