The road I've traveled

In order to understand where I am going, you first have to know where I've been.  This journey to a more simple and fulfilling life did not come about overnight.  Instead, it has been a process of determining what is most important and getting rid of the "junk" in my life.

Almost two years ago we had just moved to Florida.  I hadn't even been there but a month, when I was struck by a drunk driver while walking down the road.  Two surgeries later, I am fortunate enough to only have minimal permanent injuries.  My husband says there were changes in my personality after that.  I'm sure there were.  I learned firsthand, just how quickly life can change and that I could have been taken away from my family in a matter of seconds.  Ever since then, I've made sure to fully appreciate each day, even the ones that weren't so good.

In December 2010, we learned that our house in Illinois had caught fire.  Fortunately, our renters did not experience any injuries, but it was another reminder of how fragile life really is.  At this time, we were forced to make some decisions and after careful consideration we determined that it would be best to re-do the house and move back.  

When I left Florida, I loved my life there.  I had a good job and had just been approached about a potential promotion within my company that would increase my salary $12,000 a year.  I won't deny that it wasn't tempting.  Still, I felt I had more to gain by coming home.  I had always missed my family and friends here.  

Once we were back, I was nieve in thinking that I would easily find a job.  After all, I had been a nurse for 18 years, and 15 of those were in management.  I assumed that my biggest challenge would be choosing which position I wanted the most. The reality however, was that the only position I could find was part-time (3 days a week) on the midnight shift.  I am still there 10 months later.  This change in employment resulted in a $22,000 annual pay cut for me alone, not counting the salary increase I would have received with the promotion.  I can't tell you how scary that was.  My husband fortunately has a long history in construction so he had some options as far as work went. Yet even that has been limited.

What started out as a necessity in determining what we would do, ended up becoming a choice.  We began educating on ways to spend less money and evaluating our needs versus wants.  Throughout the process we've not only learned a lot about ourselves and doing things differently, we've also discovered that we are happier.  Much happier.

It has now been one year this month, that we moved back to Illinois.  Although I didn't think it was possible to live on any less than we were making before, I am happy to report that it is.   We are still seeking jobs with better income, hours, and benefits, but we are not pressured.  The other half of the equation is that we've found great happiness in going back to the basics.  By that I mean raising our own foods, cooking from scratch, creating our own fun, and much more.   It isn't always easy, as gardening and canning for example, are both hard work.  Yet the sense of satisfaction that we've gained from doing it ourself, has been indescribable.  In a nutshell, it's worth it!

This next week I plan to start writing about how we've specifically transformed the way we live.  I'm choosing to begin with money because it is the one thing that tends to cause us all the most stress and affects about every aspect of our lives.  Hopefully you will be able to use some of my tips to make your own life a little financially easier.


Until then....

Thanks for stopping by!