Over the years my passions have become some of the best parts of who I am, what I do, and where I plan to go in the future. Sitting in front of the computer screen, I open a blank word document and I stare. I flip back and forth between the pages of my agenda, and I quickly start to type bullet points.

Each bullet point represents a unique idea surrounding my life, my financial woes, and how I plan to become a better person. Each bullet point gives me something to look forward to. Each bullet point will become a story, a blog post, a video, and most importantly – a memory.

Writing is one of my greatest passions. Yours might be baking, powerlifting, coaching, or designing.

For most us, these passions started out as hobbies. We spent hours upon hours learning about them, investing time and money into something that we thought was fun.

But then one day, our hobbies turned into obsession. We couldn’t go a day or two without somehow implementing that aspect of our life into each passing moment.

In a lot of cases, that passion is the only thing that provides you with happiness or motivation. That passion crosses the line from being a want – to becoming a need.

What about your budget?

When your hobby was just that (a hobby), you didn’t need to worry about whether you could afford to spend time and money working on it. You knew that eventually you would be able to do it, but it didn’t need to be today.

Well, that was before.

Now your hobby has exploded into this massive desire to succeed that you cannot avoid.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of conversations with friends who are trying to cut back on spending (hashtag relatable).

Each one of them has a passion that they spend a lot of money or time on.

Each one of them says they can probably do better at cutting back on that area whether it be spending less time (so that they can take on another job), or spending less money (so that they can’t allocate it elsewhere).

And each time, I say no.

I say no because if something in your life provides you with happiness, motivation, and drive – then eliminating any part of that from yourself is taking away a necessity.

Your mental health and your physical health need you to enjoy life. So, who cares if your passions cost money? They should.

Then seriously Alyssa, what about your budget?

Surprise! Rather than eliminating writing from my budget, I have already invested over $1500 into it this year.

I have decided that since this is my passion, doing anything other than giving myself opportunities is not an option.

Rather than cutting back, I added a new column to my budget. I decided I could spend less money on clothing and makeup, because I’d probably be spending most of my time with my laptop anyways.

I decided I could spend less money eating out and having drinks, if it meant I would get to experience more networking and learning for my blog.

I also decided I would increase my income. By a lot. Which I know, isn’t an option for everyone. But I managed to make it an option for me.

If you need to cut back and you’re struggling to find a place to make up for that missing income, maybe your passion can become a way to supplement your funds.

Maybe you can bake cakes outside of work, maybe you can sell workouts to your friends, and maybe you can find a summer camp to coach at.

I know you’ve been given the entire side hustle speech seventeen thousand times already this month, but that’s not what I’m trying to preach here.

What I’m trying to say, is that life and finances become stressful and hard. You’re going to need a passion to keep you inspired. You’re going to need a hobby to release your emotional baggage.

You are going to need those passions when you decide that you want to pursue them full time.

So, if money is holding you back, but you still want to achieve your goals, use that creative juice you’ve saved for a small brainstorming sesh. There is always a way.

“I don’t believe you”

If you’re reading this blog post, and feel as though there is no way possible to accomplish your financial goals while still moving towards your personal goals, let’s find a way together.

No one should ever feel like they can’t find a way to make their money work for them.

Email me at hello@mixedupmoney.com and we can chat, or leave a comment below.

Seriously – there is always a way! XO.