Achieving Financial Goals and Life Balance
We often talk about work/life balance in terms of having a successful career, as well as quality time with loved ones to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Many people think if you focus on your career, then you have to work all the time with no personal life. Or conversely, if family is your number one priority, then you’ll never get ahead in your career. The either/or mentality makes it difficult to find a happy median.
In the world of personal finance, there’s a similar challenge – goal/life balance. Many people associate financial goals with giving up something of pleasure to reduce expenses – no more eating out, shopping, video games, books, electronics, etc. Or conversely, if you enjoy life, it is assumed that you spend frivolously and incur debt. Again, the either/or mentality makes it difficult to find a happy median.
But you know what? Single Ma wants it all! Work/Life balance and Goal/Life balance. I’ll admit, both are difficult to achieve, but they are not impossible if you have realistic expectations, set boundaries, and exercise discipline. I’ll give you an example of how I try to manage them all:
THE GOAL
Back in April, I mentioned that I wanted to save $50,000 in cash. At the time, I only had $36,600, but I wondered if I could reach $50,000 by the end of the year. In May, I decided that I didn’t want to be too restrictive with my finances because I had a lot of expenses planned for the year. As a compromise, I settled on a target date for next summer. Since then, I hadn’t thought much about the $50,000 personal challenge. I didn’t give up or lose sight of it. I just figured next summer was a more realistic target and continued saving as usual.
WORK
I’m a single parent and I work a full time (40 50+ hr) job. When I’m at work, I give 110% and I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at what I do, but my child always comes first. When work demands conflict with my #1 job, there is no debate – I’m gone. Not only do I leave work when there’s a problem or she’s sick, I take vacations to spend time with family, I attend her school functions and P/T conferences, and I work a flex schedule that allows me to volunteer at her school on Fridays. The BB may be buzzing the whole time and I do work from home occasionally, but my boss is aware of my boundaries. I may never run a company while I still have a minor at home, but I am happy with my career progression to date.
LIFE
While I was working hard and saving hard, I also enjoyed a normal life. I went on an extended weekend beach trip with my family and a cruise to the Bahamas with my girlfriends. I also participated in Spa Week (pampered myself with luxurious warm stone goodness) and Free Night of Theater (saw Of Mice and Men performed on stage). I did a little shopping and some volunteering, attended Shecky’s Girl’s Night Out, saw a few movies, ate out a lot, suffered 16 weeks of abuse by my personal trainer, maintained our monthly Mother/Daughter Day, and paid for BabyGirl to attend an overnight writing camp for 2 weeks, professional driving lessons, an 8 week SAT test prep course, and numerous senior year expenses. Sheesh! $$$$$$!
BALANCE
Although I have strong boundaries at work, my dedication has paid off with a recent promotion and higher salary. This, in turn, makes it possible to achieve my financial goals and enjoy a full life. However, more money doesn’t automatically make everything easy nor does the progress happen on its own. Balance, of any kind, requires discipline. When I earn a promotion, I do not immediately begin to spend more money just because I have more money. I may indulge on a few things after I’ve planned for it, but for the most part, I want to avoid lifestyle creep. So I took the salary difference and increased my savings.
Now guess what?
After reviewing my expense spreadsheet, I noticed that I’m only $2,965 away from my $50,000 personal challenge. With four paychecks left in the year and another month of accrued interest, it looks like I will reach $50,000 by December after all. Woo-hoo!
~*~*~*~*~*~Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And always, BE FABULOUS!
This blog is the story of my financial life as a single mom. Subscribe via (feed reader) or (email) to follow the rest of my fabulous journey.
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Have you read the Fabulous Financials comment policy lately?
why am I sitting praying you do another blog real quick…
I love the bloggin spirit…:-)
I am one happy camper….
I love loyal readers. And no worries, I have a new blog scheduled for every day this week. LOL! [-SM]
Single Ma, I’ve been reading you for a few years now, and I just wanted to tell you that you rock! You continue to inspire me with every post. Thank you!
Single Ma,
Thank you for an awsome blog! I look forward to see new updates from you.
I hoping (praying) that I am able to find a job that will pay me, and use my talents to the fullest… I hope to model my finances like yours!!
It’s a process that takes time, but you’ll get there if you keep your eye on the prize! [-SM]
Once again thank you soo much, you are an inspiration to us all!
Single Ma,
Shecky’s Girl’s Night Out is a fabulous outing with the girls. Although many of the vendors that attend the event in my area are out of my price range, there’s at least 2 vendors within my spending range AND nothing beats the free drinks and that Goody Bag (especially 2 for 1). I always trade with other attendees for items I want in exchange for items I don’t want.
I couldn’t agree more. Excellent post and all so true.
Yay for almost achieving your goal! Go ahead and eat in this week because every little bit counts.
I really love your blog! So much insightful information here and so much to learn! Thank you, if no one has ever toldyou.
Congrats on the promotion. I’m sure you will knock it out of the box with no problem.
I eat in during the weekday, but Friday through Sunday, I make no promises. [-SM]
Congrats! You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned discipline. That is truly the key.
I wish I couldn’t convert some of this “discipline” to focus on weight loss! [-SM]
Such a timely post for me. As I’m transitioning in my life to becoming a divorced single mom, I often wonder about keeping everything in balance. While I want to stay focused and keep within my budget, I also want to enjoy life at the same time. I’ve discovered some low cost activities like a Girls Night In Potluck that has worked wonderfully.
Question – Had you always had a travel budget, even when you had debt? Or did you simply not take any vacations at all until your debt was paid off?
When I had consumer debt, I couldn’t afford to travel. [-SM]
Another inspiring post ! Keep them coming
“I love loyal readers. And no worries, I have a new blog scheduled for every day this week. LOL! [-SM]”
YES! This girl is looking forward to your very informative and entertainingly-written blogs. Keep ‘em coming!
Congratulations on getting to your $50,000 goal. I too have the same goal but I am much further away. Since you are almost at your $50,000, I was just wondering if you could donate to my $50,000 fund??
Congratulations on reaching your goal! I miss your posts too. I am glad you have some scheduled. You inspire me!
This is really an inspiring post! Thanks a lot for it. I, too, have the same sort of goal but I am also much further away from achieving it. I agree that balancing your goals with the way you live your life is very important. I also think that setting goals that are attainable is important, too.