Make your family top priority-not your debt

This week was a good week! Before work on Thursday, we had a parent/teacher conference for my youngest daughter. It went very well. On top of her getting straight A’s the whole year, we were commended on her behavior. The teacher then asked us our secret for having such a wonderful child…all I could do was smile. We are so proud of her-you just have no idea!

This year was definitely no picnic for our family-technically the past few years haven’t been so great. With all the debt looming over us-I think we started to lose our focus on the things that truly mattered. There were many nights that I just did not feel like doing homework or doing anything at all. There were days when I just didn’t want to be bothered…by anyone. Not my husband and not my kids. There were a lot of hard times and a whole lot of arguing-mainly because of the bills and the debt. But, my daughter kept at it and continued to do her best and it paid off.

Debt will cause this huge black cloud over your head and stress on you and your family that you may not notice until things like this happen. Luckily for me, my daughter stayed strong and worked hard to get ahead in school. Even though we were there for her-we truly weren’t all there for her. While helping her with math problems, I would see the numbers and immediately start calculating my debt payments in my head. What was that all about? Kids need their parents and what I didn’t know then but know now, is that debt is not the end of the world! Don’t take away any attention from your kids worrying about bills and debt! They grow up so fast and each day is precious. I missed a lot of those “days” worrying and being stressed out because I was in debt.

Now that our bankruptcy is close to being finalized, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Mentally and physically, I am so much better than I was a year ago! I know this is a huge reflection now on our family life. We are much happier people! One of the purposes of this blog was to keep track of my progress and if anything look back on where I was and where I am now. I tell ya, I looked back on some of my entries from last year and I am astounded at what changes have already happened! Last year around this time, we were bouncing checks left and right and our future was in limbo. Not anymore. We are actually paying our bills in full and on time every month! It is a wonderful feeling. It is also nice to be able to save a little bit after every check. Who knows, maybe one day I could actually have enough saved up to enjoy some time off with the family!

In the meantime though, we will continue to work hard and save but we will make sure to never lose time with the ones who matter most!