Sharing the Experience

Now that we’ve been in the Project Money competition for a while, we’ve gotten pretty used to following our budget and keeping a sharp eye open for financial opportunities. Most of our friends and family know that we’re doing this; so in a way, the contest has become another one of the routine things we track and comment on: “How are the kids?  Fine. How’s work? Busy. How’s Project Money? Good. Not to downplay the exciting moments; every month we’ve come up with a way to boost our income and have selected at least one budget area to try to reduce. But, there’s not something new to report every single day, and in some small way, the contest is just another ongoing facet of our lives (although I bet that will change in December). I suppose that means that we are internalizing the steps we’re taking to manage our finances – they are becoming habits (yay!), and therefore less noteworthy.

Last week, all of the contestants were brought together for a group interview. We spent about 2 hours together talking about what we we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how it’s impacting us. As we all talked about the experience and listened to each other, the power of what we are doing suddenly snapped back into focus. We spoke of the effect on our own lives, and feedback from our friends, family, and blog followers. When the questions ended, we just kept on talking. We all had stories of how what we’re doing affected others close to us in a positive way. What a wonderful reminder that as we learn, we pass along our experience. I came away with renewed motivation to do our best and to share as much of the experience as possible with others in our lives. No more generic responses to “How’s the contest going?” If you ask, be prepared for the gory details!

Comments

[Grant]

I think it's great that you've gotten to have a roundtable with others in the same boat. It's tough to break bad habits, but it's almost tougher to start good ones.