April is the official Financial Literacy Month and to celebrate, Shannon at The Heavy Purse has put together the 2015 Financial Literacy Awareness Carnival.
This is an amazing list of articles, including this post, about what inspired us to get financially real. I am truly honored to be invited to participate and share my story.
After you are done reading this post, please check out the carnival and read as many of those articles as possible. I am a regular reader of many of those blogs and I assure you that you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.
You can get to the Carnival by clicking the picture above.
Why I Got Financially Real
It is no secret that I was terrible with money. I had a lot of debt, was living paycheck to paycheck, and was always worried about money.
I knew I had to do something about my finances because it was stressing me out and it had cost me a relationship or two.
When I started developing feelings for Kate, I knew that I had to get serious about my finances for three main reasons.
1. Nobody wants to date a broke 30-something-year old. It is okay to date somebody that is broke if he/she is still going to school or is in between jobs at the moment. But I was 31 at the time, with a pretty good job, and no responsibilities… And also broke.
2. She is very good about saving money. After I found out how good she was about saving money, I felt embarrassed about being so bad with my money. I was afraid about telling her my situation, but I didn’t want to keep any secrets so I got financially real and I could tell her how I was making changes.
3. I had to think about my future. I knew early on in our relationship that I wanted to be with Kate forever. I knew that I wanted her to have all my babies. But I also knew that in order for us to have a family, I needed to get serious so I can contribute financially for our family.
I knew that if I wanted a future with Kate, I needed to get financially real.
Getting financially real is not about having all the latest gadgets, brand-name clothes, and fancy cars. It is about realizing what your priorities in life should be.
After you take care of all your priorities and still have money left over, then you can get all the latest gadgets, brand-name clothes, and fancy cars… If you wish to.
More Reasons Why I Got Financially Real
I am writing this from a bungalow on a mountain in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. Oh, and did I mentioned I’m on a hammock?
I’m currently on vacation with Kate and having a great time.
I am not telling you this to brag, but because traveling and going on vacations is my only vice, and I knew that if I wanted to travel twice a year I had to get financially real.
Like any other normal human being, I love vacations. I’ve always loved the idea of going on vacation and traveling. The only problem is that I just didn’t have money to go anywhere. Or when I did, I was always worried about how much things cost because I didn’t want to get my credit card declined.
Now I worry about how much things cost, but it’s only so I know how much money I can save.
I got financially real because I needed to get serious about my future and also so I can have fun in the present.
What are your reasons for getting financially real?
Brian@Luke1428
“…because traveling and going on vacations is my only vice…” I’m not sure I’d call it a vice but we love to go on vacations. It’s the one thing we plan consistently each year. We do it to build memories for our kids and become closer as a family. For us it’s a must must do!
Aldo @ MDN
For us it’s a must do as well. There are a lot of things that I bought that have forgotten about it, but I always remember vacations. Those memories last forever.
Shannon @ Financially Blonde
I love that your love for Kate helped motivate you to get financially real. I have a client who’s the same way. It took his desire to marry his girlfriend to kick him in the pants toward becoming financially responsible.
Aldo @ MDN
I’m glad that I did it because I’m not sure how should would feel about me if I am always broke and can’t go anywhere fun. I would love to think that she would love me regardless, but I only say that now because I know she already loves me.
Shannon @ The Heavy Purse
I’m so glad getting Financially Real has had such a huge impact on your life. Finding the one you want to spend the rest of your life wife, is definitely the motivation one needs to make positive change. We love to travel too and through being Financially Real we’ve been able to explore the world, which is an amazing gift to share with my girls. And someday I know you’ll be able to do the same with your future children. 🙂 Thanks again for your participation. I truly appreciate it!
Aldo @ MDN
No, no, no. Thank you for the invite. I hope you keep doing this every year. I love it.
Hayley @ Disease Called Debt
Well if love isn’t a good enough reason to get financially real, then I don’t know what is! Great to read more about your journey in getting serious about your money. And I’m very jealous of the hammock! Have fun on your holiday!
Aldo @ MDN
Thank you, Hayley. I’m sad to inform you that my holiday is over… sad face. Oh well, back to the real world.
Jayleen @ How Do The Jones Do It
Finding the right girl encouraged you to do the right thing! That’s awesome! For us, we are financially real for our kids. We want to set them out in this big world with a good financial base by helping them with college tuition, etc. It’s a big responsibility!
Aldo @ MDN
Kids should encourage everybody to get financially real.
Michelle
I agree with Hayley-love is a great reason to get your money together!
Aldo @ MDN
I love to think so. She appreciates me doing it for her.
Abigail @ipickuppennies
My husband had pretty terrible money habits when we got together. We got engaged quickly with a long engagement, and I pretty much told him he had to get his financial crap together.
So we got on a path to pay off his student loans, despite not earning much. Then we had to add on medical bills and related expenses. But we were at least working toward the goal, rather than his “I’ll never have enough, so I may as well enjoy it while I have it” mentality.
Aldo @ MDN
Having a goal is very important. I am currently debt free, but that doesn’t mean that I have stopped working towards financial independence. Now instead of paying bills, I pay myself!
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer
What an awesome story, Aldo. It’s funny how love can make you want to get your crap together, isn’t it? Congrats, my friend. 🙂
Holly@ClubThrifty
Nobody wants to date a broke 30-year-old. Ha! That’s probably true. At least, you’ll end up with a better pool of people to choose from now =)
Erik Flores
“I knew that if I wanted to travel twice a year I had to get financially real.” LoL That’s me as well! 😀 Thanks for sharing Aldo.
Erik
femmefrugality
Ahhh travel! We went without a vacation for one year in order to save up for a super honeymoon, and man, I was going stir crazy. A great reason to get it together, but I agree with everyone else, love seems like one of the best ones!
S
Thanks for this! I literally just started my money blog and have no idea what I’m doing. It’s awesome to see you’re so well established after (only?) a year – gives me a bit of hope (: