Dream Big, Start Small

What does financial freedom look like to you?

Y’all know personal finance is personal. And as tempting as it can be to follow someone else’s road map, your plan should be your very own. So what makes your plan unique? Now and in the future?

When my husband and I were in debt $100,000, we were uncomfortable and on edge. We wanted to get out from under that debt as quickly as possible. So we bare-bones’d our budget in order to attack it. Financial freedom to us was being debt free and giving ourselves more margin for choice.

But that’s not everyone’s story. Maybe you are like we were, or maybe you are more comfortable with different types of debt, especially low interest debt like public student loans and medical. Maybe you choose to spend more on experiences and less on items, or maybe you care less about travel and instead want to prioritize furnishing and decorating your home.

As long as these priorities are within your means, this is great. Personalization is wonderful - and I’ll always and forever encourage owning your budget and making it personalized to your life.

So how do we personalize our budgets?

First we dream.

Dream big, as big as you can. Get specific and make your dream as vivid as possible.

9 years from now, my husband and I want to live in the Florida panhandle, walking our dog to happy hour at our favorite brewery every afternoon, and eating oysters at least once a week.

Maybe yours is to get out of debt, or save enough to take an international trip with your family every year, or to move to an area with great schools. Whatever it is. Be specific.

Then take that specific dream and learn what it would take to make it happen.

How much does our dream home cost? How much money will we need to earn to afford oysters, happy hour, and all other expenses (like vet bills)?

Get to know that number. It’s part of the big picture so keeping that in mind may help keep you from getting overwhelmed and quitting before you’ve started.

If you do get overwhelmed, that’s okay. Review your dream as often as you need to keep the goal in mind. My husband and I start every single budget discussion with a reminder of what our dream is. And it’s fun to build on that dream with more rich detail to make it even more of a driving force for us.

What is in between your current state and your dream?

Carve out your plan. This is where the planning funnels from big dream to small, actionable steps. If you have an extra 100 a month in your budget, put it in a high-yield savings account or a long term brokerage account and watch it grow over time.

So dream big, start small, friends. This is where dreams become plans and plans become reality.