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When I received an e-mail from my boss asking to speak to me one-on-one, I didn’t see it coming. I was sure the message was about my yearly review and how I had passed with flying colors.

Instead, a pink slip and a severance package were waiting for me in the manager’s office. The Fortune 500 company I had called home for a year was ready to cut me loose. My heart sank when my boss uttered those all-telling words: “Please have a seat.”

I sat down quietly knowing all too well that I was about to lose my job. That job later led to another job that also ended too soon. My husband and I had just bought a house–our first house. We had a huge mortgage. Using the meager funds left in my checking account, we somehow managed to scrape by, pay the mortgage, and buy food.

From Luxury Back Down to Basics

We had been so used to the luxuries of today’s modern age: a cable service that had 1,000 channels, heat that wrapped around us like a blanket, and food stuffing all corners of the cabinets. We were living well, but suddenly we had to make changes. In an effort to stay in our house and afford basic needs, we had to cut back cable to the bare minimum to save money. We turned down the heat and wore bathrobes every night that winter.

I’m not going to lie; there were a few arguments over money. We weren’t used to living with the basics. But as time went on, we adjusted to the changes. I had gotten too used to living well. The world was changing to adjust to the faltering economy, and our lives were changing along with it.

The Hard Realities of a New Lifestyle

After a while, I became comfortable with living thriftily. I got used to buying generic brands and resisting the urge to pick up a little something extra at the grocery store. I was settling into our new lifestyle.

However, I wanted children. My husband was having trouble affording the two of us, let alone a third. We shed many tears and had long talks that stretched into the early-morning hours. He was busy crunching numbers and making back-up plans.

Sacrificing wasn’t one of the easiest things we’ve ever done, especially when everyone around us was out buying new stereo systems and adding on to their homes.

Keeping True Love Strong

But in the end, we’re glad we did it. Both my husband and I gave up the luxuries we had enjoyed for so long and traded them for companionship. We found more time to talk. We found more time to cuddle and enjoy being together.

Last year, my husband and I gave up extravagant travel plans and traded them for free entertainment. We didn’t spend any money on tickets to Hershey Park that year, but we went for long walks in the woods. We visited all the free museums in the city. In the end, it gave us more time to talk and enjoy nature. It taught us how to survive in a time of crisis. And more than anything, it taught us to appreciate the luxuries we have in life. We didn’t go to the movies as often as we used to, and we couldn’t travel to see our families as often as we would have liked.

But now, as we stand here looking back, we realize that it has made our love stronger. In the end, we gained a greater appreciation for each other. We learned that our marriage can endure anything. And I think that’s what true love is all about.

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