Update on the February Spending Freeze:
Today I have not spent a penny. The End......
~LOL~
No real challenges today. So I thought I would write about how we got to this point. And explain why we are doing a spending freeze. I have gone back and forth about discussing this because it's kind of personal. Our failures and even our successes with money and finances can be a touchy subject. But, I figure there are a lot of people out there going through some of the same things that we are and they could probably relate to our story.
When Joel and I got married we were both working and doing ok. We paid cash for our wedding/vowel renewal which cost about $12,000. Not counting the things our family contributed such as the church, the DJ and the Tahitian dancers( yea we had an awesome reception!). I was determined not to go into debt for a one day party for 200 people. Its the marriage that is the important thing not so much the wedding. I was very ambitious at this time of my life. I had just gotten a good job and I knew there was potential to make good money. I started out making about $30k per year and when I left 5 years later I had doubled that and was making $60k. Not counting the spiff money, electronics and trips that I won. Including a trip to New Orleans and Chicago. During this time we paid off both our cars. I cleaned up my credit and we bought our first house. But I was totally stressed out. Besides a wedding and a new home we had a new baby, Leo. And of course with a new baby comes sleep deprivation. But, the topper was my oldest son Craig was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Also known as Juvenile Diabetes. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes that can be controlled with pills, diet and exercise, Type 1 is a life sentence where he will have to take Insulin shots daily to stay alive. We had no idea he had it, had no idea what the signs were and he ended up in ICU for a few days when his body started shutting down. I was overwhelmed with guilt. Looking back I can see that I was kind of a mess. I had horrible acne, my hair was falling out, I had a semi-permanent twitch in my eye. I was overweight. I ended up in the hospital with a panic/anxiety attack once. And I had two miscarriages. I needed to make a change.
When I left that really good job after five years I went to work in the Real Estate industry. First I did mortgage loans part time so that I could spend more time at home. But, mortgage loans weren't really my thing. After about one year of working part time and struggling financially I decided that my break was over and my ambitious nature had come back. Then I went to work for a new home builder. I started working for that builder in 2004 right when the market was starting to take off like a rocket! We were selling 10 homes a month. We had a waiting list. The builder could not keep up with the demand.My partner and I were Sales Team in our district two years in a row. I am kind of embarrassed to say that in 2005, 2006 and 2007 I made over 6 figures each year. We bought a bigger house. Joel quit his job that he had been at for over 10 years. We invested in a couple of rental properties and Joel took care of them. I thought we were set. We had a lot of money in savings. Then we had our daughter Annabelle. I had went back to work after Annie was born. I still remember sitting in the bathroom of one of the models and using my breast pump. It would make me so sad that I wasn't with her. A few months later my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The market was starting to take a dip and I decided I better get out now, before things got really bad. I figured we had enough in savings to last a while and I wanted to spend time with my mom and my new baby girl. And this is where the back slide starts... to be continued....
Today I have not spent a penny. The End......
~LOL~
No real challenges today. So I thought I would write about how we got to this point. And explain why we are doing a spending freeze. I have gone back and forth about discussing this because it's kind of personal. Our failures and even our successes with money and finances can be a touchy subject. But, I figure there are a lot of people out there going through some of the same things that we are and they could probably relate to our story.
When Joel and I got married we were both working and doing ok. We paid cash for our wedding/vowel renewal which cost about $12,000. Not counting the things our family contributed such as the church, the DJ and the Tahitian dancers( yea we had an awesome reception!). I was determined not to go into debt for a one day party for 200 people. Its the marriage that is the important thing not so much the wedding. I was very ambitious at this time of my life. I had just gotten a good job and I knew there was potential to make good money. I started out making about $30k per year and when I left 5 years later I had doubled that and was making $60k. Not counting the spiff money, electronics and trips that I won. Including a trip to New Orleans and Chicago. During this time we paid off both our cars. I cleaned up my credit and we bought our first house. But I was totally stressed out. Besides a wedding and a new home we had a new baby, Leo. And of course with a new baby comes sleep deprivation. But, the topper was my oldest son Craig was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Also known as Juvenile Diabetes. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes that can be controlled with pills, diet and exercise, Type 1 is a life sentence where he will have to take Insulin shots daily to stay alive. We had no idea he had it, had no idea what the signs were and he ended up in ICU for a few days when his body started shutting down. I was overwhelmed with guilt. Looking back I can see that I was kind of a mess. I had horrible acne, my hair was falling out, I had a semi-permanent twitch in my eye. I was overweight. I ended up in the hospital with a panic/anxiety attack once. And I had two miscarriages. I needed to make a change.
When I left that really good job after five years I went to work in the Real Estate industry. First I did mortgage loans part time so that I could spend more time at home. But, mortgage loans weren't really my thing. After about one year of working part time and struggling financially I decided that my break was over and my ambitious nature had come back. Then I went to work for a new home builder. I started working for that builder in 2004 right when the market was starting to take off like a rocket! We were selling 10 homes a month. We had a waiting list. The builder could not keep up with the demand.My partner and I were Sales Team in our district two years in a row. I am kind of embarrassed to say that in 2005, 2006 and 2007 I made over 6 figures each year. We bought a bigger house. Joel quit his job that he had been at for over 10 years. We invested in a couple of rental properties and Joel took care of them. I thought we were set. We had a lot of money in savings. Then we had our daughter Annabelle. I had went back to work after Annie was born. I still remember sitting in the bathroom of one of the models and using my breast pump. It would make me so sad that I wasn't with her. A few months later my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The market was starting to take a dip and I decided I better get out now, before things got really bad. I figured we had enough in savings to last a while and I wanted to spend time with my mom and my new baby girl. And this is where the back slide starts... to be continued....
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