First blog post

What a daunting task, this first post. I’ve been wanting to share online for a while (I actually started the website in 2017 but… life happened).  As someone who values both my privacy and my sanity it has been a challenge to know where to start and what to start with.  There are so many things that carry so much value sharing in the online community, but something that I do feel I can comfortably share is some of my journey becoming more financially responsible as a middle-aged millennial.  My parents advice, while sound and studied for their era, just didn’t ring true for my generation growing up with the rapidly changing social and economic environment.  Clinging to some aged ideas has definitely hurt more than helped our financial journey as a family.  The answer I always hear is spend less and make more, or some combination of the two, but when you’re paying for the last of those student or home loans from your young adulthood, covering childcare today, planning for your kids college tomorrow, and your own retirement in the future… it becomes overwhelmingly evident that you can’t both live today and plan for tomorrow if you don’t make the concession that responsible spending lies somewhere in the middle of the extremes.  Knowing when and where to splurge, how to make good long term decisions, and what supports set you up for the small day to day decisions that lead to financial independence without sacrificing every last ounce of joy (for me this means my coffee is a non-negotiable).  A big part of this means knowing when to say “no,” but the often overlooked part is knowing when and where to spend your money, and what investments in your education, health, retirement, home, and purchases are actually going to get you the most bang for your buck.  I’m going to be blogging about everything from my thoughts on where things went wrong for so many millennials, higher education and the job market, investing as a beginner, my own successes and failures, couples and family finances, as well as my own splurges, my own sacrifices on the day to day.  Stay tuned.  And no AI writing from me, only the real deal here.