Financial Stress

After we got married, creating progress in hitting our Financial goals was so slow. I can remember the feeling of Financial Stress and discouragement that accompanied the lack of traction we were making and saying “we need to make more money”. We had decided that our focus was going to be paying off the debts as quickly as we could. Jocelyn had about $40,000 of student loans and I had a loan on a car for $25,000. Our income was low enough to make a $600 rent feel expensive (in the Chicago area that is dirt cheap, probably even most places), and our budget was filled with categories that we were contributing $10 and sometimes $5 because that’s all we could afford. Watching the months tick by and feeling like the progress we were making on lowering our debt wasn’t even progress, was very discouraging. How in the world are we going to pay back $65,000 in anything less than forever?? The financial stress we experienced was real and we thought the only solution was to make more money.

More Money, More Money, More Money, More Money, More Money

The thing I learned looking back is that progress is not in the digits; its in the diligence. Making more money was not the solution to our financial stress. I’m eternally grateful to our 25 year old selves that we stayed committed to the system. That we kept chipping away at the debt. That we have never missed a month doing a budget in our marriage. So thankful that we did it together as a team. That we set achievable goals and hustled to make them happen. We set a standard for our family that is non-negotiable. And most of all, by staying committed to the system, we were able to pay off $65,000 of debt in a little over 3 years and now have $10,000 in our Emergency Savings. Now that we do make more money than our 25 year old selves, we actually can see the impact more money has in our lives.

It’s what we do, and something that you too can have complete control over and you can win at it today!

This is why we created The Overflow Show, which officially launched yesterday, April 12th! It is NORMAL to feel financial stress (over 70% of households live paycheck to paycheck). It’s normal to have school loans, car payments, and being late on your bills. —- Living on a budget for only 3 years enabled us to pay off $65,000 of debt and get us to the point of being able to go on paid for vacations, buy things we wanted with cash, and be outrageously generous. This is what we call OVERFLOW. Now don’t think we have endless money now and can do whatever we want, no. We make a fairly average “two income” household income. But most of all the secret is to be intentional with your money and tell your money where to go before it leaves and you wonder where it went.

Join us as we teach you what Overflow really means and also how to get there for yourself in your finances and also your marriage! The Overflow Show will be airing LIVE on Facebook//Youtube//Instagram Thursday Nights Starting in May!

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram

Accept the 7 Day Finance Challenge to get you ready for your first budget! We’re big fans of Everydollar.com for our budget, it’s the best!