fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Browsing posts in: Emergency Fund

Increasing Our Liquidity and Settling Into Our Home

by

Increasing our liquidity

First off, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Today my partner and I kept it really low-key. I decided to opt out of Thanksgiving this year to avoid all the hassle and expense of cooking a big feast. We didn’t make a special grocery trip for the holiday so we didn’t have to fight the crowds. We were still able to make stuffing and potatoes au gratin with ingredients we already had on hand, so we felt like we got a taste of Thanksgiving. I’d love to hear what you did today down in the comments. 

I also wanted to thank everyone for the feedback on my last post! It was encouraging to hear that I’m going down the right path. It certainly feels like I’ve made progress, but it’s nice to have that feeling validated by others. I wasn’t able to provide all the updates I wanted to in the last post, so I thought I’d share a few more now. 

Feeling Settled in Our Home

A few months ago I was contemplating the idea of moving to a less rural area. Since I was feeling unsettled in my career, I thought moving to a more populated place would provide more job options. 

However, my spouse and I are happy with our home, the cost of living, and the unparalleled access to nature we have here. There would have to be a concrete reason to move, and there definitely isn’t. The vague notion that I might be able to get a “better” job is not a good reason to pack up our entire life, sell our house, and incur all the expenses of moving. 

Again, I think the whole idea of moving was anxiety and ADHD talking, but I just could not see that at the time. Anxiety makes it hard to think in a clearheaded way, so I couldn’t tell that moving was a half-baked idea. We’d have to make a lot more money to make up for the difference in cost of living if we moved to a populated area, and I had no real plan for how we were going to do that. 

Following Through on Liquid Savings

Another thing I’ve been able to follow through on since getting treatment is increasing our liquid savings. We’ve been reducing our mortgage overpayments and stashing more cash in our high-yield savings account instead. Between decreasing our mortgage overpayments and saving my spouse’s bonuses, so far we’ve increased our savings by around $5,000.

This has definitely made me feel more comfortable and secure. I’m not worried at all about replacing our car when the time comes. We still want to pay off our mortgage and are working toward that, but recognize that liquidity is important too. I feel like we’re striking the right balance now. 

Easier to Exercise Willpower

Before I got on medication, I felt like I needed the forced savings aspect of sending more money to our mortgage. I was always worried that keeping too much cash on hand would make me feel “flush” and able to afford impulse buys. But now I feel confident that I won’t be tempted to spend any of the money in our savings account, so we can pad it more. 

I wasn’t ever spending recklessly or making tons of purchases. However, I spent a lot of time and energy trying to fight temptations. Exercising willpower feels much easier now. Today a Black Friday deal caught my eye, and I was easily able to put it out of my head because I don’t need it. Before I might’ve spent hours thinking about it and agonizing over whether or not I wanted it obsessively. It definitely felt like a win to be able to move on so quickly. 

Overall, I’m feeling less restless and anxious and more settled and content. I’m hoping that these changes in my mental health will allow me to keep making financial decisions that will set us up well for the future.

Read More 

Selling the House?

The Unexpected Costs of Moving

Oh Dear, We Hit a Deer

Is Divorce Draining You? Use These Tips to Revive Yourself!

by

A divorce doesn’t have to take away the sunshine from your life and leave you drained and discontent. That’s because there are ways in which you can revive yourself while going through a divorce and emerge at the end of the process healthy and happy. If you have no idea about how to get through a divorce without losing your spark, read on to see some of the ways in which you can find the brighter side without necessarily having to spend a lot of money.

Maintain a Healthy Routine

The first thing that you should do is to come up with a healthy routine and maintain it. This should be one that involves healthy habits such as sleeping and waking up at the same time every day. When you do this, it may be easier for you to keep up with the rest of the activities that you have planned out, and you may also be able to keep time a lot better as a result. This includes spending time with your child if you have one. On this note, keep in mind that in PA, if a child has to travel over one hour between their parent’s homes after one parent moves, this move is said to be a relocation.

Be Present When Spending Time with Your Child

If you have a child, you can also add meaning to your life by making sure that you’re present whenever you spend time with them. This is an important detail to keep in mind because you can draw fulfillment from maintaining a happy and healthy life with your child. Be patient with them and validate their feelings so that they feel safe and happy while they’re with you, keeping in mind facts such as that 15% of children still wet the bed at five years of age. By spending time with your child and teaching them how they can be the best version of themselves, you can expect to have a richer life in the end.

Find a Healthy Hobby to Spend Time Doing

If you don’t have any hobbies, this is the right time for you to find some. These should ideally be healthy hobbies that can improve your health and help you to relax mentally. Something that you may want to try along these lines is golf, which can help you get active and also give you a reason to spend time outdoors with people whose company you likely enjoy. While walking or driving through the course, you could learn about facts such as that motorized golf carts first started to appear on golf courses in the 1940s, according to GolfLink. This and general conversation can take your mind off the issues that you may be having and improve your mood considerably.

Surround Yourself With Supportive People

Last but not least, identify supportive people with whom you can surround yourself. Spend time in their company, and you may find that your life develops new meaning. Whether you’re meeting friends for brunch or going out to a hangout area with family or even talking on the phone to someone you hold near and dear, there are a number of things that you can do. As long as you don’t feel alone or end up in situations where you feel judged, you’re sure to have a much better outcome in the end.

These tips can help you regain your happiness and enjoy a much better life after going through a divorce. As long as you don’t lose sight of yourself, you can bounce back happier and healthier than ever. Remember that the most important thing may be finding meaning in life and learning to be fulfilled by yourself. This way, you can improve your perspective and have a lot more to share with those who spend time with you.