Living, Whether In Debt Or Debt Free

This post was originally written as a guest post for Mrs. Micah. It seems fitting to post now, as I am on vacation, living it up and enjoying my summer with family. I think one of the most important reminders I can give myself and my family is that although we are debt-free, but we have our own financial limitations, we can still try to focus our goals on making sure that we are able to live life to the fullest. I hope you enjoy the post while picturing me swimming with my kiddos and soaking up the summer sun And don’t forget to go visit Mrs. Micah when you are done reading here!

I know a lot of people talk about the day when they are debt free and financially secure that they can finally fulfill their real dreams and follow their true passions in life. I agree with this, to an extent.

I wholeheartedly believe that one of the most sound financial decisions a person can make is to become debt free and then put as much money toward saving for the future and security as they can.

But I also believe that we are only young once, we only get one life, and we can’t let our entire life be consumed by finances. I believe every person, no matter what their financial status, needs to make room in their budget today for following what they are passionate about.

You may say you can’t afford to. I say you can’t afford not to. Not only does it make it harder to keep at the goal of debt reduction and ultimately elimination of the goal of enough money in the bank to retire at 50 to a tropical island. What if that day doesn’t come?

Life is still happening. You are still a person with a passions and dreams that need to be attended to. Whether it is setting aside a small amount each week in the budget so you can scrapbook or spending one month of overpayments to your debt to fly to Boston to run the marathon, it’s okay to let yourself do something that means a lot to you.

As much as we don’t like to admit it, we just don’t know what tomorrow brings. You can still plan and have outlined how you’d like things to go for your financial future but the reality is none of us know what tomorrow holds.

You have to also live for today. If you dream of something that really gets you excited, you love having it part of your life, just do it. You don’t have to be frivilous and I’m not suggesting your bills go unpaid to live a life of grandeur because that is your passion. I am talking about loving yourself enough to do what means a lot to you.

I’m saying that today you deserve to fulfill your dream and do something that makes you happy. You really do.