A little background about me…. I like cars… A LOT! I mean so much that I used to buy myself a new car every year. Then one day I found the car I LOVED and I kept for a record 3 years. Yes, I know people keep their cars way longer than 3 years but that wasn’t me and still isn’t today.
Fast forward a couple of more cars (that I kept at least 3 years) and we get to about 3 years ago. I had to let go of a car (it was falling apart) and traded it in on a car I was not happy with but it got great gas mileage and could handle 2 car seats in the back. From basically the day we drove the car off the lot every one of my friends heard how much I missed the car before that one and how much I did not like that car. Yet I drove that car every day rather than just going and buying a new one right away. I did so because it was the smart choice for the family as a whole, rather than just trying to make myself happy. We needed a very economical car because of my wife’s commute to and from work and I wanted an economical car to use on the weekends (rather than driving the gas guzzling suv around).
Even after my wife was not commuting so far to work anymore (thankfully for a job closer to home) we still kept that car because there was nothing wrong with it (other than my dislike for it) and it was a good, reliable car.
Sometimes we lose sight of the overall picture in our family life. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices such as me trading in a falling apart car that I loved so that we could have a much more reliable car. Sometimes those sacrifices come in the form of having to work overtime to provide for the family. Sometimes it means finding a smaller place to live due to finances. Sometimes it means a longer commute.
I did, just last week, finally get rid of the car I hated and got something I think I will love (at least for as long as I keep cars). So just because you make sacrifices for your family does not mean you should always sacrifice every time. You have to take time for yourself. You have to buy things that make you happy too. Face it, if you always compromise things you want in favor of the rest of your family, then you are not happy too. So, yes put your family first, but also make sure to take time for yourself.