Last week, I shared on Instagram Stories that I was struggling with coming up with fresh blog post topics. (My struggle with burnout might be a contributing factor with writer’s block.) Many of you chimed in with ideas you’d like to see me cover (thank you!) One of the most popular topics was more blog posts about personal finances. Long-time readers of Becoming Bailey know I used to write often about personal finances, mainly when we were on a 3.5-year journey to pay off $35,000 of debt.
Since we became debt-free in November, I’ve shared just one blog post about finances (our post-debt snowball finances goals.) Honestly, I’ve been hesitant to write more about personal finances since November for a few reasons.
First, I don’t want to come across as bragging. I remember living on student loans while I was in college and then up to my eyeballs in debt after graduation. A friend would casually chat about how she’d go jet-setting around the world like it was just down the street. I remember how terrible I would feel about myself after conversations with her like I was “less than” because I didn’t have what she did. Even though we’re now debt-free and doing well, my heart still remembers what it was like to be poor. I don’t want to make other people feel like they’re not “good enough” because they are struggling financially or because they’re in debt. Your financial situation does not determine your worth.
Secondly, now that we’re debt free, our finances are honestly… boring! I know boring is good financially, but it doesn’t make for exciting blog posts. Even I got bored with my monthly budget blog posts, so I’m sure others were too. Our monthly budget meetings take approximately 5 minutes from start to finish because we’ve got our monthly budget down to a science.
Finally and most importantly, I don’t want to confuse readers with the “prosperity gospel.” Yes, we do believe that God has given us these financial resources for a purpose and we want to be good stewards of these resources (by tithing and living within our income), but we don’t believe that being a Christian will automatically grant you wealth and that not being a Christian means you will be poor. Your relationship with Jesus does not determine your financial situation, and your financial situation does not determine your relationship with Jesus.
All of that said, I do miss writing financial content. I still want to inspire people that they, too, can be wise with their finances and become debt-free just as we did. If we can get out of $35,000 of debt on a low income, then you can too. It’s never too late to change your financial future. So I’m going to get back into blogging about personal finances from time to time, whenever I feel inspired by a topic. I just hope that you can see my heart behind the posts and understand where I’m coming from.