Shiny Things

If I had the opportunity to give the 20 year old me advice that would have changed the way I live for the better in my now 40 somethings… I would tell myself this.

Don’t be fascinated by other people’s glitter because it may not be your gold.

Say no to those credit cards they pushed down your throat when you were in the common gathering areas in college. along with not falling into the trap of comparison and insecurities seeing all the beautiful girls wearing the fancy clothes that made you question your value and had you go to those same retail stores and apply for those credit cards and max them out the same day so you felt you were worth something. Trust me you won’t find self worth in material things.

Don’t take out those extra students loans you don’t need because it will take you 20 years to pay them off and you find yourself rotating debt around to pay for itself.

If only I wasn’t so distracted by those shiny things. Ryan has always been the grounded one out of us. He has always been my checks and balances. He has been the one saying we need to chase financial freedom. I never really cared to ask more until about 4 years ago. I am now more so than ever very much aware of what things cost.

We don’t need brand new cars.. the best car hands down is one that is paid for.

I don’t wear fancy clothes.

We quite frankly are intentionally broke. Not even kidding on this and I couldn’t be more happier. The end goal is in sight.

We have been extremely focused on paying off debt and made a commitment that we won’t acquire new debt.. Had we of been on the same page 20 years ago we both would have been retiring and having the ability to work our dream job full time right now.

If you are reading this, there is no better time than now to start. We started to take the approach if we can’t pay for it we save for it and have not looked back since.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s tough to hear about people taking fancy trips and not want to splurge because we feel we deserve it. Or seeing the latest and greatest in things…but at the end of the day someone else’s situation is likely not your same situation or if they were anything like me back in the day it’s a smoking mirror.

I have learned that money doesn’t buy happiness.. it buys things. It is a short term high, then the regret sets in. Happiness doesn’t live in glitz and glitter.. it lives in grit and purpose. Don’t forget that. We found exactly that on this farm. Now we are living our dream nights and weekends. If only my younger self knew what was in store for my older self I would be sharing with you the full time dream..

If you are a young adult reading this.. trust me you will thank me when you are reaching your 40’s and not working that 9-5 because you lived well below your means and stacked your paper and retiring earlier than the rest of the people your age.

Moral of the story.,. Don’t be fooled by those shiny things or those who have them. The true gold is time, and as you get older it will make more sense. I mean that is after all how we truly pay for things if you really think about it.

✌🏼Jamie