Fruits (and veggies) of our labor...

I have a confession to make...I don't enjoy gardening. Now, that might not seem like such a huge confession, but I come from 2 long lines of gardeners and farmers! My dad, my grandparents and on and on, all great growers. I, meanwhile, just started gardening for the first time last summer. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the IDEA of gardening. But the actual getting down and dirty is just not my idea of fun. First it is actually dirty, then there are the bugs, and the itchy skin that I always get when I touch plants, especially tomatoes. Sound fun to you?

So why do I garden? Well, first, I love fresh veggies. There is nothing like a fresh tomato sandwich with a little Duke's mayo on a hot day. Second, the health benefits of eating something fresh are so much better than anything you can get in the grocery store and don't get me started about the benefits of knowing that I've avoided GMOs, pesticides, herbicides and all kinds of other problems with commercially farmed food. Finally, the financial benefits are amazing. You can put a $2 pack of seeds in the ground and come up with bushels of beans, cut up a few potatoes and grow next year's crop, and start with a $3 plant and harvest enough tomatoes to can enough to fill your shelves for the coming year.

Is it hard work? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. And that brings us to your financial goals, whether you are working extra hours to help get out of debt, skimping on the grocery bills to save up your emergency fund, or cutting streaming services to make sure you put money away for retirement, you have to remember that the hard work will pay off in the end. While it might not be pleasant and enjoyable now, the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices in the end, and there will be an end. In the fall I will be done with gardening, and we will enjoy the veggies I've put up all winter and into the spring. In a few years, you will be out of debt, have a fully funded emergency fund, and be well on your way to retiring with a nice nest egg.