Dreams vs. Goals

A friend recently asked me if I have achieved any of my dreams.  To me, a dream is way different from a goal.   I see dreams more like wishes and goals as measurable, something achievable, and more realistic.

This next 12–18 months I will finally achieve a long team goal I have been striving for all my adult life.  My goal is to be debt free.  I am within eyesight of that goal and I am so excited.

Marcie and I have always lived under the principle to have little to no debt.  We have gotten car loans but always paid them off early.  I have never had a student loan, but Marcie has.  Again we paid that off early.  Credit cards rarely, if ever, carry a balance over to the next month.  The only real debt we have consistently had is our house loan or mortgage.

We have sacrificed, worked within our means, stayed on budget and we will soon be debt free including the mortgage.  It will be so nice to take our monthly payment and put that into savings every month.

We are not rich, but we have worked hard to achieve this goal and we hope 2021 or early 2022 we will be debt free.  What a load this will be off of me.  I don’t use this term lightly, but I have always felt I was a slave to money.  As a planner and preparer, money has always held me back.  I always worry about money and the million “what ifs” that float in and out of my head.  Those “what ifs” I feel I have to financially, diligently prepare for.

I admire my friends that have money (Phil, Kenny, Laurie) and the ones that never seem to worry about money (Shawn, Mark, Steve, Troy), but that is not how my brain works.  The house debt is a heavyweight on my shoulders and that debt soon will be gone.  Even when the house is paid for, I will still worry about money.  I will work hard to pad our savings account, increase our investment in our 401K, and pay for everything we need in cash.  But will my mind ever be at ease with money?  I doubt it.

What is the magic number to say I am comfortable?  It is like asking how much money do I need for retirement.  I do not know if I have a number in mind or ever will.   I also know if I did, I am not sure I would ever achieve that dollar amount.

I am sure some of those who are savvy with money will give me that attempted comforting statement like “don’t worry about it” or tell me how they have it worse off than me, but I am me, and I only know what I know and how I feel inside.

I plan to build a nest egg for my son.  To leave my son with no outstanding bills when I die.  I am one step closer to doing so.  So have I achieved my dreams?  No.  I don’t purchase lottery tickets.  Am I about to achieve a goal?  Yes, I am.

Until next time,

Tim