Welcome back to Day 2 of our 1 Month Money Makeover!
Did you complete your Grateful/Growth Play Sheet? Did it help you to gain a better perspective on your situation?
Today I am talking about overcoming discouragement about our finances.
Many times when we are experiencing financial difficulties we become overwhelmed with the problems and the negatives of our money picture. We can lose hope that our situation will ever change.
I recently felt this way.
After years of being debt-free we currently owe thousands of dollars in medical debt which we have no realistic way of paying in the near future. After my daughter’s accident last October I had to take months off from my business which meant that my income dropped significantly. We are still recovering from that financial hit and we don’t even have enough extra money right now to make small payments on the debt.
When I added up the total of what we owe I felt completely overwhelmed and hopeless but I knew that drowning in my negative emotions wouldn’t help anything. What I needed was HOPE.
HOPE that we would find a solution and work our way out of this hole.
HOPE that our financial situation will not always be the same.
HOPE that God sees our problems and will help us.
I decided to let go of my despair that nothing would ever change and to dream a big dream. I chose to think about what could be rather than focusing on what appears to be — to envision a positive future rather than a negative one.
I decided to create a Big Money Vision Board with my hopes and dreams for the future.
So what’s your Big Money Dream?
To take cruise or family beach vacation? To buy a newer car, pay for a kitchen update, travel to Europe? To start a business, buy a house?
I encourage you to write your dreams down and to start saving $1 to $5 each week toward this dream. This amount may seem tiny but it can make a big impact yet it’s small enough to not interfere with your other goals like paying down debt. Saving something each week toward your dream will inspire you and give you hope.
Today’s Money Mission: Print the My Big Money Vision Board Page here. Write, draw, doodle or paste pictures of your BIG dreams.
Print the My Big Money Dream Play Sheet here and write an amount that you will save each week toward the dream and choose a location where you will save it.
Want to share your dream? Leave a comment.
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If I reach my target amount before the date that I set, do I take the money and apply it to the bills, and then start over, or do I keep growing it until the time frame is over, and then start over.
Hi Heide!
You should do what works for you but in our family once we reach the target amount no matter when that happens, we reset the target to reach the next step in our plan. So for example, if our first goal is to add $500 to our emergency fund and our next goal is to start paying off debt, once we reach the $500 then we start over with a new target of paying off the loan with the lowest total amount owed. Does that make sense?
My pleasure. 🙂
My dream…to finally have our own house! We’ve lived with my inlaws for the past 11 years. I’m more than ready. We have about $11K more in debt. How much do you recommend we have saved before we buy a house? Thank you for this post! I needed it!
That is an awesome goal Tara! The amount you need to save will depend on your situation but I would recommend a minimum of 3 months of expenses in your emergency fund, a down payment of at least 10% plus closing costs. Keep going! You can do this!
Thank you!
I dream of a Hawaiian vacation with my husband and to make a huge donation to St. Mary’s orphanage in Uganda, Africa.