When I started this blog, I had the idea that it would be your typical lifestyle blog with a green twist. I would blog about beauty products, skincare, recipes, all of which would be geared towards safer, healthier options. Eventually it would morph into a money-making opportunity with lots of sponsored posts and ads. I wanted it to be like those aspirational lifestyle blogs you follow because they’re beautiful and you want some aspect of that in your life. The problem with this type of blog is that it is consumer-based. And I am not someone who wants to encourage people to buy what they don’t need. Once you purchase the items you saw that one time in that flat lay, your life will not be perfect. You will just move on to wanting that scarf from your favorite Etsy shop or that field jacket you were never really into, but now you see EVERYWHERE so you feel like you MUST have it in your life. This is not the person I want to be, and this is not the person I want to inspire other people to be.

During these early months in my blog, you can see the dichotomy between the posts that were natural – things I do in my normal life that I decided would be fun to share, and the posts that were unnatural – products I purchased because they seemed like they would make a good blog post. I was spending too much time thinking about posts, trying to take beautiful photos (which is NOT a skill I possess), and stressing about how to get more traffic. I was turning it into a job. And the reason I decided to not get a job once we moved was so that I could be focused on the babies and taking care of our needs as a family. Instead I was working on posts during baby playtime or staying up late to write in lieu of enjoying a quiet evening with my husband. It had to stop.

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve only posted once in the past month. And even that post felt a little forced, and I was not very happy with the content. But I am vowing to myself now that I am going to remember that this blog is a hobby and an opportunity to share what matters most to me with others. And what matters to me is money. Saving money, spending money wisely, using money as a tool to get I want, but not letting money rule my life.

I’ve thought about turning this into a financial blog. But then l wouldn’t be able to share with you a book I’ve just read, an autumn beverage recipe, a new beauty product I am loving, the random things that make up my life. I still want this blog to be about me, et cetera. But I won’t be sharing things in a manner that I think leads to aspiration. I want to inspire you and supplement your life. And I want your money to be at the forefront of your decisions.

I am looking forward to being able to share with you my financial goals, my past money blunders, and how you can live a great life without endless dollars at your disposal. We all love to talk about money so let me know what personal finance topics you would be interested in hearing about!