Do what you can with what you have

Do you ever feel like you started too late and you’ll never catch up? That mindset will leave you feeling defeated. Instead of focusing on where you think you should be and wishing you started sooner, just take a small step. Do what you can with what you have.

My oldest son was born at the height of our financial disaster. In fact, while I was pregnant with him we signed the papers to short sell our house. But his birth (and the horrible wreck that happened when I was still pregnant) was the catalyst for us getting out of debt and choosing a slower and simpler life.

When he was born we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. Everything we had for him, his crib, his clothes, everything came second hand from my sister and my dear friend. My mom bought his car seat. It was the only new thing he had.

We moved when Ryals was six weeks old. Leaving behind my job, my friends and a lot of what I felt made my identity. It was hard. It was also the best decision we could have made. We chose to live life differently than we had in the past. We said no a lot. We socked away our pennies. We took long walks in the park. And we went to the free pier and we checked out movies from the library.

Jason and I got to know each other in a way we hadn’t in the first five years of our marriage because we were focused. When we focused on one area of our lives we saw so much clarity in other areas. .
We prayed out loud together. We read out loud and we worked to cultivate our marriage and refind each other as friends.

It was among the sweetest times in our life and as hard as the transition was I would do it over and over knowing what the outcome would be.

The point is we did what we could with what we had. And I challenge you to do the same thing. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay to move slow.

If you have an extra $25 this month, AWESOME. Put it in savings, throw it at debt, put it in your child’s college fund, add it to your IRA, stock up on toilet paper at a low price, stick it in a jar for Disney World, put it in an envelope for new tires. Do what you can with what you have. Celebrate that you’re still standing and walk on. .