Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; but today is a gift, that’s why they call it the ‘present’.

I know when you’re deep in debt, have massive savings goals, or even busy with life that it’s hard to remember to enjoy each day as it comes. I will be the first to admit that I am horrible about this. I’m always over planning, over thinking, and contemplating the next move without embracing every day that’s gifted to me. It’s easier said than done, though! How can you learn to live in the present? Here are some ideas:

Stop dwelling on the negative

When there’s something in your life that’s not going as well as you like it to, it’s easy to let that consume you. Whatever it may be, make a plan to resolve the issue and do the best you can. For example, you’ve gotten yourself in debt and now you’re clawing your way out of it. The first step is realizing you need to get out of debt. The second step is to make a budget and plan to get out of debt. The rest is just sticking to your plan and doing everything you can to dig yourself out of debt. Then stop worrying about it.

Stop over planning

You can plan and plan and plan, but chances are no matter how much you plan, in the end things are going to end up differently. Things can change at any moment, and you have to be flexible to allow these changes to work into your plan. It is great to plan for the future, but don’t get too wrapped up in it that you forget to live in the present.

Focus on the day

Make sure you are living in the present by focusing your thoughts on what is currently happening. Take one day at a time, and be grateful for every moment you have.  Anything may seem overwhelming, but when it comes down to it, you will get over it.  Things will work out how they’re meant to.  Just do the best you can and things will fall into place.

How do you focus on living in the present?

Mr. Money and I have babies on the brain.  Despite the obstacles we’ve occurred, we’re determined that we will be parents in one way or another.  One of the reasons we waited to try to have a baby was because we wanted to wait until we were financially secure.  I understand now that you’ll probably never truly be ready to have kids, but we wanted to be as prepared as we could be.  We really wanted to make sure that we were student loan free.  That was something that we didn’t want to negotiate on.

Now we’re student loan free and working on trying to have a baby.  It’s so exciting, and it finally feels like the time is right.  I can’t help but wonder if maybe we’ve waited too long now, though.  I’m 26 (I know, young!) but Mr. Money is 33.  What if it takes years to get pregnant?  Yikes.  I do think there are many benefits to waiting to have children, but I also think there are some drawbacks.

Pros to having a baby when you’re older

-You have time on your side to pay off debt

-You’ve gained some career experience

-You have time to save money for an emergency fund or for the baby

Pros to having a baby when you’re younger

-Things cost less than they would in 10 years, making it cheaper to have a baby

-You have more energy to play with the child and raise it

-If you do have trouble getting pregnant, time is on your side

Basically I think that we’ve got time on our side, and hopefully things will work out and I’ll be knocked up before you know it.

Do you think it makes better financial sense to have a baby when you’re younger, or older?