I'm in the process of adjusting my financial plan, so that I can change my situation.
The last couple of weeks have brought some new challenges to me personally and professionally.
Last week, I spent too much time reading a poorly written fantasy novel ($2.99 on Amazon
Hooray for wasted time.
My recent issues with the way things are going?prompted me to really look at the way I'm living my life. I'm a little tired of my situation, and ready to make some changes.
Unimportant Spending has Crept Up on Us
First of all, I realized that, as a family, we've let spending on unimportant things — things that don't really matter to us — creep up. So it's time to look at the old financial plan and get back to spending on the things we are most interested in, rather than items that hold mediocre interest to us. It's time to get back to the priorities.
Looking for New Challenges
The things I'm interested in professionally are changing. I'm looking for new challenges, and some of these challenges don't result in an immediate pay off. Yes, I have some trouble working on my own projects because I'm not paid immediately. In fact, there are weeks that I let this blog go for a little bit because it's much harder for me to write something I'm not receiving instant compensation for.
But I've looked at some of the things I?want to do (including this blog), and concluded that I do want time in my life for these projects that could pay off — in ways that go beyond “just” money — down the road. So I'm committed to making time for those projects, and adjusting the financial plan to fit that.
Some of the projects I'm looking at have nothing to do with the online world, either. I've got a couple of interesting opportunities to work in the community, and that appeals to me. I'm a little tired of being all work and no community involvement. Some aspects of what I do have become more of a job, and that's a bit demoralizing.
Changing the Financial Plan
I've talked to my husband, and he's on board with making some changes to the financial plan. We're not changing what we donate to charity, or what we contribute to retirement savings each month. What we are changing (again) is where we put our discretionary funds. We are looking at items that are most important to us, and changing things up a little bit so that we can both work on things that matter a little bit more.
What's really exciting is that he's decided that he's super-pumped to really start looking for full-time professor jobs that will pay him what he's worth.
We've both been kind of down in the dumps for a few months, but the new outlook has energized us both. We know that it will take a little adjustment to our spending while we get ready for what could be next (perhaps even a move!), and while we figure stuff out.
But in the end, it's more about being satisfied with our lifestyle than wearing ourselves out trying to make enough money to do things we don't really care about.
What do you think? Are you tired of your situation? Are you making changes? What are you doing?
We’ve found that changing our financial situation not only accomplishes just this, but also leads us to greater understanding of how we view the work and interact with it. Good luck!
Hello Miranda! I have been in your situation and this quote helped me a lot: “To succeed? You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” You are right, that at the end it is about being more satisfied with our lifestyle. I admire how strong you are in making a move to change your financial plan. Good luck.
A very common situation, I must say. It’s really difficult to manage such financial imbalance and it?s us who can adjust them with our lifestyle. A little bit of compromise and understanding can be a huge help. It?s true that satisfaction is what matters the most.