Starting as children, most of us presumptuously have our entire lives mapped out for us. As a child, I believed that I would be an archaeologist when I grew up. Childhood is no different than adulthood in that regard, as we’re always planning our future. I’ll go to college, get my M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration), marry when I’m 25, have children by 30 years old, and own my own business by the time I’m 35 years old. It doesn’t hurt to have goals in life, but a scenario like that sounds unrealistic, especially if a person feels like they have to have something done by a certain age. A person like that may be setting themselves up for failure and disappointment if they believe life always goes according to plan. Once again, it doesn’t hurt to have goals in life. In fact, I highly encourage them. However, don’t be surprised if you don’t obtain that degree that you want, get married by a certain age (you may not find the right one by that time), have the dream career, etc. I’m just saying be realistic. One valuable lesson that I have learned in life as I’ve gotten older is that we never know what the outcome will be, thus we shall live one day at a time. Life is full of unexpected surprises.
“Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, stop figuring out precisely how we feel, stop deciding exactly what we want, and just see what happens.” – Carrie Bradshaw
I never envisioned that I’d become a self-employed entrepreneur at the age of 17 years old, thanks to my parents for believing in me and supporting me, every step of the way. I also never envisioned that I’d be a happily married wife and mother of two by the age of 29. Instead of mapping out my life as an adult, I live it instead! I’m also the kind of person that doesn’t really like to talk about the things that I want to do in life. I do it instead, or at least try to.
In life, it always helps to have people that are supportive of you. I truly do believe that support is the key to success in everything, as it helps you grow as a person and build confidence. The people that helped me grow as a person and instilled confidence are my parents and my husband. I feel blessed that I’m married to someone that is fully supportive of me, including my work and the long, grueling hours that I put into it to help support my family. I feel like I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t without his ongoing support and encouragement. Some may say that behind every man is a good woman, but sometimes behind every woman is a good man!
Planning for the Future
My husband and I are not planners since we preferably choose to live our lives day by day while cherishing every moment, yet we do have one important goal in mind: buying a house. It’s easier said than done, because it takes time (you don’t want to settle for anything), money, dedication and perseverance to buy a home. Let’s not mention the emotional ping-pong it can cause. It also helps to be in a marriage or relationship where one is supportive of the other, because buying a house also takes teamwork! That’s why I feel like it won’t be long before my husband and I will turn our future dream into a reality.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by State Farm via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of State Farm.
Buying a home is a good goal to have, though. Getting out of an apartment was the best thing I ever did.
Buying a house is such a big step but is also so gratifying! And while I get the not planning thing, some things are best planned! Good luck:-)
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Great blog post HilLesha, it’s interesting when you talk about becoming a self employed entrepreneur when you were just 17 years old, that’s incredible!
Having supportive people in your life can make a huge difference! You will get your dream of a house!
Me and my hubby are NOT planners either! We live each day to the fullest and that is it, LOL!
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I can tell you that a certain amount of planning is good for you will want to retire someday. If you only live for now you will find yourself scrambling when you are older wondering how you will pay your bills. Don’t put yourself in that position.
Patty recently posted..Chicken in Maple Barbecue Sauce – Recipe
I guess it’s a good thing that I’m a saver then. 🙂
HilLesha recently posted..Dream It, Live It, Do It!
Good luck with your home buying goal. It’s worth all of the saving & stress! I know we probably won’t live in this house forever, but I love that it’s mine (well, ours–you know what I mean).
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I’ll tell you I thought I’d never own my own home. Never in my wildest dreams, but then things started falling into place, and I ended up with some money due to an accident I had and I said I’m not going to blow this I invested it in a house for my children. It was tough going, but I’m so happy I did it, and not only that I having something I could leave my kids to give them a half a step up in life. That’s what I’m most happy about. Owning your own home is an investment in life as far as I’m concerned it’s the right thing to do.
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Good luck with the house goal. Always a good investment.
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Having goals is always important, one of the best feelings is pulling up to your own house for the first time. My husband is the planner in our house.
House is a big goal and one that definitely needs planning and once you meet your goal it is so satisfying and fun to make it your own in a way that you can’t do in an apartment. Check out Dave Ramsey’s financial peace book – best finance book ever!
Stephanie recently posted..On the Homefront: Week 11, Tyler’s Birthday
We aren’t planners, we do have goals, but we really need to try to work on plans to reach those goals.
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Planning for big steps is so important, fun and scary! Such cute pics
I enjoy being spontaneous but my husband and I did plan when we were buying our house. I hope you the perfect home for your family.
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I am always planning, whether short term or long. I think I stress on it a little too much, but I would rather be over prepared than under prepared.
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a home is a great goal. I keep telling my husband I want to get out of debt, save for a house and never give anyone another month of rent that is just going to waste.
Elizabeth Ferree recently posted..My Dream Job as a Kid and How it Has Changed
Planning is SUCH a major step. I’m not good with that lol but luckily my husband is!
I could have written this post. my life did not go according to my plain either. I wouldn’t change my life either. my husband and I also have a goal of buying a house in the next 5 years. I wish you so much luck in reaching your goal.
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We couldn’t live in an apartment. Buying a home was our first priority as a married couple and we managed to succeeed just in time for the birth of our first daughter!
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Great post and great goals! I know you’ll achieve it!
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Most families now are getting smarter as they want to buy a house and not rent home. Through the years, the amount of rental fees add up to the amount of buying a place you can call your own.
My boyfriend and I will be looking into buying a house in the next couple years. I am so excited for this, as I feel that by renting we are just throwing money down the drain.
I can honestly say that I never planned on become a self-employed entrepreneur either!
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For us, buying a house was actually a really easy process. It wasn’t until AFTER we signed the papers that our freak out happened. That part, we didn’t quite plan for.
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Whether or not we achieve them, it always good to have goals. However, there are many things I appreciate that I have now though I never would have chosen them for myself years ago.
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I wish I had set goals when I was younger. I’m setting them now though.
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I like your attitude about not dreaming just doing. We are in control of how we what our lives to go. Good luck in your journey to buy a home. Thanks for sharing.
This is so well written. My life certainly didn’t turn out the way I envisioned it. I was supposed to be a reporter chasing the next big story and at this time in my life I was supposed to be Anchoring the Today Show! Ha! After journalism school and working at a TV station for four years, I met my husband, we had kids and I settled down to become a stay at home mother. But I wouldn’t change it. I’m making it what I want it to be!
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What you said is so true, we should live one day at a time. But planning ahead for the future never hurts, you can never be sure about when you’re going to need financial help so it’s always better to prepare. 🙂
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It is so important to be prepared. Beautiful photos of your family too.
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You can plan as much as you want, but life always just “happens!” I love how you and your husband live your lives!
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I totally agree, you have to be prepared because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s always important that we encourage our children as well.
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Sounds like you have a lot of wonderful things going on for you. Congrats. Good luck with buying a house. =)
Yup, you never know what lies ahead. I totally believe in being open to change and embrace what comes your way. And who wants their life planned out for them anyway.
We are somewhat prepared, but not as much as I’d like us to be. And congrats on buying a new home!
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Such a cutie pie! You make some great points.
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I’m divorced, and have a son, but live a pretty spartan life as a female entrepreneur. That means that I don’t buy a lot of extra things and I’m really frugal except for a couple luxuries that do have their own purpose. Planning is great. I’m 33 and back in school for another round. It doesn’t mean I’m still in my early stage, but that one of my goals is to study and complete the goals I set a long time ago, which was to become the first PhD in my family, even if it is in Business.
It’s great that you have plans… keep making them and your life will always get better. 🙂
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What a well written and uplifting read! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Michelle
mash-elle.com
I never seem to think about planning for the future but I really need to, thanks for the info.
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It reminds me of me telling my husband he needs to be happy in the moment. Doesn’t mean he can’t strive for more but be happy for what you have and live in the moment.
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I think about what the future may be like at times, but I’m really not prepared for any of it. I need to think about what would happen for my kids if anything ever happened to the hubs or myself.
Doesn’t sound unrealistic at all.Having a goal is necessary to plan for the future If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It’s that simple.
We are on our fourth home and it really is something that needs to be planned at least budget wise, besides the mortgage there are utilities, taxes, insurance and then of course those things that just break down 😉 Having a goal to save for (and keep saving to maintain) a house is just realistic and it’s such a nice feeling when you’ve gotten to that place in life.
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Good luck on your home! We owned our home for about thirteen years while the kids were all in school through college. Go for it! We are now moving to Marco Island Florida to rent a condo on the Gulf, you have time for all things when bringing up a family!
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I haven’t started planning for the future. It’s time for me to get on it before it is too late.
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