The sun streams through your window, warming your face as you wake up. Something’s weird. Different. Then it hits you….in a very good way: vacation starts today.
Your out-of-office is on. For the next six days and five nights, you’ll be in a tropical paradise, feet in the sand, staring at the clearest water you’ve ever seen.
Your partner zips up the last suitcase, grinning. The kids are buzzing—especially because you splurged on their own resort room.
"Better make the most of these next few days," you think, smiling.
Your partner walks over and says, “I’m so glad we’re doing this. Thanks for making it happen.”
You smile warmly and reply, “We made it happen. The debts are gone, and we’re in control.”
Just last month, the water heater broke. Years ago, that would have been a financial crisis.
Not this time. Your Emergency Fund had it covered. Paid in full—no stress, no scrambling.
Same with Thanksgiving. Hosting 20 people meant a massive grocery bill, but you’d planned ahead. When checkout hit triple the usual amount, you didn’t even blink.
Yesterday, Amazon delivered the swimwear and three books you picked for beach and poolside reading. You charged it to your card, to be auto-paid at end of billing cycle—no debt, no interest charges, just rewards.
A few years ago, you couldn’t even have imagined going on a fully paid vacation. You actually dreaded vacations because of the credit card bill that you’d still be paying for 6 months after. Not anymore.
As you board the plane, your partner leans over and says,
“Just got a notification — our net worth jumped 3% last month. Looks like maxing out our 401Ks was the right move. Oh, and my brother texted—he wanted to say thanks again. That money we sent helped him get out of that tight spot.”
You settle into your seat, take a deep breath, and think: "Life is good."