i've never had money. let's just get that out in the open right now.

and because i've never really had money, i learned to budget from an early age. i learned to save, not spend outside of my means (for the most part) and shy away from debt ... of any kind.

but i've been strapped lately (who hasn't??). which means i'm stressed. really stressed. i had all these beautiful financial goals and plans and then my car needed to be fixed and unexpected bills crept up.

now, let's not get over dramatic here ... i'm not starving (entirely) and i'm not living on the streets (yet). there are people who are WAY worse off than i and i sympathize. but the only thing i can think of right now is complete financial freedom. and all the "what ifs" that are associated with ... "if i only had money ..."

so here are some thoughts that i thought i'd share with you as i stare at my bank account and negotiate my salary this week: (by the way, i'm repeating them over and over in my head to ensure i don't set myself up for further failure)

don't fall in love with your money.
don't fall in love with what you're money gets you.
don't fall in love with what your money protects you from.
and with the money you DO have ... take it all and use it to pursue your dreams.

so about those "what ifs"? what would i do if i were financially free? would i be as adamant about pursuing my dreams by allocating my funds as conservatively? or would i blow it thinking, "oh, there's more where that came from if the opportunity presented itself."

hmmm.