When Michael and I first met, we were both living the life with extra ‘play’ money galore. What we bought, we bought new and we bought nice. Our house was furnished with things that would last forever. We also LOVE to eat out and did it often, combined with his extreme sports equipment and my shopping obsession- we were quite the team. That is, until about a year into our marriage when the series of unfortunate events began that plagued us for years. It was far more than just financial but for the sake of this not turning into a book, we won’t dive into those events at the moment, let’s just say that it didn't rain, it poured…. And poured…. We lost EVERYTHING.
So, what have I discovered since moving to Maui (where shopping is slim pickings anyway) and trying to adopt a new budgeting method? Well, my friends, I’ve discovered the amazing world of Craigslist, ebay, and Ross. I hated these before, Ross was always such a disaster, like digging through the most unorganized garage sell on the planet. Ebay wasn’t for me because I didn’t want to spend before physically seeing the item. Craigslist was dirty, used, and normally junk. Now, I’ve completely furnished our house from craigslist! I just had to realize that it was gonna take some effort on my part, not quite like a leisurely stroll through Target with everything I could want just waiting to be chosen. It took me months to find each item I was looking for, but in the end, we have some great, quality furniture at less than half the price! Somewhere along the way, I’ve fallen in love with Ross and get excited every time I get to go. Last but not least, Ebay is the only place I can find Mike’s upper class work attire and it usually all still has the tags on them!
My current area of trouble is food. We no longer eat out as often as before but my grocery bill is outrageous! I’m working on it, but I’m not a natural cook so I always need a recipe and apparently haven’t found “The Cheap Dinners For Dummies” cookbook. I'm always looking so if anyone has advice for me here please share!
It’s all been an adjustment but when you reach the lowest of lows in life (financially, relationally, mentally…everything) , and just choke and gasp there for a couple years- It really makes the ‘normal’ life struggles seem like heaven. The awful new recipes I try are laughable now, having a house that looks lived in instead of staged doesn't give me anxiety (I'm a bit of a clean freak). During our fights and rough times I always know we're going to make it so I'm no longer worried, if we need to ride out another storm, this family can handle it.
So, we’re learning that quality doesn’t necessarily mean what we thought, and even more important; quality of house has nothing to do with quality of life. We don't have to look like we've 'made it' from the outside to know that we have. We are a family, we are happy, and we have learned more and gone through more in our first five years than most couples experience in 50. Life is good.
