My Own Journey: Financial Freedom

I wasn’t prepared for how strange it would feel to stop saving.

For decades, it was second nature—socking away a little here, tightening the belt there, watching our retirement accounts (mostly) grow like a well-fed garden. I say mostly, because it wasn’t always smooth sailing. There were dips that made our stomachs drop, market downturns that tested our resolve, and plenty of seasons where saving felt more like sacrifice than strategy. But through discipline and a lot of conversations around the kitchen table, we stuck with it.

And then… we arrived.

We retired. And suddenly, the accumulation phase was over. No more deposits. Just withdrawals.

It felt, quite honestly, like turning an hourglass upside down—the sand no longer rising, but slowly sifting away. Even though the numbers worked on paper (our financial planner had walked us through it many times), I found myself hesitating over purchases I would’ve never blinked at before. It wasn’t about extravagance—it could be a new pair of running shoes or a weekend trip to see family—and still I’d feel that little twinge. Should I? Is this wise? What if…

Jim, ever the calm voice in the room, would gently remind me, “We did the work. This is what it was for.” And he was right. But rewiring that saving mindset took time and trust. Not just in our plan, but in myself. That I wouldn’t go off the rails. That we had, in fact, built enough.

The exercise in Chapter 8, Manage Your Money Mindset, wasn’t just a worksheet. It was a mirror. Writing out my beliefs about money, then asking whether they still served me in this new season of life, helped me loosen my grip. It reminded me that spending can be an expression of joy, not recklessness. That being careful doesn’t have to mean being afraid. And that peace with money isn’t about never spending—it’s about knowing what matters, and letting your resources support it.