(6 minute read)

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make. I’m 33 years old, and I got married five years ago and never told anyone. There was no dress, no flowers, and no matching bridesmaids. I didn’t rent out a hall, or have an open bar, nor did I even have an officiant. It was just me and the bold decision that I would change my financial future by jumping in, head first, to be together forever with my money. Yes, you guys, you read that right – 5 years ago, I married my money. And the thing is, it’s the best decision I ever made.

Why you should marry your money this year

Okay, so let’s back up a step and just clear the air by saying I’m not a weirdo who thinks people should marry inanimate objects. But I do believe we should be taking our financial futures as seriously as we take getting married. And if we spent half the time planning a budget and paying attention to our expenses as we do on buying a dress and picking out a wedding cake, I think a lot of us would be in a better financial situation. To be clear, you can also have a legit badass wedding if you want. But you can also have a badass financial life too with just a little hard work.

So when I say five years ago I married my money, what I am actually saying is that I decided once and for all commit to the money in my life as a positive force to be reckoned with. And that I wanted to take control of my future to build the life that I wanted on my terms and knew that I wanted money to come along for the ride. 

So why do I think you should also marry your money this year? Because in the past five years, I was able to go from being broke living paycheck to paycheck (and swimming in debt) to being debt-free, paying off $50,000 of my student loan, and bought a house. I also managed to: 

  • Save $20,000 to my emergency fund.
  • Put away tens of thousands of dollars for retirement and my nephew’s college funds. 
  • And I did not have to sacrifice things that I love like going out to eat and traveling (I also still drink Starbucks lattes, and if I ate avocado toast, I’d be doing that too because I’m a badass millennial!). 

But the best thing that happened over these past five years was that I stopped being terrified every time I looked at my bank account. I stopped waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because I was overwhelmed by debt and didn’t know how to get out of it. And I built a positive, open, honest relationship with my partner (the real human I’ve been with for seven years who I plan to marry in real life). We can talk about money without pain and suffering and are building the financial life we want together. So are you convinced yet that you should be marrying your money too?

What does it look like to marry your money?

Marrying your money – should you also choose to do so this year – means that you commit, 100%, to dive into your financial life and choices to build the future you want on your terms.

It means: 

  • Full transparency – knowing where every penny is going, both coming in and going out.
  • Being totally honest – sometimes money just can’t buy you that new sweater and you are going to have to take that on your chin. 
  • Loving without expectations – your money can only do so much for you, so be prepared to love it for its limitations. 
  • Aligning your fundamental principals – identify what your most important principles to live by are, and make sure you bring money along for the ride.
  • Be kind – sometimes your debt-free journey is going to be long and hard. Make sure to be kind to yourself because every relationship has its rocky roads.  
  • ‘Til death do you part – be willing to marry your money forever. 

If you are willing to commit to these six things, then you are ready to get married to your money this year. And the best part is it’s FREE!

Are you ready to commit to your money?

Here’s the thing that is great about marrying your money this year. All you have to do is say yes! There’s no planning or waiting; no ring buying or fancy proposals. You get just to say right here, right now, that you are ready to change your financial life by saying yes to your money! Now I know it can be scary to make a lifelong commitment. You might not think you are ready. You might think something better might come along like winning the lottery or finding out you have a secret cousin who left you a massive inheritance. But chances are (even if you are lucky enough to have those things happen to you), you’re still going to have to figure out what to do with a paycheck each month no matter how small or how big it is and that is a decision you can make right now. 

No more guessing, waiting, or wondering if you’ll have enough in your bank account this month to cover your credit card bill. No more being shocked the morning after you go out how much you spent at the bar last night. Imagine being in complete sync with your money, you loving it and it loving you back so that you can achieve 100% of the things you set your mind to. That is what you will get by saying yes to your money this year. 

Are you ready to say yes to marrying your money? Then hop along for the ride! Sign up for my weekly newsletter, where I’ll be sending out tons of great tips, financial information, and real actionable things you can do right now to start changing your financial life. Also, keep checking back here to the blog or follow me on social media. I’ll be breaking down exactly how I did it over the past five years, talking about the real cost of things, and helping you down the road to financial freedom. If you’re with me post #marryyourmoney on social media so you can join the journey! I’ll send you a wedding present

Xoxo, 
Amy