Balancing Financial Goals and Living for Now

As I sit on our newest purchase, an entertainment style couch watching the B.C. Lions play the Montreal Alouettes I realize how far I have come in the last couple of years, balancing financial goals with the lifestyle.

Coming from an 8 – 9 year stretch where I put earning money at the top of my priorities I have learned that you must enjoy life now. I am nearing the two year anniversary with my wonderful common law spouse and realize the positive influence she has had on me. I no longer accept overtime shifts on a weekly basis. She has taught me to enjoy my life now and find a balance.

Looking back over the last two years I am very grateful that I have “loosened up” the wallet and enjoyed numerous weekend road trips to the mountains and to visit relatives. Our biggest journey was our trip to the Dominican Republic in the spring of 2008. It was an incredible experience and gave us ample opportunity to recharge our batteries. You need reward yourself occasionally.

Back to the new couch. Earlier this year we realized that we were on track with our financial goal of paying down our mortgage and decided to reward ourselves with a home entertainment center. We purchased a big screen TV and surround sound system for our bonus room. We have continued to aggressively pay down our mortgage so this month we decided to add some home theatre seating. This purchase completes the bonus room and gives us a very nice room for our enjoyment and the enjoyment of our guests.

We have set a lofty goal of retiring a $316K mortgage in 5 years and we are on track. We do look forward to being mortgage free and will continue to work towards this goal. We will not however sacrifice enjoying life in the present. I believe that we are achieving a good balance and if the B.C. Lions can achieve some balance with the score with the Montreal Alouettes I will enjoy our bonus room much more.