FINDING JOY IN THE PURSUIT OF FINANCIAL FREEDOM
I am not a financial professional. I’m interested in finance and better understanding managing my own money but I’m not a financial advisor. So why would just an average girl start a finance website? What makes me think that my experiences can help others? It’s really quite simple, because my experience is relatable.
My story is your story. Many of you are right where I am now or have been over the past 15 years. Trying to work your way out of debt, learning to handle your finances for the first time, and hopefully beginning to build your savings.
My financial struggles and lessons learned
I’ve talked about my story many times in the past. Over the years I have shared bits of my life story so that others understand where I am coming from. So much has changed over the years in my financial situation. Painful yet helpful lessons have been learned through poor financial choices. Eventually I have gained wisdom through these experiences but not without consequences.
Lessons that I learned about my finances?
Controlling your expenses and creating a budget are critical to managing your finances.
Debt is not always bad but living with massive debt is a huge struggle to ever get ahead. Certain debts can be a part of a normal budget such as home mortgage or car loan but excessive credit card and loan debt can be overwhelming and hard to get out from under. Trust me!
Interest rates make a huge difference in the amount you will end up paying for a item over the years.
Student loan debt is a burden that many of us carry and few of us understood when we entered into the loan agreement.
Saving money can happen in smaller increments when you are feeling overwhelmed financially. Having a savings account may seem impossible when you are deep in debt but it’s not. It just might be the one thing that actually helps you to finally get out of debt. Every dollar saved that is not touched will build on itself and soon you will be pleasantly surprised by the results of those small deposits.
You can improve your credit score. Pay your debts on time, consistently and start slowly paying down debt. Increasing your score won’t happen fast but someday you may be able to look back and see results.
Why I share my financial journey
I chose to share my journey and what I learned along the way to hopefully help others. If you have followed my blog for long you can see that both encouraging joy and frugal living are important to me. Why are they important? Because at times in my life nothing else would have gotten me through.
I have been through periods where I could not afford food, could not make my bills and could not see any way out of my situation. The only choice I had was to seek joy in my circumstances and to find ways to survive with little to no money.
Life is not always easy especially when your debt and expenses outweigh your paycheck each week. That is why with my website I try to bring you joy, encouragement and ideas to help you save more money in various situations in life.
Our present financial situation
Currently we are working to pay down our remaining debt. We have one personal loan that includes the last of my credit card debt. Due to our credit scores of over 800, we were able to get a much better rate to payoff my remaining cards. We also have a car loan and my student loans that total just over $70k. We are not out of debt yet but through consistency and hard work we are getting closer than we have ever been.
Saving, investing and retirement savings are also becoming a focus as we are getting to a better place financially. If you asked me years ago if I thought I would ever see a day where I actually had savings and no credit card debt the answer would have been no. I have however reached a time I my life where the only credit card I use gets paid off weekly. The only reason it is used is for the cash back benefits that help us save more money.
Saving Joyfully featured recently
SavingJoyfully.com was recently featured on a podcast called Optimal finance daily. The podcast reads my articles to share my writing and promotes my website to their audience.
You can check the podcast out here.
My journey as a finance blogger
In the past three years since I started Saving Joyfully I have learned so much. My content and writing have drastically changed, I’ve learned so much through the experience of blogging and have had some cool opportunities.
I was also blessed to have a previous article and experience mentioned by a friend in an article that was shared on MSN Money. I have linked to the article below.
Tired of penny pinching these 13 steps could change your life
The article that was mentioned is an article I wrote while dealing with the loss of a job in 2018. If you are dealing with job loss just know that you are not alone and you will get through this. Here are the links to two articles I wrote during this difficult time the first one was written when I found I would be losing my job and the second was written a few weeks later when I was blessed to be accepted back at a previous job. You never know when going backwards might actually be an opportunity to move forward in disguise.
The first article dealing with the loss of a job
The second article why I decided to return to a job I left
Where I am today in 2020
As I write this article our finances are better than they have ever been. Not perfect by any means but seeing great improvement. My husband has accepted a new position with a company with a decent pay raise starting in November. I am still employed with the company I have worked at for 17 years and have been blessed to now work from home permanently. Working from home is providing more opportunities to save money on gas costs, the temptation to not pack my lunch and eat at home has been removed and overall it’s been a financial win.
SavingJoyfully.com is also growing and is starting to lead to some great growth and financial opportunities. Today I can say I feel blessed and I’m honored to be able to continue to write and share what I do every week with you.
Thank you for your support
Thank you for continuing to support me and what I do. I pray that you all begin to find more joy and financial wins in the coming year. I plan to play a part in helping you to reach those financial goals along the way. You can always count on me to keep encouraging you to seek joy in your present financial situation.
Remember this friends....Life is not all about money. It’s about choosing to live joyfully everyday and make a difference in the lives of others. Keep seeking and spreading joy because that is what we all need right now.
