Trading Pay For Happiness

More than a year after returning to the company I’m happily working for now, I can now say I’ve learned to eliminate as much stuff that I didn’t need as possible.  When I was looking at leaving my last job and taking the one I currently have, I knew my job change would mean adjusting to a pay cut that was more than 50%.  That’s a heck of a pay cut guys and gals!  It scared me to death, but I knew it was the best move to make for my health and sanity.  I hated my last job with a passion and it was for two reasons: 1.) my “manager,” or “leader” if you will, didn’t know how to manage or lead and 2.) although I was good at sales, I despised everything about it.

I’ve learned over the years that keeping up with the Jones’s and living above my means never ends well.  I’m a bit of a stickler for sticking tightly to my budget.  At times my husband has had to remind me that it is okay to live a little and not always save everything for the future, but I think sticking to my budget has done me well over the years.  I have trouble buying high ticket items, so it sometimes takes me a while to make the jump to purchase whatever it is.  I like to think that I’m taking the time to evaluate the situation from multiple sides instead of being irrational, but I know it’s just because I hate to spend money that I’ve been saving.

I recently decided that I would no longer let my pay cut keep me from saving.  I went into the direct deposit information and took the plunge to have a small amount put away in savings before I even see it each week.  It’s definitely missed right now, but I know that it will be nice to have a little bit of emergency or fun money in the future.  By having it deposited into my savings before I ever see it, I know that I won’t justify some reason I should hold onto it and therefore won’t deviate from my savings plan this year.  It’s a difficult adjustment when I see what I made this year compared to the year before with my old company, but I sleep so much better at night when I don’t have that smarmy sent of sales sleeziness on me.