HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Welcome 2016!!

2015 turned out to be quite the year!  I changed jobs (twice - more on that in a minute), my nephew was born, and I discovered the idea of minimalism and eliminated over 34% of my belongings since July 19.  I could never have predicted the path the good Lord took me on, but I am certainly grateful!  

When I last blogged in November, I was about to embark on a pretty major change - going back to my old company I was at for 9 1/2 years.  Less than a month after my old boss said he needed to cut my pay significantly for budgetary reasons (which he later recanted after re-running the numbers), the job I'd always wanted came open at my old company and I was approached about taking the position.  Although I loved my co-workers (and my boss too), I decided the chance for stability and to go back "home" was something I couldn't pass up.  I've been back there for about 5 weeks now and I love it!

Admittedly, I went off the rails a bit with ordering Lia Sophia jewelry from their clearance website and buying clothes for my new position (which requires dress pants more often than not).  However, by year's end, I still managed to purge over 5400 items (over 34% of my belongings).  I bought the "Mindful Budgeting 2016 Planner" from a blogger named Cait Flanders to track all my purchases/expenses during 2016.  I've got the starting numbers filled in and I am SO excited to use it!  You can click here to buy one for yourself!

So, with the first day of the new year nearly in the books, I wish you all a happy, healthy 2016!  I'm excited to see what 2016 holds!

XOXO,
Stephanie

What.A.Year!!

It's been a while since my last blog post and all I can say is "What a Year"!  When we left off, I had left my employer of nearly 10 years and taken a less stressful job and a huge pay cut!  Life was all about simplifying....  I had simplified so much that I really didn't have much to blog about at the time.  (The garden eventually died, the weight I lost doing Take Shape for Life came back b/c we always ordered lunch at my new job, and I had stopped all my subscription boxes).  For the first time in many, many, many years I was living life relatively unstressed.  And you know what happened - I got bored and TOO relaxed!

Enter an unexpected job offer......

I get a phone call from my best friend saying her boss was going to call me.  There is a Director position open at the sister company where she works and he wants me for the job.  Ummmm - what!?!  Long story short - I accepted the job and am now the Executive Director of an agency that specializes in serving individuals with Developmental Disabilities and Autism.  I've spent the past 3 months trying to get my bearings and grow the business.  The best part - I feel alive again!  Stressed - yes, proud - yes, at peace that I'm where I'm supposed to be right now in my life work-wise - yes again.  Let the journey continue!

(Head shot for my new job)

Spending Freeze Series - Being on a Budget Really Stinks....Until I Consider the Alternative!

This past week has been harder than the first week as far as sticking to a budget goes!  At various times throughout the week, I became stressed, bored, and tired (all triggers for my online shopping).  I resisted though and am quite proud of myself for that!  I did get a pedicure Friday, which I ended up feeling guilty about (although my aching feet thanked me for it).  I never would've felt bad about doing it before and that's when it hit me....being on a budget stinks....until I consider the alternative.

As I've mentioned before, taking this new job also meant taking a BIG pay cut.  I became frustrated this weekend though b/c, of all things, it's the end of the Lia Sophia Spring/Summer 2014 catalog and there's some items that are being discontinued that I wanted to order.  (Yes, I realized how ridiculous that sounded as soon as I typed it.  I should be focused on my debt snowball anyway).  Instead of letting the b-word get me down, I kept reminding myself that I could be having all the fabulous clothes and Lia Sophia jewelry I wanted...if I were still at my old job.  The money there was great, but being on-call 24/7 and the stress and frustration level I felt every day just wasn't worth it.  I know the Lord lead me down this path for a reason and I'm thanking my lucky stars for my new job and the sense of peace that comes with it!

The Price of Happiness

I recently had to make a tough decision for my life - one that changed everything in fact.  What that decision boiled down to is what is the price of happiness?

For the past 9 1/2 years I worked for a company that serves individuals with Developmental Disabilities.  When I first came to the company, I had only minimal experience serving such a population, but quickly fell in love with it.  I worked my tail off for over 5 years in the same position until the promotions finally started opening up and thru much hard work and dedication, I quickly advanced within the company.  In late 2013, I reached my ultimate career goal within the company - being a Director with my own region.  I poured my heart and soul into the position and quickly, my new region grew.  I fell in love with the marketing aspect of things and loved that this "baby" was all mine!  The region began taking off and everything was going so well.  And then it hit me - I was exhausted, frustrated over things I couldn't change, and I knew in my heart it was time for me to move on....  (Wow!  Wasn't expecting that revelation)!

I'll never forget the day when I hit my breaking point.  I was driving to work and it hit me - it's time to move on.  Not one who is a fan of change - I gave the situation to God and prayed He would open whatever doors needed to be open and that if it wasn't time for me to go, that He would tell me that too.  That day was a particularly tough day at work and I came home and updated my resume.  (Something I hadn't done in nearly 10 years).  At the same time, I also typed my resignation letter to the company.  I didn't have a job lined up.  I hadn't even applied anywhere or talked to anyone about looking for a job.  But my resume and resignation letter were ready.  I had reached my limit of what I was willing to deal with.  I also looked at my financial situation and determined what the minimum salary was that I would need to be able to leave my current position.

That night and the next morning, I continued to lift the situation up to God.  Low and behold - at a meeting that was in a completely different County from where I live, I ran into someone I had known for 13 years.  She asked how things were going with me and I said I was looking for a job.  I asked her if her company was hiring.  Much to my surprise, she said yes.  Factoring gas into the equation, it would be a significant pay cut though ($10,700 to be exact).  Ouch!

That's when I had to decide - what is the price of happiness?  Can you even put a price on it?  In the end, I prayed, crunched the numbers many times over (thank goodness I had been doing the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover and paid a lot of bills off), and prayed some more.  Taking this pay cut would put me at the bare minimum of what I could live on, but I would get my sanity back.  No more being on call 24/7, no more trying to fill 3 roles at once, and no more working long days that involved taking work home all the time - and no more Coach purses, buying patio furniture on a whim, and getting monthly manicures and pedicures.  $10,700 - that was the price of my happiness.

Now, a week into my new job, I feel peaceful for the first time in years!