You know what keeps us on track financially more than anything else? More than any book, class, blog post or advice on our finances?
What is financial dreaming? It is where we talk about where we want to be in the future. Whether it is a certain home (which we used to do before we found our new house) or updates to an existing home, a trip, an electronic device, being able to retire, or be able to pay for Lorelai's college....it could be anything.
Financial dreaming is motivation for us. It gets us on the same page, and encourages us to forgo things today, so we are better off in the future. It is a reminder of why we are living life the way we are, not carrying credit card debt or paying on a car loan.
We LOVE financial dreaming dates. Usually these are a drive together in a car, a talk on the couch when Lorelai is sleeping, or a meal out together. Time where it is uninterrupted that we can talk about our future financial goals.
Some people swear by a financial vision board...which is also an awesome idea if you need something visual to spark your conversation.
What are some of our current financial dreams?
Paying off the mortgage. I cannot wait until we don't have that hanging over our heads. It isn't that I have some grand plan for the money we currently spend on our mortgage each month, rather its just the security knowing we wouldn't have any debt....at all. In the past this has been "paying off our debt" or "having an emergency fund".
Traveling. Traveling is always our ultimate goal. We love to dream about the places we will go in the future.
Remodeling our home. We have to be careful on this one, because it can get out of hand. However, we agree that someday when Lorelai is older, we would like faux wood tile throughout our kitchen, dining and living room. Right now, the carpet is a dream because we all love to sit and play on the ground.
Have "enough" money saved for Lorelai's college. We would like to be able to help Lorelai with college, and being able to fully fund her college account would be a great feeling.
Have the ability to retire "young". Even though we all know I won't quit work young, I want the freedom of choosing when I will retire. I told Kevin "I want the ability to retire at 50" and he responded with "Whoa, that's only 20 years away." Okay, 50 may be a little ambitious....actually a lot ambitious, but this is all about financial dreaming right?
Give more generously. There are causes we really care about, and we love to give. Being able to give extremely generously is a dream of ours.
Talking about our goals, makes it so much more exciting to stay home and cook dinner, knowing we can put X amount towards our mortgage as a result...or putting off upgrading to the newest phone in hopes that we can save more each month towards our retirement. It isn't disappointing, its exhilarating and fun for us! It is a way for us to recap, rather than comparing ourselves to our friends and what they have....we reset and think about what our priorities are.
Financial dreaming.
What is financial dreaming? It is where we talk about where we want to be in the future. Whether it is a certain home (which we used to do before we found our new house) or updates to an existing home, a trip, an electronic device, being able to retire, or be able to pay for Lorelai's college....it could be anything.
Financial dreaming is motivation for us. It gets us on the same page, and encourages us to forgo things today, so we are better off in the future. It is a reminder of why we are living life the way we are, not carrying credit card debt or paying on a car loan.
We LOVE financial dreaming dates. Usually these are a drive together in a car, a talk on the couch when Lorelai is sleeping, or a meal out together. Time where it is uninterrupted that we can talk about our future financial goals.
Some people swear by a financial vision board...which is also an awesome idea if you need something visual to spark your conversation.
What are some of our current financial dreams?
Paying off the mortgage. I cannot wait until we don't have that hanging over our heads. It isn't that I have some grand plan for the money we currently spend on our mortgage each month, rather its just the security knowing we wouldn't have any debt....at all. In the past this has been "paying off our debt" or "having an emergency fund".
Traveling. Traveling is always our ultimate goal. We love to dream about the places we will go in the future.
Remodeling our home. We have to be careful on this one, because it can get out of hand. However, we agree that someday when Lorelai is older, we would like faux wood tile throughout our kitchen, dining and living room. Right now, the carpet is a dream because we all love to sit and play on the ground.
Have "enough" money saved for Lorelai's college. We would like to be able to help Lorelai with college, and being able to fully fund her college account would be a great feeling.
Have the ability to retire "young". Even though we all know I won't quit work young, I want the freedom of choosing when I will retire. I told Kevin "I want the ability to retire at 50" and he responded with "Whoa, that's only 20 years away." Okay, 50 may be a little ambitious....actually a lot ambitious, but this is all about financial dreaming right?
Give more generously. There are causes we really care about, and we love to give. Being able to give extremely generously is a dream of ours.
Talking about our goals, makes it so much more exciting to stay home and cook dinner, knowing we can put X amount towards our mortgage as a result...or putting off upgrading to the newest phone in hopes that we can save more each month towards our retirement. It isn't disappointing, its exhilarating and fun for us! It is a way for us to recap, rather than comparing ourselves to our friends and what they have....we reset and think about what our priorities are.
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