What I’m Thankful For…

Happy Thanksgiving! This year has been one for the books. I have a BAD habit of overworking myself and trying to control everything. I started the year out with a major panic attack that occurred around my birthday in January. It was horrible and I felt non-stop anxiety and worry from the moment I woke up each morning until I went to bed.

I remember telling myself that once I got through that, I needed to become more committed to slowing down and taking better care of myself. Then Covid-19 hit and changed everything. I’m sure so much in your life has changed too.

Validating Negative and Positive Feelings

This year hasn’t been a walk in the park, and I have no intention of making it seem like it has. Last week, I sat down with my family and asked them what were some of the negative impacts of Covid-19 that have affected them. The rules were to complain as much as possible with no guilt and to share even the smallest inconveniences of this pandemic.

I was especially interested to hear my son open up about how he was tired of wearing masks everywhere (even though he understands why it’s necessary) and not being able to see my friends. It was important for me to make sure that his and my husband’s feelings were validated and that it’s okay to feel icky sometimes about this whole thing.

When 9/11 happened, I was still in school and I remember my teacher allowed us to sit in the dark for weeks afterward and discuss our thoughts and feelings about the terrorist attacks. It was much-needed therapy…and we made it through that hardship.

So know that if you’re still standing now, you will make it through whatever you’re going through as well. That said, I wanted to share some things that I’m super grateful for each year. Of course, dealing with the hardships of Covid-19 would have been 10 times harder had I not had these things and people impact me so I’m truly thankful.

My Family

Family is so important to me and I feel truly spoiled to have such an amazing family. My husband is so supportive and has taught me so much about love and respect. The fact that he managed Pinterest for this blog for a few months during the shut down just proves how awesome he is. He doesn’t even like Pinterest or know the first thing about it but would do anything to help me out and share my posts so they reach more people.

My son has created so much light and joy in our household since he was born but especially this year. A day hasn’t gone by where I didn’t laugh at something he said or did. As a child, he’s been so thoughtful and understanding through this whole pandemic (something I couldn’t even imagine going through as a 10-year-old).

I’m also super thankful to be so close to my parents and siblings. My mom is a modern-day superwoman who’s been fearlessly facing Covid-19 head-on while working in the nursing field. I’m grateful that my siblings and I are so close. We talk all the time and would do anything for each other.

A Flexible Business

“Aren’t you so glad we started this years ago?” One of my friends said this to me over a Zoom call back in April. It’s crazy to see how successful some of the people are who started their blogs around the same time as me.

To answer my friend’s question, yes, I feel extremely grateful to have a flexible business that allows me to work from home. I know this is a privilege that not everyone has. However, not a day goes by that I take for granted all the hours I spent building my online business, getting up at 5:30 am, researching SEO and marketing, and writing tons of articles.

If you’re like to learn more about how I created an online business that I enjoy working in every day, check out some of the links below.

Related: How to Make Money with a Blog or Niche Site

Side Hustles Explored: How to Become a Freelance Writer

How to Start a Successful Money-Making Blog in 10 Days

Crucial Steps to Take Before Taking a Leap of Faith and Quitting Your Job

This Community

As always, I’m so thankful for the online communities that I have including this one. When I started this blog, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just wanted to share my debt payoff journey and what I was experiencing as I learned more about personal finance.

I’ve enjoyed connecting with so many people on here over the years and hearing your stories. I enjoy the community Facebook group I started for My Debt Epiphany readers as well as the communities of financial bloggers I’ve been a part of. It really makes me feel like I’m not alone and I’m grateful to be able to interact with people who get it.

Debt and Financial Hardships

Let’s be honest. Being in debt and facing financial hardships is not easy and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone. Still, I feel like struggling with finances years ago allowed me to learn how to overcome those obstacles and get better with money. Had I never gotten into debt I’m not sure that I would have started this blog in 2014 which is hard to imagine.

Over the years I’ve learned so much about how to save, stretch, get creative, and find contentment with where I’m at in my financial journey.

Overall, I’m thankful that I went through my debt repayment journey because truly knowing how it feels to struggle with money gives me a much better appreciation of how far I’ve come.

Related: Life After Debt; Remembering Your Why

Staying Motivated During Your Debt Payoff Journey

What are you thankful for this year?

Giveaway!

December 2020 marks my 6th year anniversary of running this blog and I always love to celebrate with a giveaway. This time around, I’m giving away a $100 Amazon gift card to one lucky person. I hope it helps someone who may need help getting gifts for loved ones this holiday season. You have until December 9th to rack up as many entries as you can, then on December 10th I’ll notify the winner. Good luck!

 

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