my things are not who I am

Times are tight financially right now for my family. We have been forced to drastically change our lifestyle. We took Harper out of day care since at least one of us is always at home to watch her. We have given notice at our lovely townhouse in Irvine and will be moving into an apartment in a less expensive part of Orange County. I am selling my beautiful car and preparing to buy a much less expensive but practical one. We have started going without luxuries to which we had been accustomed, such as Disneyland passports, acting classes, mani/pedis, and the like.

Suprisingly enough, what I am finding is that this makes absolutely no difference in my happiness level. Owning and doing all those things were supposed to make us happier and take our lives to a new level of enjoyment. I am just as happy now as I was then. Happier even. I am looking forward to moving out of this place which is a drain on the pocketbook. Though it's nice, it isn't ideal for us. There are no little neighbors for Harper to play with here. There is no sense of community among neighbors. In fact in the four years we've been here we have never met our neighbors. I am looking forward to selling my car, another drain on the pocketbook. It will be such a relief to have that money each month to put toward credit card bills and savings. Rather than making us happy, without us even realizing it, our possessions have been like a black cloud over our heads.

I am becoming a firm believer in "travelling light". I will be credit card debt free within two or three years and I plan on NEVER having another credit card.

I am finding that the glorious life is already here. It's not about possessions, materialistic luxuries and such. It's about living each day. Truly living. Being present for my life. Yes, having nice things is good in some ways. Quality things don't break down, they are dependable and convenient, and that's great - IF you can afford it. But if you can't really afford it, all it does is add to your worry by creating debt that hangs over your head.

So someday I plan on having a nice new car again. Someday we'll live in a nice home with all the amenities we want. But only when we can truly afford it. Until then, we will learn to live within our means. To truly LIVE within our means. And that's a great thing!!