Whew, It’s Over!

December 28, 2022 Whew and wow! This has been quite a challenging and eye-opening process! It has been very hard to do this project as part of a couple when both of us appear to handle finances and money very differently. If I’ve learned one thing it’s that you can start out with very similar goals and desires but unless you are actually working hard towards them each week, they aren’t easy to maintain collectively! While we probably aren’t in last place, we sure aren’t in first either and that's okay. It’s not always about winning the competition but the lessons you learn along the way and upon reflecting to gain the lessons to take with you on the road ahead. 
I feel like we could have been more successful with this project if we had sacrificed more and strategized more, both individually and together. When looking back, I hope that we can take some of the lessons we’ve learned from this experience and continue forward with them in our own ways. I think collectively, we probably overspent more than we should, we didn’t make enough strategic moves with our money early on, and we didn’t cut down on as many ‘nice to haves’ or impromptu spending, etc. We also had a few other unforeseen hurdles – struggles with finding a groove that worked for everyone, a late start with working with a financial expert due to staffing challenges, issues with Climbr® working for us, and other things that felt like minor speed bumps but probably added up. 
But we did learn that budgeting isn’t always for the faint of heart, it’s easy to blow past it if not really changing spending patterns, and it’s a meaningful tool that is only there to help you. We also learned that we both had some past trauma around money and that trauma played out in very different ways—and once recognizing this, finding the perfect balance between spending and savings begins to become easier the more we change our relationships with money. I think we also learned that long term money matters take dedication, practice, and routine habits for long-term success. Knowing what we know now, I think we are set up for even greater success for the future. All in all, we did alright, but we still have lots to learn and implement in the year ahead! Project Money is an excellent and rewarding program that certainly challenges you from the start, during its course, and beyond its end. 
Thank you so much for following along in our journey and congratulations to whomever the grand prize winner will be, as well as to all of the others who competed in the journey with us! And if you, the reader, feel like this program may be a good thing for you or your household to do, keep an eye out on Project Money’s website to learn how you can apply for an upcoming season.
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