Hey DietBetters! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are ready for the upcoming holiday - if you celebrate Christmas that is. If not, Happy Kwanzaa since that is this week too, and a belated Happy Hanukkah, which already started but isn't over!
I wanted to write today not on eating well or fitness, but on living well. Wellness as a whole is a concept that just fascinates me. I literally have dozens upon dozens of magazine clippings, tips and tricks, articles, and print outs on wellness that I have been collecting for years in the hope of finding some answers in the pursuit of happiness. Dozens might actually be an understatement. I used to have hundreds but I'm curbing my urge to clip and file.
Anyway, last night I was listening to the Dave Ramsey Podcast and Dave answers every phone call, when people ask how he is, with "Better than I deserve." I simply love this phrase. By using it, it makes me feel like I am sending a little testament into the world of how grateful I am to have everything I do. Like I am giving props to the universe for my blessings, even though I don't always notice them. That phrase is what got me to thinking about my perspective on my current life.
I live in a one bedroom apartment with a decent paying job and a lot of debt. This Christmas was the first one where I felt able to buy semi-nice gifts for other people, and now, three days before Christmas, I had an unexpected financial emergency. After listening to Dave Ramsey last night, and starting to follow his advice on getting out of debt and being able to work towards "living like no one else," I know I should have an emergency fund set up to cover these things, but I don't. At least not yet.
How can I save for emergencies if they keep happening and my income is far less than my debt? My college degree is uncompleted (6 classes left to my Bachelors, and no financial aid available - including private loans), so finding a better paying job than the one I have now is difficult to say the least.
My monthly bills without food are $1240. My monthly income is $1200. Now I'm not a financial genius or anything, but somehow that math doesn't add up. I need to get another job, but when can I fit it in around working full time? I am already cancelling my gym membership this month in favor of keeping the lights on and my rent paid on time.
But the thing is, even with no light yet at the end of my messy financial tunnel, I feel blessed. Maybe it's the time of year or whatever, but maybe it's just those few words, "I am better than I deserve." I have more than many, despite my struggles. I have food, a job, running water, a lovely bed, four walls, friends and family, and wifi. Ok, so wifi may not be a necessity...
To tie it in with my physical health - more money stress = more eating and sleeping, less exercising. I know eventually I will get there. I will find financial peace and a way to keep myself healthy no matter the situation. If it was easy I wouldn't want to work so hard for it. I'm grateful for my struggle, but I wouldn't say no to a little less time spent struggling and a little more time spent living.