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When my husband and I first got married, we couldn't afford any luxuries — now we have more flexibility. I'm glad I learned to stick to a budget, though. I wouldn't have reached my financial freedom otherwise.
We still treat things like eating out as a luxury instead of as the default. I married my husband when we were both 21 years old. He was a busboy, and I was a waitress.
We lived in a tiny apartment, went nowhere but the restaurant where we both worked, and lived off of frozen tilapia and rice. Thanks to parental assistance, my husband was still in college, but I couldn't afford to finish my degree because we didn't have the money and someone needed to pull double shifts. In other words, we were broke.
But with a few smart financial moves, a generous grandmother helping us with our first mortgage down payment , several odd jobs, and a lot of perseverance, our financial position has improved over the last 11 years. My husband finished his degree, and then I finished mine. He's climbed the corporate ladder.
We sold our first house for twice what we paid for it, and I found a way to make my English degree pay. The process has been long and grinding, and it's incl.