5 Things I’ve Learned from DINKS

This post has been six years in the making.  I started on this journey with Dinks Finance back in 2009 and to say my life is in a completely different plan now than it was back then would be an understatement. Back then I was recently unemployed because of the market crash and in the darkest financial place I’ve ever been.  Now I have a career I love, I’m about to celebrate my three year anniversary with my employer, Nick and I have been together 16 years and I can finally say I don’t worry about money every day.

One of the best parts of my financial, personal and emotional transformation over the last six years is that you’ve been with me all along the way.  I would like to thank you for being loyal readers of Dinks Finance and helping me through tough situations such as the lost of my step brother and the struggle of paying off over $50k of debt.  I truly appreciate all your comments, stories and advice.

Although this is my last entry, Dinks will live on.  I don’t have any details about the new writer who will be joining you, but I am sure they’ll continue to tell the story of how money and relationships can happily co-exist.

Thanks to you here are some of the best things I’ve learned with my time at Dinks Finance:

Online relationships are real relationships

Dinks Finance was my first paid blogging job and it truly started my freelance career.  I have to say the online personal finance community welcomed me with open arms and today some of my best friends are people I met right here.  I wouldn’t be where I am today – a successful freelance writer and social media consultant – if I didn’t have the network of other personal finance bloggers.

Specifically I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to J.Money for giving me my first shot, Ginger for always encouraging me to try new things, Shannyn for your brand and blog coaching and Carrie for always supporting everything I do, Vanessa for being your awesome self and Mel for being able to take an awful situation and turn it into a fun experience.  I wouldn’t be here without you guys.

Everyone makes money mistakes

I never talked about my money struggles in real life because as a Financial Planner I should have known better and all my friends worked in banking so they did know better.  Talking about  my debt, tears and sleepless nights with you was both therapeutic and comforting.

It was nice to know that there was a whole world of people on the internet who were experiencing the same struggles and were willing to talk about it to help each other through the mess.

Discipline is the key to success

Trust me when I say there have been times I wanted to throw in the towel over the last six years.  That’s the thing about success: when you get good it doesn’t get easier, it just gets to be more work.  I gave up a lot to launch  my freelance career, but you know what?  If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t change a thing.  Long days, short nights and time away from my relationship helped me pay off all my debt and start building a positive net worth.

Money isn’t always the most important thing

Blogging, freelance writing and consulting helped me earn extra income, pay off my debt, start saving and of course discover my love of travel at the age of 30.  However over time I’ve come to learn it’s not the most important thing.

Money took a toll on my relationship and I was lucky enough that Nick stood by me in deepest, darkest times.  He was there when we were so broke that we couldn’t afford to eat and he was there when I was so obsessed with making money that I put working before us.  For that I will always be grateful and never ever again take our relationship for granted.

New beginnings aren’t so scary

I’ve always been afraid of change.  I don’t like it, at least I didn’t.  But after six years, five different employers and a market crash I’ve come to learn that change is just a part of life.

With that I leave you.  Thank you again for helping me grow up from a lost 29 year old to a successful and confident 35 year old.  I hope we can stay in touch.  You can find me on Twitter @TahnyaKristina.

Take care DINKS.

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.