Episode 19: How we went from know-nothing-newlyweds to financially stable

Through all of our naivety and poor choices, it has taken us nearly a decade to feel financially stable. We may not be where we'd like to be, but we're in a far better place than we were 10 years ago. Josh joins me on the podcast to talk about our financial journey from know-nothing-newlyweds to where we are today.

Neither Josh or I came into our marriage with much of a financial plan. Given the benefit of hindsight, we can't help but shake our heads and facepalm 🤦🏻‍♀️ at our naivety. Josh had just returned from Iraq, where he didn't need to think about finances. I had been living at home—also not considering finances. We got married without jobs or a clear budget—or any budget, really.

After a year, Josh landed a great job, but we still didn't take our financial situation seriously. We were making decent money, so we didn't have a reason for a budget—was our thinking.

The next job brought a severe salary drop, and we weren't quite prepared for what that meant. After a few months, budgeting became more than a 'good idea'. After several difficult choices, we were on a much better track toward financial stability. Things were still tight, but they were stable and we understood where our money was coming from and—more importantly—where it was going.

It has been an interesting journey from jobless newlyweds to self-employed business owners. Though we do have many financial regrets over the past decade, each of those mistakes has helped us build a more stable financial foundation for the future.

YNAB for the win!

When we started using YNAB regularly, it really transformed how we worked with our money. The ability to track utilities and bills over previous months and see every month's expenses broken down was incredibly helpful. Budgeting stopped being intimidating and started to almost resemble enjoyment.

Want to try YNAB? Get a free month.