Day 3064 – Marriage Tip – Constantly Think About The End

Posted on November 30, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

If I’ve learned anything by reviewing all of my blog posts, it’s that the ones where I am honest about something, and actually take the time to think through and write my post, that it is a much better post. There are many days it’s hard to write something, especially when most of our days look very much like the one before, that I just throw up something. But knowing that even my future self will be helped by what I take the time to write, encourages me to push forward, and take the extra minutes.

We have gone through a lot of losses the past few years. Every one is a reminder of the shortness of our lives, and the uncertainty of tomorrow. It seems that folks will go through something like a death or other loss, have a “sun breaking through the clouds clarity” moment, realizing we have to embrace every day, and never let moments pass. But after a few weeks or months, this thought is in the back of their minds.

One thing that Bret and I do nearly every day is look at the fact that we’re still alive as amazing, and the fact that either of us could go today is sobering. Most of our good mornings include, “I’m glad you’re alive today!” or “I’m glad you woke up today!” Most of our goodbyes are “It’s been real, I love ya.” or “I hope I get to see you again.” Instead of ignoring this fact of life, we acknowledge it every day. It helps us appreciate the moments we do have. It helps us move past a fight or disagreement quickly. It helps us to let things go.

I have no idea how long I’ll get to spend with Bret. I don’t know my last day or his. But every day of our 3,064 married days and 3,940 known days, is filled with the awe and wonder that we got another day.

….and a little eye rolling from both of us….

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Day 3062 – Lessons Learned After Reading About 500,000 Of My Own Words

Posted on November 28, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

For the past two and a half months, I’ve been rereading every single blog post I’ve written. I only have about 3 months of posts left. I’ve been reading with the intention to find posts that are pinable and shareable (and content that can be used for other things). Some have been a quick scan, knowing I won’t want to share it. Some have been an in depth read. So what’s it like, looking back on 6.5 years of your life? Seeing what you talked about at different times? Here are a few takeaways.

– Taking steps, even very small ones, every single day, adds up to something incredible. I am blown away at the mass of words I’ve created, just by showing up again and again.

– When you start something new, you will not be perfect at the beginning. I didn’t find much until a good year and 2 months after I started writing. Now, to be fair, when I first started the blog, it was to reach potential wedding photography clients. It is so much different now.

– It will take a while to find your voice. I think a lot really clicked for me after I shared about my alcoholism. When I put myself out there, and got a great response, it gave me a lot of confidence to share more personally.

– Things will change over time, and that’s ok.

– Even if you think no one is reading, and no one is impacted, maybe YOU will be impacted by yourself in the future. I reread a post about waiting, and it helped and encouraged me that day.

Have you ever looked back on your life, your work, etc? What did you find?

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Day 3060 – My Life Has Changed A Lot In The Last 13 Years – or – 13 Years Ago, I Photographed My First Wedding

Posted on November 26, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

I was scrolling through my On This Day on Facebook, and it reminded me that today was my wedding photography anniversary. It’s funny, just yesterday, Bret and I were talking about how much our lives have changed since we got married. We were chatting about his real estate investing business, and my virtual office management business, as well as what I’d just read in Tools Of The Titans. Basically, Tim Ferris was talking about real world MBAs, and how if you look at taking a pay cut to learn something, it’s like getting a real world MBA. In a lot of respects, you could look at the last few years for me, and say I did a 3 year alcohol rehab, I did a 5 year writing degree, etc. One thing I’m thankful for is that it’s ok to change your mind. It’s ok to have new dreams on a new day. And getting to know yourself is a life long process.

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Day 3056 – My Face Waiting For Bret To Get Off School

Posted on November 22, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

Oh man, I can’t wait until I get to see this for the next 3 days! Woooo!

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Day 3053 – How To Take Control Of Your Finances

Posted on November 19, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

One thing that Bret and I have started to be really aware of is our budget. We’ve used Mint (totally free and amazing for budgeting and goals) for about 3 years. It’s helped us have a good picture of what we’re actually spending, not what we think we’re spending. As Bret has been growing his real estate investing business, there have been a whole lot of mindset shifts, growth, and thinking about things differently (for both of us). One thing we’ve started to do is have a weekly “finances meeting.” We look at our budgets, how close we are to going over, and looking at our net worth. We’ve started to keep our “envelope accounts” (one for taxes, one for bills, one for real estate, etc) as Capital One 360 savings accounts. What’s great about that is we’re earning interest on them every month. It’s great seeing our passive income grow, just by keeping our money there. I added a section to our spreadsheet that now lists all of those envelope accounts and our Roth IRA accounts. It’s awesome seeing our total net worth going up. I’ve found keeping a weekly eye on our budgets has been helpful. It lets us see if we have room to add in something fun or not. It also lets us know if we won’t meet our budget for something, and quickly see where we’ll have to move money from another category (basically, it’s less going to savings).

So what used to give me major anxiety, guilt, and shame (because of our debt), now brings encouragement, and accuracy.

What do you do to keep track of your finances?

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365daysofmarriage

Simplicity in Marriage, Christianity, Travel, Business, Life

Category Archives: Marriage

Day 3064 – Marriage Tip – Constantly Think About The End

Day 3062 – Lessons Learned After Reading About 500,000 Of My Own Words

Day 3060 – My Life Has Changed A Lot In The Last 13 Years – or – 13 Years Ago, I Photographed My First Wedding

Day 3056 – My Face Waiting For Bret To Get Off School

Day 3053 – How To Take Control Of Your Finances