Journal Entry 2: My Journey Towards Financial Freedom

Journal Entry 2: My Journey Towards Financial Freedom

Yes, I just got off of work, and it’s Friday!

Today, I worked for 12 hours! 2 hours of it was overtime. Right before I got on here, I calculated how much I did in overtime for the past two weeks. It was 20.32 hours extra of overtime! I’m super happy! I think that’s the most overtime I’ve done so far since my company has allowed us to work OT. Read more about the start of my journey towards financial freedom here.

Now that things are finally slowing down and the holidays are over, I can start putting in more hours at work. I’m being very mindful to not burn myself out. A part of those overtime hours above are due to me logging in on my off days. As I mentioned in another blog, I work four 10 hour days straight and then I’m off for 3 days. I love my hours because I love having that extra day off. Sometimes, by the end of the night though my brain can feel a bit fried.

Today, I was working nonstop, rarely taking any breaks. Finally, by the 9th hour, I decided to go on a nice long walk. I even got to catch the sunset! I’m currently listening to a really good audio book called The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. You can check out the actual book by clicking here.

It’s soooo good! Definitely check it out if you can. It’s been such a treat for me to get out on a walk and listen to it. It really gets me motivated to get out and active. The audiobook is actually worth listening to because the reader does such a great job!

My goal is to get in at least 10,000 steps per day right now.I had the same goal not too long ago and was able to achieve it everyday for 3 months. 3 months was the set amount of time I gave myself. However, after I completed my goal in those 3 months, I just stopped.

I recently reread Atomic Habits by James Clear,

and his book reminded me about setting systems that work and not just goals. Because once you accomplish your goal or goals, then what? You should definitely check his book out and you can do so by clicking here.

That’s also what happened to me when I started running. I had a goal of becoming a runner. My first goal in becoming a runner was to learn how to run a mile. Simple for some maybe even most but that was super difficult for me. I remember the first time I tried running, I had such bad shin splints. It almost prevented me from ever running again.

Since I wanted to achieve my goal so bad of becoming a runner, I researched what I needed to do to prevent shin splints or at the very least alleviate the pain. Next thing you know, I’m buying compression socks and learning different stretches to help prevent shin splints. After a few weeks of running, my shin splints never returned.

Please bear with me, the next several paragraphs are about my journey with running but I swear it does have to do with my journey towards financial freedom.

Eventually, I started running 5+ miles every week more than once! It became a regular thing for me. And I didn’t have any particular goals with running anymore. It just became this activity I loved doing. I understood what people meant when they said they got a runner’s high. I always always felt great after a run.

Even though I was running 5+ miles regularly, I never thought further than that. The thought of running a half marathon never seemed attainable to me. I was already so happy with myself to just be running.

Until one day, I was planning to visit my brother down in Southern California. He signed up for a marathon and told me I should sign up for the 5k. I agreed because come on, I was already running 5+ miles on a regular basis.

But a week right before the race, my mom convinced me to sign up for the half marathon which I did! Again, this is something I never thought I would accomplish. However, my mom convinced me and said that if I’m already running 5+ miles regularly, a half marathon wouldn’t be so hard for me.

And you know what, it wasn’t! Not until the last freaking mile that is! OMG, I was hurting! I felt like I could barely make it to the finish line. But I did, and I am so proud of myself! I was proud for a couple of reasons. First, I didn’t stop or walk once. I ran the whole 13.1 miles!

As much as I’ve been bragging that I ran 5+ miles regularly, I’m actually a really slow runner. At the time, I was clocking in at 13 minutes per mile.

Second, I finished my half marathon just right before the 3 hour mark. My time was 2:57. I was so happy for myself! I never thought I would ever accomplish something like that in my life! But I did!

Okay long story long, the point of all this is to say that after I ran my first half marathon, I haven’t ran since! I mean I’ve tried to recently (2 years after my first half) but still haven’t worked my way up to a mile yet. I started the Couch to 5k program again towards the end of last year. Even signed up for the free 2 weeks trial (I swear, this part of the blog about running ties into my journey towards financial freedom).

However, right after New Year’s, I canceled my subscription before I got charged and have not attempted to run since. Ugh, I know. I’m disappointed in myself too. My point is that, like James Clear writes to the sound of, if you don’t have a system in place and only have a goal, it won’t work for your long-term lifestyle. A system needs to be in place to create it as a habit. I’m going to try running again and soon. I really do miss that feeling I get when I’m running. I know this time around, I really need to create a system if I create a goal.

Anyway, where was I going with all of this? Hmm, I forget…but I know what I want to do with a part of this post is to introduce myself a little more. If you haven’t read my first post about my journey on learning how to manage money, you can check it out here. It provides some insight to my financial literacy or lack there of.

Basically, I am on a new path armed with goals and systems to live an abundant life of financial freedom and abundance.

Currently, I’m in debt and working my way out of it. I’m doing this by trying to strengthen my financial literacy through books and resources. And honestly, wanting to share a vulnerable part of my life. Hopefully, someone who comes across these posts can relate. You’re successful in a lot of ways and things, but your money management kind of ebbs and flows.

I have a career in nursing which thankfully pays well. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage my finances well. Hence, why I’m in debt and here we are.

I have three adult daughters, two of whom still live at home. The oldest’s husband also lives with us. They recently got married this past Friday, and he’s not a US citizen yet nor does he have a job. He recently moved to the US from the UK. They met while teaching English in China.

Needless to say, for awhile I’ve been supporting my oldest when she returned to the States and was looking for a teaching job out here. I recently started charging her rent when she was more settled at her new job. I’m not charging her much since she doesn’t get paid much but my expenses have also increased because what used to be a household of 2 doubled overnight.

I’ve always been the primary parent to support my daughters. They rarely received any help from their dad. Fortunately, my girls are highly independent and a great contribution to society. They all have graduated college, footed their own bill, and have traveled the world. They continue to grow into such amazing young women. I am truly grateful for them. Okay, okay, back to my journey towards financial freedom…

Parenting as a single mom is difficult. I feel as mom’s, we naturally feel guilty for everything. And that would be multiplied by 10 fold when I couldn’t afford things for them. As soon as my credit got better and I started making a lot more money, all I wanted to do was spoil them.

However, life happens and in the midst of me spoiling them, emergencies would occur. I never managed my money correctly to account for these emergency expenses. (I do have a money allocated in several places like investments and retirements but I don’t want to touch them. Up until recently though, I really needed to withdraw from one of my investment accounts.)

For instance, this month alone, I’ve already taken my cat to the vet twice due to diarrhea and urine issues. I recently just got pet insurance for her but her recent bills are just shy of the deductible to get reimbursed. And right before my walk today, I went into the garage to find a huge leak somewhere. Still haven’t figured it out but I know the bill ain’t gonna be cheap.

If I think too much about all these emergent expenses it will totally get me down, and that is something I definitely cannot afford. In the past, I have had a breakdown before, and it was one of the scariest things to have happened to me.

All I can do as of right now, is take it one step at a time. Create a system of getting out of debt and to couple that with a goal. Currently, I don’t have a system in place yet. But my plan is to work as much overtime as I can until it all ends in March. I want to use that extra money towards my debt and to put it in a high-yield savings account for emergencies. Hopefully, I’ll have some left over to put away in one of my retirement accounts or investment accounts.

I also understand that in order for me to be successful in my journey towards financial freedom, I will need to change my behaviors.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, which you can find here, I spent $136, and I didn’t even leave the house! It was all on restaurant food!

Today, when I went for my walk, I wanted so badly to walk to a restaurant and buy dinner again. Thankfully, I didn’t and just came home to look for something to eat. I also wanted to go online earlier in the day and look for pajamas to buy.

My oldest gifted me with the cutest set of pajamas from Victoria’s Secret for Christmas. I love them so much I wanted more! But I had to consistently tell myself throughout the day that I don’t NEED them. I already have enough pajamas. This is how bad it was. I kept thinking about how much I needed another pair when I was brushing my teeth! Like seriously?! This is supposed to be about my journey towards financial freedom! And here I am thinking about buying a new pair of pajamas that I don’t need.

Can I attain financial freedom when I like nice things? You’ll see if you read any of my other posts that aren’t about money that I do tend to have expensive taste. You can check out one of my posts here where I share what I consider 9 of the best beauty products for natural looking makeup over 40.

I don’t need another pair of pajamas. Sure it would be nice to have an extra pair of the comfiest and cutest pajamas ever. But it’s not a necessity nor am I depriving myself of something fundamental. I have to keep reminding myself that my ultimate goal is to achieve financial freedom. By getting there and staying there, I really need to create systems that work for me and will be sustainable for my lifestyle.

With all that being said, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m slowly realizing that that feeling I get when I’m wanting to buy something needs to shift towards that want of creating financial freedom.

I can feel that it’s starting to (slowly) shift in my journey towards financial freedom.

I guess that’s where I will start. My goal will be attaining financial freedom. My goal has been right in front of me all this time but it just feels so unattainable at the moment. Now, the hard part will be creating a system to get there.

Ohh man, this journey is gonna be long one. But if you can relate, have been there, currently are there, be sure to stay connected and sign up to get updates on new posts. Your support here would be so helpful for me and much appreciated too! Comment and share with me what’s tips and tricks have been helpful along your financial journey. As always, thanks for reading!

Love, Sutivi.