Not only is another year coming to a close, but so is a decade! This is the first decade I’ve reflected on as an adult, and in retrospect, there are so many things I’ve accomplished. I feel like my life has changed so much – and for the better! With that, I’ll briefly try to summarize the past 10 years.

The year of 2010 was my first year of grad school. I stayed in the area take summer classes and it was my first ever off-campus apartment. The job I had lined up for the summer fell through and I had difficulty finding another job. By the end of the summer I was broke. I also almost got kicked out of school because the financial aid office and office of student affairs couldn’t communicate with each other. The hubs (then boyfriend) and I shared my car and our apartment only had a futon, cheap dining table, a tv, and tv stand. At the end of the summer I had found a job and we sold what furniture we had. We moved back onto our college campuses, as the hubs and I went to school in different states. My parents took us to Niagra falls and NYC that summer and in NYC my sister got pooped on by a pigeon!

2011 – not much happened. I just worked and lived on campus.

In 2012 I moved off campus and got my own apartment. It was cute and in a quiet neighborhood only a short distance from work and school. That spring the hubs and I went on a cruise. That summer I bought a hand saw and a drill to make a bedframe and a bookcase. It was my first adventures into DIY woodworking and we also still own a lot of the furniture we had in that apartment to this day! In December, the hubs proposed!

At the beginning of 2013 the hubs and I figured out when we were going to get married and reserved the venue over winter break. We were going into our last year of graduate school and clinicals. For the most part we lived a “normal” life of going to work, making dinner, and just hanging out. This was our first official glimpse of what life after school would look like. We also both got new reliable cars for our longer commutes.

So much happened in 2014! The hubs and I graduated with our doctorates! A week later we got married and then honeymooned in Jamaica! When we came back we started our new jobs and studied for our board exams. That summer ended up moving to a larger apartment down the road so we could get our dog Loki. It was also within walking distance to a drive-in movie theater and amazing ice cream place, so you know we ate a lot of ice cream! The hubs also became dissatisfied with work and started seeking out residencies. Once he matched with a residency (in another state), we looked for a second apartment. Our student loans also went into repayment later that fall. On the last day of the year, I also upgraded my 4 door sedan to a mid-size SUV…for the dog.

We spent the entire year of 2015 working in different states during the week. On the weekends we’d commute between NY and PA. On my first trip to PA I got lost in the Poconos with a puppy on the return trip. NOT FUN! I also discovered podcasts to listen to on my commute. That summer the hubs upgraded his car. At the end of the year we packed up both apartments and moved to New England. It was definitely a little bit of a culture shock to say the least. No more street lights, restaurants, or shopping malls down the road.

At the beginning of 2016 we started our new jobs. We started saving for a down-payment on a house. This was when we first started to officially budget. As we were looking for houses we quickly realized we could build a house for the same price as those already on the market. We found a builder we liked and then began looking for land. In July we moved into our new house. We had no hot water for five days. Our well pump was also set too low, so we had sediment issues that broke many valves which needed replacing. Our stairs also needed to be rebuilt after failing inspection. Our heating system went on to fail in October. All the issues caused us a lot of stress. We had a Harry Potter themed Christmas.

So much happened in 2017 as well! This is when our lives started to pivot in a new direction. I started working a second job as it was closer to my house than my full-time job and was similar to the work I had been doing in NY. We also got a new terrier puppy and named him Watson. We didn’t withhold enough for income tax and ended up with a 5-figure tax bill! We adjusted our withholdings and reconfigured our budget. We clarified our values and our priorities. We decided we wanted to pay down debt and be able to go on vacation, so we installed a patio and listed the house for sale ourselves. It sold in 8 hours and we closed 3 weeks later. We ended up moving into my in-law’s new home before they did as we did not have a place to live yet! We almost bought a complete fixer-upper, but due to costs we ended up buying our current house. After moving in I built an island for the kitchen, some patio furniture for our deck, and installed some bookshelves in one of the bedroom closets. By the end of the year we had saved enough money to buy out the lease on my mid-size SUV.

In 2018 we started settling into our new lives. I got done my per diem job due to a long commute and scheduling issues. This blog was started as I felt called to share my intentional living journey. We took a week vacation to Florida. It was our first vacation in 4 years! We were also able to pay off a credit card that we used to buy our previous home’s appliances and buy out the lease on the hub’s car in August. We were also able to pay off two smaller private student loans of mine by the end of the year.

In 2019 I started off January with a successful month-long budget challenge. At the end of the month I was able to pay off one of my private student loans. I refinanced my LAST private student loan from 15 years to 5 years. I also felt called to do more than just share my personal journey on the blog, so I enrolled in a coaching program to help others discover/live their intentional life. During the spring we were able to take a week-long vacation to Mexico. During the summer we were able to pay off all of the hub’s private student loans. In the fall, I officially launched my coaching business!

Unfortunately we’ve lost a lot of loved ones along the way. In remembering them, I hope they were proud of the life they lived. I know that I want to live a happy and fulfilled life, and reflecting on the highs and lows puts everything into perspective.

We have come so far in the last 10 years…and I think our mindset has changed the most in the last 3 years! I am so excited for what the next year and next decade brings. What have you been able to accomplish in the last 10 years? What do you want to accomplish in the next ten? Are you happy with the way you are currently living your life?