Money

Money is an amazing thing, we all know that no matter how much we have it isn't enough. We grow into our salaries, we get better cars, bigger houses, which in turn requires bigger payments and more maintenance. Our kids are spoiled (because we want to give them things), they have the latest and greatest of everything, a car, college...Yikes! I just seem to have a vacuum hose attached to my bank account, can you hear that sucking sound? The cycle is frustrating. I don't even have credit card debt, thankfully. We made a point of avoiding that pitfall. 

I was thinking back to some of the best times in our lives. We lived in VA on Fort Monroe with some of our best friends very near. We lived in tiny townhouses built in the 50's with two bedrooms, one bathroom ( it was upstairs...it had peach and black tile, ew). Our washer and dryer were in the kitchen and had to do dual duty as counters because we didn't have any. The guys would go off to work and we'd run from one house to the other drinking coffee, kids playing. We'd hang out and gab, then, about an hour before the guys came home, we'd all run home, make dinner, and clean up our little houses so it didn't look like we did nothing all day. Some nights we'd go have hash brown casserole and play board games at someone else's house, or we'd BBQ outside and all hangout in our back yards. It was awesome. It also required no money, because we didn't have it. The guys had no rank still, so you paid bills, bought food, and figured out how you were going to entertain each other. There was no pressure because it just was what it was. We were happy! 

I'm not saying I'm not happy now, but just thinking it might be time to get back to the basics. It's amazing how resourceful you become when you have to be. I saw an article about a woman who decided that she was going to go a whole year without unnecessary spending. They calculated their basic  bills and gave themselves a small set amount over for spending (clearly no money is not realistic). She said it was life changing, aside from saving TONS of money, they got to be great about finding free entertainment in their community. They also grew closer to their friends, who instead of meeting at restaurants or movies would meet at each other houses which lead to longer visits and more in depth conversations. It was a great article and made me think of our experience at Fort Monroe. 

I guess ultimately I have to decide, do I let money guide all my decisions, or do I guide my decisions about my money. I don't want it run me, anymore. I'm turning that vacuum off. I'm the human, I'm in charge! RAWR!!! 

Off to pay the bills now...

Until next time,

Julie