Stephanie and I have had MANY discussions about what we want for the future. It's quite fun to talk about your goals with your spouse. To know that you have someone who will support you and be excited with you whenever you achieve on of those goals. It's also great when you are both on the same page when it comes to what it takes to achieve those goals.
Recently we have actually sat down and written out ALL the things we want to accomplish over the next few years: Fully funded 6 month emergency fund, 10% down payment for a house, fully funded baby fund (have a baby is expensive!), save up for a new(er) car, and pay off ALL of my student loan debt. Now, those are not easy goals. Those things don't just happen by accident. In fact, I would guess that the majority of married couples never achieve those things. Why? Well, it's hard! It takes a crazy amount of sacrifice. You have to give up some things you want now for things you will want later.
I would say that the biggest goal we have is that Stephanie will be able to stay at home with our (future) kids. In order for that to happen, we can't have any debt other than a house. We also need to have a good amount in savings in case anything happens. All those goals above bleed into the stay-at-home-mom goal. When we think about our future of Stephanie staying at home with our kids, pouring into their lives, we get excited! What does that mean for us now? Well, that means we don't get to be your typical newly married couple.
Could we take big vacations, go on awesome expensive dates, and spend every night together? Probably, but we are both choosing to give those things up for our future. I am just getting started in my career so the money isn't as good as it will be in 2-3 years. We realize that the financial sacrifice now will be worth it in a few years. I am also an assistant basketball coach which means my free time right now is very limited. Stephanie and I don't get "date nights", we get "date hours" maybe once a week. Again, it's a sacrifice now for benefit later.
Stephanie is now working TWO jobs; Starbucks and Hobby Lobby. This puts an even greater strain on our time together. It means we have to be crazy intentional about the time we do get to spend together. Most wives would never do this. A lot of wives are so concerned with seeing their husbands as much as humanly possible, and being selfish about that, they aren't willing to give up date nights now for date nights later. My wife, however, is not like that. Thankfully, I married a woman who understands sacrifice better than I do. She knows this isn't forever. I could not be more thankful to her for all that she has done, and is doing, for the future of our family.
All that to say, it's important to think about what you want most. Do you ALWAYS want to live paycheck-to-paycheck? Do you ALWAYS want to be in debt? Sometimes it's about looking ahead towards the reward of all the hard work. We get so pumped when we talk about taking fun vacations with our kids and NOT putting it on a credit card. We look forward to the day when we will get to see each other everyday and have "date nights". But for now, we will sacrifice. We know it's worth it.
What are things you have sacrifice for a future reward?
How do you feel when you are able to achieve that goal you have worked so hard for?
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