sos097 Which Fork Would You Take? Interview with Mandy Knight

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How much does someone’s past affect your relationship? Do you see someone’s past failures as a problem or see them as exercises for personal growth? What if that failure was an addiction? Would you make the same decision Mandy did?

Blogger, mother of three, and wife of an ambitious man

Mandy Knight is a mom, wife, and blogger at MoneyMasterMom.com. She has been blogging for less than a year but puts it all out on the table.

Her husband, Derek, is the author of FreeAt33.com and is working hard to reach their goal: To be financially independent by the time he turns 33. He and Mandy live on $600 a week, do not have a house payment, and have already built a net worth greater than $650,000.

Sounds like a blessed life, right? It is, but it didn’t come without some incredible obstacles to conquer.

A tremendous turnaround

Four weeks after Mandy and Derek met, when he was 23, he shared his history with her. Mandy learned that Derek was addicted to cocaine at age 18. If it had been me on the other side of that dinner table, I would have ran screaming from the restaurant.

However, Mandy saw it differently. It didn’t seem possible that this awesome, caring, well-adjusted guy with a good job could have had a chemical addiction in his past.  Derek’s ability to kick a serious addiction was pretty amazing to her.

What Mandy brings to their relationship

Mandy has a tendency to be independent, which is both good and bad.

Or we could look at it another way too: It is neither bad nor good because they are able to maintain complete honesty and openness knowing full well that these tendencies exist. She is able to take care of herself and their three children but she isn’t interested in doing so. They are a team and are chasing their dreams together.

Handling finances together

Both Mandy and Derek have jobs. It would be easy for them to keep their money separate but they live out of the same joint checking account. They know what their expenses will be and hold themselves accountable by posting their monthly expenses on their blogs.

Mandy understands the importance of paying for things and admits they would use cash envelopes if they had credit card debt or didn’t have such a good handle on their spending.

Anyone can beat their mental monsters

If Derek can kick a chemical addiction and Mandy can share everything with her husband then what is our excuse?

The problem in my relationship with my wife is, well, ME. My fear of rejection and poor self-esteem is likely doing more harm than good. It keeps me from communicating as openly as I could and sharing as much as I want. Knowing that others have bested their demons means I have nothing to fret about.

Mandy Knight’s story can teach us that we can all:

• Benefit from complete and open communication
• Recognizing there are challenges and work past them together
• Draw strength from a relationship with God

Ask yourself this question: What forks in the road have I taken and where have the led me?

Also mentioned in this episode:

To see pictures of the Lake Erie house they are remodeling, go to http://moneymastermom.com/dream-home-renovation-demolitio/

Exclusive bonus interview: MoneyMasterMom when she was 1 week old