Hey everyone! Today’s post was written by Jordann. This is also her very last staff post here on Making Sense of Cents, and I am very sad to see her go. She has taken on a full-time writing position, and I wish her all the best! 🙂
Inspired by Michelle’s recent post about the American dream, I thought I’d share with you all, my dream.
If you’d asked me this question three years ago, the answer would’ve been completely different. It would have involved a sprawling house, two new cars, and all of the fancy, shiny, expensive clothing, furniture and gadgets I could afford.
I’d have 2 kids probably, a great job, and a golden retriever.
Oh young Jordann, how naive you were. My dream has changed drastically in the past three years. The dream I used to have for my future might as well have plucked from the pages of a catalogue. It was very materialistic, very one-dimensional, and very boring.
Yes, having lots of stuff is nice, having a giant house is nice (for some people) and having brand new cars, of course, must be nice (not that I would know). But are these items the most important thing in life?
Apparently I used to think so.
How I feel about material possessions.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the last two years living in a 400 sq. ft. house, but material possessions have really dropped on the “important scale” to me recently. They’re just not that big of a deal.
Sure, I like to be comfortable, but I’m just as comfortable on my free couch as I would be in a leather one. I have just as much fun watching Netflix on my four-year old TV as I would on a bigger, newer one. These things aren’t worth the money to me anymore.
What’s important to me is experiences, consuming less, and relationships that I’m proud of and want to actively contribute to. I want to be excited to see my husband at the end of the day, and I want to look forward to engaging with my coworkers. I want to always put my best effort into my job.
So what does my dream life look like?
Well, there’s a house in it, but it isn’t very big. In fact, a two bedroom house with a backyard for my dog would suit me just fine. There’s also a car in my dream, but only one, and it’s used. It’s also electric, because spending my hard-earned money on gas would be wasteful.
My husband is in my future, and so is my cat and my dog. There might be a baby there too, but we’ll see how things turn out.
My job would continue to allow me to work remotely, and it would be just as engaging and challenging as my current job is. I’d be paid well, but not exorbitantly, I don’t need that.
Financially speaking, my dream is modest. I save for retirement, I travel once a year to a new place, and I have enough money to spoil friends and family members. I have enough disposable income to not feel guilty about going to yoga a few times per month. I eat well, and am willing to drop some cash on organic, local groceries.
This life I’m describing, it’s not out of reach.
In fact, it’s totally achievable in my life time. I’m half way there already. I have a lot of things on this list already, and the ones I’m missing, are mostly material in nature. Those are things that a little time and hard work can take care of. Thanks to me understanding what is really important in life, I’m already on my way to my dream life. Are you?
What does your dream look like? Is it achievable in your life time?
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