About three years ago I hit a financial crunch. I was a year out of doing subcontracted, clients-guaranteed massage work, a year out of paying triple mortgages between our past and our current home, and found for the first time how I was living financially was not sustainable. Even with paying minimum payments, I could see I was starting to struggle. Still in good credit standing I applied for a small business loan to help me keep my head above water. After weeks of run around and a long story short, the loan fell through after I’d totally maxed out all my resources to make ends meet. Something had to give.

I took my blinders off and committed to making the changes necessary for me to simply breathe again. I stopped using credit altogether, started paying cash for everything, began saving money-realizing I would never save money if I never saved money, giving myself a buffer with a bit of financial cushion to fall back on, and to ensure I had cash for needed purchases. I leaned into faith that God would take care of the rest as I, for the first time in my life, strived to be a good steward of the money that came into my life.

With paying cash came an extreme decrease in my buying, along with an extreme increase in my previous, almost mindless, non-serving shopping habits. I could always justify past habits by comparing them to the habits of others. “I don’t buy as many things as so-and-so”…”At least I don’t waste my money on stuff like ____ the way so-and-so does,”…. Having followed through on my commitment to myself and to God for almost three full years now, I’m amazed at how rare it is that I make purchases for material goods beyond what is truly necessary in life. This holiday season in particular has shown me how little I rely on material items to find happiness, fulfillment or to express my love for others. In the past I felt justified in my purchases and now I can more clearly see how buying things was a distraction from the things I didn’t want/like to think about, along with being a trick of my subconscious mind in order to ensure I remained in financial hardship, never having or being enough.

Much like finding peace and balance with my physical health, the balance I’m now restoring in my financial health comes from a commitment to loving myself into a life I desire—all rooted in honoring God by honoring the gift that my life is, including my financial experience in life. Like transforming my physical life took more than what I ate and when I worked out, transforming my financial life has required more than saving and not spending. It took a shift in my mentality. I had to grow up, stop living like a college kid, stop blaming outside circumstances and take 100% responsibility for my financial health.

So today, again much like with my physical health, I’m not where I know I’m capable of being, however I make more serving choices than not, I honor myself more, the physical evidence of my choices are more in alignment with my intentions and a more authentic reflection of who I know I am. I have more peace, more faith, more evidence that anything I put my mind to I will succeed. That follow through feels way better than procrastination, and that integrity feels way better than a set of non-serving blinders—also known as fear.

At the beginning I tried to figure you the out how behind getting myself on stable financial ground and I didn’t have the ability to see/think as big as I do now. Now I can see that God works in ways I mostly can never predict and more magnificently than what my mind can think of. Now I let go of the how, trust that God’s taking care of that part, and focus on being and giving what I want to receive in return in the world.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my posting & I’ll be posting great new information, tips & tools regularly. If you have a recipe you’d like for me to try out & review, topics you’d like to hear about, or any other comments, feedback, or suggestions, kindly send me a message to AskCrissy@gmail.com and I will address the matter in a future blog posting. Be sure to subscribe to my Blog & YouTube Channel, visit my website regularly, and follow me on Facebook & Twitter, to stay plugged in to all of my offerings. As always, I wish you infinite love, blessings, peace, and joy as we take this journey together. I am blessed & honored to share my path with you.

Crissy