Troubleshooting My Money Story – Part TWO

MONEY TREE TRUNK:

(Find the full Table of Contents for this book, Femme Your Finance, HERE.)

Book Post #16
You likely recall that the Trunk is all about your Livelihood your Money Systems for the income it generates…ummmm, that is assuming it generates sufficient income to do something with it. (blush, hide my head)

In my Money Story, I had a desired career (out of college) that would have required me to live and work in a fairly large city. However, my fiancé had moved to a mid-sized city to finish up his own undergraduate studies. Unfortunately, the city was NOT a good fit for my career path.

But, with my heart wanting us to be together, I chose to forfeit part of my passionate career interests to be with him in the mid-sized city. I figured it was temporary and a small price to pay (a shortsighted conclusion on my part).

In the mid-sized city, I found a decent-paying, corporate job. The job allowed me to apply a couple of my interests, use at least some of my skill set, easily buy a new car, pay my bills, and save for BOTH our wedding and our honeymoon – all in about 1.5 year’s time. (YES! I paid for our wedding AND honeymoon all by myself. He was still a student and had no money to contribute.)

Chopping Down My Money Tree

When the time came for him to begin his doctoral studies, it necessitated a move to a MUCH smaller town that was 1/5 the size of the mid-size city. Again, a terrible choice for my career and capacity to earn money for my own Money Tree.

This time, like a lumberjack, I severely sacrificed the Trunk of my Money Tree and left my corporate job for a $9.35/hour job (the BEST I could land after months of effort in the small town…and I’m a good interviewee and networker).

‘Keeping the relationship going’ with my new husband supplanted EVERYthing I had hoped for myself. I had convinced myself that I was doing it for “US”. But, what I was really doing was living HIS career dream and feeling afraid and inadequate to FULLY pursue my own.

The low-paying hourly job, though a fun job with nice people, only added insult to my self-inflicted injury. Slowly and silently, my sense of self-worth and professional capacity began to erode away.

Additionally, because my income was so low, the only Money System I had a need for was a ‘Bill-paying’ one. NOTHING was left beyond bills. Nothing for emergencies. Nothing for fun. Nothing for investing (if I’d even known how – which I didn’t). Nothing to bootstrap myself into much of anything. In short, there really wasn’t much of a Money Tree left.

Tomorrow, I’ll use the Money Tree lens to teach you more of the missteps in my Money Story. So, stay tuned!

Oh, and be sure to share your Comments, Questions, Requests, Praise, and thoughtful Criticisms in the box below!

• Previous: Money Story Troubleshooting – PART ONE
• Next: Money Story Troubleshooting – PART THREE