Money date No. 39: The final stretch
A winter storm, a southwest vacation and a debt-payoff plan
I joined Christine Koh for the Edit Your Life podcast to talk about finding financial ease and flow — and, of course, why you don’t need a budget! Catch the episode through the Edit Your Life site or wherever you follow podcasts.
I’m writing from the cocoon of a winter storm in Wisconsin. Outside, it’s on-and-off blizzard conditions, something like 12 to 18 inches of snow falling… and absolute peaceful bliss.
We’ve known this storm was coming for about a week, so everyone canceled their plans and stocked up on food. Nonessential businesses are closed, Sunday church services were canceled. Traffic is down to nothing, and no one is revving up machines for yard work. My neighborhood is silent and blanketed in untouched, glittering white snow. I took a walk with my partner this morning in the snow, and it was beautiful. We tossed snowballs around the yard and hopped through the snow like puppies, and it was wonderful.
This storm — a typical late-winter sneak attack following a snap of warmer weather — could have felt unbearable. That last instance of cold and ice and snow removal after enduring nearly five months of winter. But my respite in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago gave me the refresh I needed to get through this final stretch. Instead of more cabin fever, I’m enjoying the day inside, and I delighted in a romp in the snow.
I worried a little before the trip about spending the money, but it was the right choice. Even when life throws me a layoff and a bunch of debt to manage, reducing my spending isn’t necessarily the right answer. The money spent on that trip was the necessary salve to get me through the rest of this winter with the strength to keep making progress on recovering my finances (and my life).
💡 Inspired by a Healthy Rich contributor, a money date is an exercise I crafted for You Don’t Need a Budget. Subscribers can follow along in a private space after the paywall, and I encourage you to steal my questions to guide your own reflections!
