We used to think we were great with money but there's nothing like a global pandemic to highlight some areas of concern. It would appear that there was some wasteful spending going on right under our noses.

After graduation, we lived in a tiny house while working as traveling therapists. By living small and working hard we paid off student loan debt and went on a lot of vacations.

· Discover More: How We Paid Off >$180,000 Student Loan Debt ·

We had some good momentum going for us and the goal was to work less and travel more every year. Since we made a good salary at our job the future looked bright.

Then a pandemic hit and getting two job assignments (and at some points any job assignment) was a struggle. We followed all the finance rules and had an emergency fund that easily covered 3 months of expenses.

But a pandemic lasts longer than 3 months and we knew there would be too many weeks with money coming out but nothing coming back in. To get ahead of the game we went back to the drawing board for a possible complete financial overhaul.

Luckily the main idea of our finances and budget stayed the same but there were little things here and there that needed fixing and quick. So thanks (not really) 2020 for highlighting our wasteful spending.

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Lifestyle Creep

Oh, lifestyle creep. We know what it is and pre-2020 we would have said that we would never fall for such a thing.

We're minimalists so how can we fall for a concept that involves buying too much? We always thought of it as "keeping up with the jones" and this is far from us.

We don't buy the newest and lastest or go crazy purchasing things we don't need. But lifestyle creep isn't just the big purchases but little small things too.

Our lifestyle creep came in the form of laziness.

We would go over random budget categories (like eating out too much at pricey restaurants) or would simply adjust the budget to fit our spending. If you know anything about budgeting then you know that's not how it's done.

· Discover More: Intro to Budgeting ·

We stopped taking the time to price compare and giving adequate time to think over each purchase. We could have continued down this path with no problem because we were doing well with the money coming in so we worried less about the money going out.

But 2020 changed everything and we saw that even if we could live this way, that's not how we wanted it. Our goal is to be financially responsible no matter what.

Finding Balance

We quickly found a balance between having nice possessions then saving the BEST for a special occasion. It might seem like a simple idea but it works.

It's easy to fall into an "I deserve this mindset" which easily turns into the extreme. You can still have nice things for everyday use but save the amazing experiences and luxury purchases for a special treat.

Know Where to Splurge

The basic idea of saving money is limiting the money coming out but there's so much more to it than that. We found it's not just about spending less but how you spend.

If you try to halt all funds coming out by living on little to nothing it might help your savings account but your overall quality of life might plummet. And this can eventually lead to a spending binge.

If you are anything like us, when life isn't going as well, you look for ways to pick it up. Unfortunately, this typically means spending more money.

It's like when you're stressed so you get yourself a "treat". This treat ends up costing you and may have just derailed all your saving efforts.

We found the better way to handle it is to know where and when to splurge. This way you don't have a moment of weakness after denying yourself over and over again.

You should still stay within your means but instead of thinking "I can't buy anything" think "I'm going to use my available money to buy the items that add to my life".

Side Hustles

Pre-2020 we always said we loved that our careers as physical therapists meant always having a job opportunity. Turns out that wasn't exactly the case. If you think about it, there might not be any job with 100% job security.

We knew to diversify our savings but we neglected to do the same thing with income. Why have several jobs when one job gets the job done...at least that was our thinking.

Now we see how important it is to also have various income streams. We needed more side hustles with revenue.

So the goal of 2021 is to generate revenue with the blog and find more ways online to earn money from anywhere. Even if it's only $100 here and there, it adds up.

Our Main Takeaway

We learned how important it is to always be evaluating and re-evaluating. You might think everything is going smoothly but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement.

Our wasteful spending wasn't going to bankrupt us or anything but it was slowly taking away from areas that had more importance. Which for us, means more money to travel.

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