2011 - What a year it's been! My husband likes to call 2011 our "re-building" year. See, we went through some major tough times the past few years. Here's a recap: In 2008, I decided to quit my job to go to school full time. I had a few more semesters of graduate school left, and my husband was doing pretty well in real estate so we thought we'd give it a go on the one income. (With school loans to help of course). Bad idea.
Later on that year, guess what happened - the great economic crash of 2008. We had no clue that was going to happen. The housing market tanked, my school loan was denied for renewal, and then I got pregnant in 2009. Whoa. My husband had to go get a regular 9-5 (which he despised), our debt skyrocketed, and the dreaded collection calls began. This continued into 2010, and once my little guy was born, we were at the highest point personally (overjoyed with the birth of our son), but at the lowest point emotionally and financially.
Then in August 2010, I finally got my Master's degree and things were looking up. By November 2010, I got back into the work world and we started to feel better, but we had a lot of digging out to do in terms of our finances. Cut to 2011 - our rebuilding year. What were some of the hilights?
- My son became a toddler, and started walking, talking (sorta), and developing an amazing little personality.
- We moved from the city to the suburbs onto a quiet street on the 2nd floor of a house. (no more bad neighborhood or mean tenants!)
- I got a raise halfway through the year which helped us out a lot.
- My husband decided to go back to school full time, and thanks to his service in the U.S. Navy, his schooling is completely paid for and they also give us a housing allowance.
Looking back on 2011, it wasn't the best year we've ever had, but we're on our way (Thanks be to God). We paid off 3 out of the 7 debts we currently have, which doesn't seem like much but to us it means the world. See, this year was the first year in awhile that we paid our rent on time every single month, and paid all of our bills on time without "robbing Peter to pay Paul". We finally have a debt plan that seems to be working and we're sticking to it!
Of course, 2011 brought some rough patches between my husband and I, but with God's help, things will get better. And my weight of course CONTINUES to be the bain of my existence. (My new year "weight loss" post is on it's way) I gained 15 lbs this year, mostly weight caused by work-related stress. But I'm looking forward to making some positive changes (job-wise, marriage-wise, and health-wise) that should make 2012 that much better.
Happy New Year, friends. May this coming year bring lots of love, prosperity, and more amazing memories for all of us. God bless!
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