Let Me Elaborate

Believe it or not this was not my next entry. I was very excited because I wrote my next entry on friendship as soon as I wrapped up “Defining Success.” See what I mean? Plan for nothing LOL. However, this is exciting because as stated many times before this blog is about you, not me! With that said, I was asked to elaborate on my success in my career, working my way up, financial freedom, and any self-doubt that took place as I transitioned into my new line of work, and I am here to explain, as best I can.

I am apologizing from the beginning because this may be a bit lengthy with multiple entries to follow. Shout out to my friend Emily for the reminder that there is no end game here, so therefore I don’t need to feel rushed, or pressured. Phew!!

As you have read before… I had no desire to be a “career woman” or to chase money. I do NOT think wanting to be financially stable or make a lot of money is wrong AT ALL. I think money is not only a necessity, but a good thing to have. I remember hearing this saying: “A man with no money who is happy and generous before he gets rich usually remains happy and generous when he gets rich, but a man who is unhappy and not generous prior to getting rich is usually still not happy and not generous after getting rich.” Most people chase money for all the wrong reasons. They think it will lead to contentment. One thing I try to do when I blog is to make sure I am being honest! I will sit here and ask myself questions. Even as we speak I am trying to ask myself if I ever thought money would make me happy? This is where I think it is important to separate wanting to be financially secure versus chasing MORE. To answer my question, I do not believe I ever thought money would make me happy, but I knew that FREEDOM would. Freedom looks different to each person. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I never minded working for good companies with good leadership. I have had many different types of managers, and even when the rest of my team hated certain managers I was able to get along with them. One time, someone asked me what I was good at, and I responded “people.” LOL. I can get along with pretty much anyone. I am not friends with everyone, but getting along with a person, and being friends with someone are totally two different concepts. (Side note… I stepped away from the computer here, I truly needed to think about where I was going with this post, and answer questions that people ask honestly). Ever since I was asked to elaborate on this subject I have given it a lot of thought. I think in order to see the full picture I need to start at the beginning.

According to the lady in the Sound of Music, the beginning is a very good place to start. You know that song don’t you? I always loved making money. I started baby-sitting at 11 years old. I have to text my mom to be sure, but I think my dad opened up a bank account for me at twelve. Prior to that, my envelope of stashed money lived in our basement in the ceiling hahaha. I may be younger than him, but my brother would come to me to borrow money ALL the time! Honestly, I have no idea if he ever paid me back.  My brother, and sister were athletes. They had no desire to work, but they did have a desire to work on their craft. They practiced for hours on end. I worked as much as I could and banked my money. The biggest driving force for me was because I wanted to drive. My dad said if you want to drive you have to pay for your own car insurance that was fine by me. I also wanted my own phone line. My dad said ok, but you must pay the bill; having these things ultimately became the driving force behind my work habits. When I look at the “things” I wanted as a kid it wasn’t “stuff,” it was freedom. Freedom to talk to whomever I wanted, for as long as I wanted. Freedom to pickup, and drive where I please. If I wanted to buy something, I always wanted to be the one that paid for it. I never wanted to owe anyone anything. I was SO incredibly blessed to have a father who paid for my college tuition. Although, I won’t ever be able to pay him back in full because the lessons he has taught me about life are priceless, I know that I have paid him back in different ways that have helped he and my mom over the years. At a very young age he TRIED to teach me the value of a dollar. It took me many years to fully embrace everything he taught me, and I know I am still not there, but I have come along way. If he knew what I have spent on purses, shoes, or wine I know I would skim years off his life hahaha. I did however make him proud recently; I told my dad, “I don’t really want a new car,” he was shocked and extremely pleased with my decision. My dad makes me laugh so hard because I drive him crazy. When I said I wanted to drive ROXY (my car) for another few years, and keep banking the money my company gives me he responded with, “Thirty-seven years, and she is finally practical.” I have to pause here and laugh! Practical isn’t probably the right term, but more practical than I usually am is correct. I could be so much better. I think I have used a total of three coupons in my life. Then you have my mom, and sister who go in places like Kohl’s and CVS and walk out with free stuff, or at least stuff that costs a few dollars. I am not going to lie, it’s impressive! Hey we all have talents right? “Couponing” is not one of mine. Here is a good place to point out a bit about financial freedom. Financial freedom is about having enough money to be comfortable. Depending on how much money you make is how your life may look. You can choose financial freedom on any pay scale. I will use my mom and sister as examples. I can throw my brother in there, too. Heck… I will add my dad into this. I always say, “You either need to do it yourself or make enough money to pay someone else to do it.” Growing up we never had a plumber, electrician, mechanic, lawn service, cleaning lady, accountant, or contractor. My dad did almost EVERYTHING. I know, he’s weird! One time I called him and my mom weird, and I got in big trouble LOL. I guess to him “weird” had a negative connotation. I love weird! Weird is different, and different is good! My dad worked, and my mom stayed home. She certainly wasn't sitting around doing nothing. She kept our house spotless, and filled with love. She also kept it filled with food. That was a huge task in itself. You should have seen what my brother ate as a growing child. We were a regular ole middle class family, but I know we had more financial freedom than some of the other families on my street that had two working parents. I know this because apparently adults talk about such things, and I used to listen to conversations I wasn’t supposed to hahaha. With that said, we also didn’t get a lot of "stuff' other kids did. I used to compare our Christmas’ to the other kids. They also went on vacations where they most likely didn’t sleep in the car instead of a hotel LOL. My dad would fix our cars until they died, and I am so serious when I tell you I prayed they would die! How would you feel if you were in high school from 1996-2000 and your dad pulled up in a 1976 Grand Prix? Holy flipping embarrassing!

My dad often gives my mom a lot of credit for the financial freedom we had as a family. She was an expert coupon clipper, and she never spent money we didn’t have. According to my dad, you don’t spend money you don’t have. This meant no debt and no loans. He paid off the house he bought quicker than he had to, and he paid cash for the new cars we would finally buy. He never paid anyone to do anything until I was twelve-years old. I guess he thought it would be reasonable to pay someone to put on an addition versus completing it himself LOL. I have to add these little details in here because he truly is fascinating. He built our swing set and the basketball court, which had three different surfaces during its life span. My dad is also a perfectionist. He has that engineer style brain. If I want something done right, I ask him to do it. I use to give it the ole college try, but I have realized it takes less time to just have him do it the first time. My dresser broke recently, and had pieces with jagged edges. I went and bought the glue with every intention of doing it myself, and then I realized it would make so much more sense to have my dad put his magic to work. He needed a tiny paintbrush to make it perfect, and had the audacity to suggest one of my makeup brushes. He was quite shocked to learn one of those tiny brushes can cost upwards of thirty-five dollars. I am sure after this conversation, he realized my “newfound practical sense” comes, and goes.

I am leaving you here, but will continue to write. It is important to keep the blog entries at a reasonable length. I myself know what it is like to be like “TTtttt today junior!” We all have busy lives, and the fact that you take the time to read anything I write is a real honor, so thank you!

This week I challenge you to think about what financial freedom looks like to you.

"I urge you to live within your means. One cannot spend more than one earns and remain solvent. I promise you that you will then be happier than you would be if you were constantly worrying about how to make the next payment on nonessential debt." Thomas S Monson

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To Be Continued……

All My Love,

Reenie

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