Plans vs. Pessimists

"A goal without a plan is just a dream."
-Dave Ramsey

My whole life I've been someone with big, seemingly impossible goals.
I've always known deep down in my soul that I was made for great things and that 
with perseverance, a plan, and God's grace...I could reach
ANY goal I set for myself and my family.

But as everyone knows, the bigger the goal, the more people 
will attempt to place doubt in you and tell you that you CAN'T do it.

We all know people like that. Pessimists. 
People who believe that if they can't accomplish it...no one can.

My first real experience with this was when I was 20 and told my sister in law that
I wanted to go to college without taking out student loans. She had an associates in nursing and I thought she'd be my cheerleader...but I was in for a surprise.
 I will never forget what she said, 
"You shouldn't start something you aren't going to finish."

Her words cut me so deeply. Why would she assume I couldn't finish college?

I'm not even sure she remembers that. 
But it stuck with me through every semester of school. 
It took me 7 years, but I managed to earn 2 bachelors of science degrees with
ZERO debt. I worked 3 jobs at times, countless side hustles, and took 
the semesters off that I couldn't afford in cash until I could build savings and go back.

I didn't let her negativity drown out what I KNEW I could accomplish.

(One of my many jobs during college: home healthcare nurse aide.)


Fast forward to Stacey and my most recent experience with naysayers. First, it was his
family telling us it was impossible to pay off his truck loan in a year. 
We wrote down a plan and saw that it was completely possible. 

Unbeknownst to us when we wrote that plan, it would only take
us 7 months because of our fortuitous move to Japan. We were
able to pay down a large portion of the truck before February, sell it, and then pay off 
the rest of the remaining $9k (roughly).

Then once that was accomplished, we wrote down a plan to save $100,000
in the next 3 years to buy a small home in cash when we return to the States.
AGAIN his family (minus his grandparents) have stated that we can't do it.

It fuels our desire every day when we think about how these people are so negative
about something they could never conceptualize doing themselves. 

It isn't even that they have had a lack of income in their life. Its that they've lacked discipline. 

There is nothing we can do to change the attitude of pessimists.
The only thing we can do is to persevere. Move forward. Continue to dream our big dreams,
plan out our goals, and most importantly...FOLLOW THROUGH. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Plan a $500 D.C. Wedding

Image
Yep. You read that title right.  You CAN plan a wedding in Washington D.C. for under $500. Is that a joke? Absolutely not. Does it sound crazy? Absolutely yes.  Let me give you guys a little back story to my wedding. In 2013 I married a friend of mine. I wasn't in love with him and he wasn't in love with me. The entirety of our marriage neither one of us said "I'm in love with you." In fact, we always talked about how we would never say it because it wasn't true. That wedding was, in hindsight, a huge waste of money. We got married in a turn of the century chapel with friends and family and had a lovely reception. Hindsight being 20/20, I saw that we spent the money on a wedding to cover up the mere fact that we didn't really love each other.  Fast forward 5 years and a divorce later...  I started dating the most incredible man I have ever met a few months after getting divorced. Our first date lasted 16 hours because we didn't want ...
Read more

Travel Series: Post 1- Trip Prep

Image
Hello Friends! Welcome to the very first travel series post, all about how to prep for your trip! If you know me in real life (or have followed me for very long) you know I LOVE road trips!  I had a Jeep Commander and drove that adventure tank into the ground. The majority of the miles on him came from the first year after my older daughter, Eva, was born. We traveled to 39 states that first year and then another 4 states after she turned two. She'll be headed to Japan to be with us soon, so I can't wait to road trip with her here on Okinawa as well! Eva and Roman ready to get on the road! As most of you guys know, especially those of you who budget, planning ahead is key to a successful road trip. Without extensive planning, you run the risk of missing out on places to stop or running out of money along the way. So without further ado, here are my top tips for prepping for a road trip! 1. Establish Your Budget ...and STICK TO IT! Nothing turns a fun trip into a burden faster t...
Read more

Freezer Stock Up: What to Buy & How to Use It

Image
Happy Thursday Friends! Wow, what a week its been already.  Here in Japan they restricted the movement of the soldiers and families to the base due to COVID-19. Luckily we have awesome medical facilities, a post office, small grocery store, and even smaller home store. To help with our sanity, the husband and I went on  a little shopping trip before everyone was paid to stock up two weeks worth of groceries. We came home and 70% of what we bought went straight into the freezer.  Freezing the majority of our groceries and taking out only what we need every day saves us TONS of money every month and I wanted to share those tips with you all! I know during this pandemic, access to fresh foods might not be as easy,  so having healthy options frozen is SO important!  So without further ado... Here's how we stock our freezer for our small family and how to use it! Freezer Door FRUIT: This is a no-brainer for us here on the ...
Read more