A Balancing Act

In my twenties my husband and I worked hard to build our careers, establish our financial security, and buy a home. We made some good decisions and bad decisions with our money and with debt. The challenge for me was how to tackle that debt while still enjoying life and traveling while we were young (and I’d like to think we still are).

At the time I was still a corporate employee with a regular paycheck and lucky enough to also get bonuses. Each quarter I would find it difficult to decide how to use the bonus money. Do I put all of it toward a credit card balance, do I payback that personal loan or do I put it toward a vacation savings account? I was torn between taking care of things and “catching up” with making time and resources available to enjoy new life experiences.

I knew I needed to ask an older, wiser person with more life experience who would be honest with me and not simply suggest “the proper thing to do”. So I called my grandpa. Then, as someone about to turn seventy years old he suggested working toward both. He shared that he and my grandma waited to travel until they were older, and with more health problems and other responsibilities, he was not able to do as much as he had hoped. He told me if he could do it all again he would have made time for and put money toward traveling earlier in life. I immediately knew that I had received a balanced perspective on this issue. I felt at ease and knew I could address both priorities. That helped me to enjoy my life more.

Where do you need a more balanced perspective? How can you better balance your priorities so you enjoy life more?