–how to handle your finances when you’re not sure how to handle your life–

Ever have one of those crazy weeks? I mean one of the weeks where your life throws so many surprises, you feel like you might be living in a TV show? Well that was last week for me and my wife. It was an emotional + financial Rollercoaster! Let me explain ⤵️

The week before was just a normal work week. Full, but normal. Then the weekend came upon us. We knew the next week would as busy as you would expect working three jobs! So we took every opportunity to prepare. We got groceries, prepped our meals for the week, tidied the house, and filled the car with fuel. Everything was routine until Sunday morning. This was when my parents decided to surprise us by flying all the way from Michigan to Sydney to show up for our graduation ceremony! We were absolutely shocked! (If you’ve read my earlier post ‘Zero’ you will understand why this came as such a surprise.) In short, knowing the commitments that my parents have and their financial constraints, we knew it would be impossible for them to make such a trip. Yet here they were! As it turned out, all of my siblings back in the US had chipped in to purchase them plane tickets and cover expenses as a Thanksgiving gift!

And just like that, a seemingly normal week did a complete 360.

In the moment, I was so filled with joy, absolute shock, and confusion. I was joyful to see my parents again, shocked as to how they were even in Australia, and confused on how I would ever be able to host them within my own commitments and budget.

After a bit of maneuvering with our schedules, we planned a few trips to play tour guide and show the parents all around Sydney. And as far as finances, well sometimes you just have to blow the budget!

Yet this would prove to only be the beginning. Here’s what the week looked like for us.

• SUN – parents surprised us in Australia! 🎉
• MON – wife and I walked the stage and graduated from college 🎓
• TUE – wife lost her full time job to unforeseen circumstances 👎
• WED – drove all day showing parents around Sydney! 🚗
• THU – trip to the airport to drop off parents to fly back home 🛫
• FRI – back to work 💪

This week left us so happy having spent time with family and finally receiving our diplomas we’d studied so hard for! Yet, it left us down quite a bit of money from all of the unexpected expenses and the lost income from losing a job.

So here’s the big question! Has life has ever given you one of these crazy, unexpected type of weeks? If not, it certainly will at some point! Maybe you had a medical emergency and found yourself out of work and with a pile of bills. Or maybe you found out that you and your spouse had a surprise baby on the way! Or maybe your car just broke down out of no where. Whatever the surprise, I want to tell you 3 things I learned from this week so you are able to handle your finances in those moments when you aren’t sure how to handle your life!

1. Have an emergency fund in place! — If you haven’t already got some money set aside for the unexpected, it needs to become your top financial priority! For me and my wife this was not an emergency and we didn’t dip into the fund! However, having a set amount of money stored away in a separate account allowed us the freedom to spend the extra money to host my parents EVEN after my wife lost her job. We didn’t scrimp on my parents, because we knew we would be okay! (If you’re wondering how much money, Dave Ramsey teaches to start with $1000, and work your way up to 3-6mo of expenses.)
2. Have financial goals, and be flexible (within reason). — There is an old saying which states, ‘Blessed are the flexible for they will bend and not break.’ I know plenty of people who want to get out of debt or build wealth, but they don’t because life always seems to knock them back when they start to make progress! Though it can be frustrating when life gives you a curveball, it is not a good enough excuse to give up. For us, our current goal is to work three jobs for three months and save $5500. This goal is specific, time bound, and achievable. (Keep up with our goals in the ‘Progress’ tab above!) Yet moments like these will come up where you have to be flexible in order to keep your goals alive. We did this by taking from other areas we had money saved (clothes, vacation, etc.) to cover the costs which came up. By compromising a little in other areas, we were able to weather the bumps without giving up on our goals! Make sure that when the unexpected comes up, you come up with a plan to get through it without losing sight of your goal! Be flexible and keep pushing on!
3. Know your why. — Why are you doing this anyways? If your motivation is simply to drive a Mercedes, or become a millionaire, chances are you won’t make it. You must have a greater ‘why’ behind your finances. For me it is to build wealth so that I can provide for my future family, have the freedom to decide the course of my life, and give with extravagant generosity. So when my parents showed up on my doorstep it only made sense! Why wouldn’t I give up a little extra to make this a trip they will never forget!? I mean if I can’t give extravagantly with the little I have now, how do I ever expect to give extravagantly when I have much? The point here is that you have to have purpose. Eliminating debt and building wealth is HARD and requires SACRIFICE. If you want to make it in the long run, you need a solid reason. Don’t do it for the car, do it for your children’s future. Don’t do it for the mansion, do it for those who don’t have a home.

I know I could give 1,000 more tips on how to manage finances when the unexpected happens, but this is what I learned this time around and I hope it is helpful!

We are better together.

-FF