The very first blog I read was Money Saving Mom. I read her blog for about 6 months before I decided to start my own.
I was impressed with the beans and rice budget they followed while her husband was getting his law degree (perhaps because my husband is finishing up his Ph.D and I know how long the whole process can feel!). I was impressed with how she managed to find great deals for her family and spend very little money, and I admired their commitment to paying 100% down for their first home.
However, after reading her blog for several months, I noticed that she often got rude, dare I say, jealous, comments about her success. People come to her blog to learn how to live a more frugal life and to find great deals, and most of her readers applaud her success. But, there are more than a few that seem jealous of her success, of the fact that she is practicing what she preaches, so to speak.
When she and her husband just recently bought their house IN CASH!, there was quite a lively discussion about this on Facebook. One woman wrote something like this: “I am sure I could pay cash for my house too if my husband was a lawyer with a big salary and I could quit my job, stop paying for daycare and run a profitable blog.”
Really?
It is easy to be jealous of their financial success, but think about all of the work and sacrifice that went into achieving this goal. Are we all willing to live in a not so good area of town so we can live on $1000 a month? Can your family survive on an average of $40 a week for groceries? I know mine can’t. How long can most families live with only one car? (We are doing it now, but my husband can take public transportation, so I get to keep the car all day; that was not the case with Money Saving Mom as her husband had to take the car to get to work.)
Almost as if to illustrate the point of choices and sacrifice, one of her posts immediately following the post about their new house was that they are driving a dilapidated van that is on its last legs. Is the critical reader willing to do that?
The simple fact is that we all make financial decisions based on priorities. For Money Saving Mom and her family, paying 100% down for a house was a very important priority, and they lived their life to reflect that. It is true that she and her husband have more income coming in monthly than many of her readers. However, that does not guarantee the success she and her husband have had. There are millions of Americans who bring in great salaries and are deeply in debt. She and her husband made a commitment based on their beliefs, and they achieved an enviable goal. That is an example we can all learn from.
4 comments:
Bravo!!!
Money Saving Mom was one of the first blogs I ever read. She is so inspiring to me!
Amen! Money Saving Mom was one of the first blogs I read as well. She has inspired me in so many ways. It is unfortunate that people feel the need to judge someone when they are finding ways to succeed in their life.
I agree. I haven't heard of her blog, but I'm going to go find it now. Thanks.
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