Hey y’all! My name is Brittany, I’m 27 years old, and I want to tell y’all a lil story!

I used to own a brand new Mustang. It took me months to find the exact color, exact style of interior, and black wheels. I finally found it and drove it home that day. She was so freaking pretty and very luxurious. After I had the mustang for a little bit, I traded that car in for a brand new Ford F-150. Keep in mind I’m saying “new” which means these were vehicles bought new from dealerships so you can imagine the price tag!💰

I am a Ford girl. But truth be told I only purchased those vehicles because of the luxury looks and keeping up with the Jones’s. I was in my earlier 20s when I made these decisions. When you’re at that age you really don’t care about the money, you just want that bad ass ride. We never missed a payment. But after I got rid of the Mustang and I had the Ford F150 for a couple of years, I was sick of paying a house note on a truck that was only aesthetically pleasing, not needed!

We sold the truck and I was scared that I was going to miss it because like I said it was aesthetically pleasing to look at and the inside of it had everything you could ever want. I knew that I would have to start driving the older truck that had been parked in the barn for a couple of years that needed A few things done to get it up and running to become my new daily drive. I would walk out there and look at that truck parked in the barn and dread knowing that I was going to have to drive that truck around because I was comparing it to the newer vehicles that I had….

The truck pictured is my paid off 2005 F350 King Ranch Powerstroke I thought to myself…. Why the heck have I had this paid off truck sitting in the barn when I could’ve been driving it all these years and would’ve saved hella money. But when you’re younger you don’t think about things like that. At 26 I realized having the “new new” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

This truck is now my daily drive. It was already fully deleted, bulletproofed, and tuned. I cleaned her up really good inside and out. Took the step bars off. Replaced the Ford emblem on the front, put the really nice tool box that came off of my new F150 on this one.

We did get a rebuilt motor, replaced the sunroof, & new injectors! It is time to buy new tires 😵‍💫

Fun fact- The truck was owned by an elderly man and I’m the second owner meaning it hasn’t been raw dogged like most of them.

The❗️ ONLY❗️ flaw is the clear coat on the hood is faded and needs to be repainted. Until I can find a reputable person I’m gonna throw a front bumper on it. The interior is in pristine condition to be an 05! Dash isn’t cracked! I have fallen completely in love with this truck when all along, it just needed a lil TLC🖤

My whole point of this post is to remind people that you don’t have to have the newest of new. Nobody cares what you drive. Hell, I get more compliments on this truck than I did my new ones. People talk shit either way! Be yourself, live within your means, save/budget your money, and be a penny pincher even if you don’t have to be. This is advice coming from a 27 year old! I’m not rich but I’m also not hurting for anything.

I’ll always advise to save/invest your money wisely… I do believe in living life to the fullest, treat yourself when you can, have fun, take that beach trip. But keep in mind that nobody is going to remember you for what you drive, what you wear, where you live. They’ll remember how you made them feel and who you were as a person.

Which leads me to my second half of the story👇🏻

I owned 2 dog grooming salons that I, myself, opened and funded with the help of my hubby. I was successful from day 1 at such a young age. But I let the money get to me, LUST, brand new this and that, name brand everything, I was never satisfied, always wanted more but not in a good way. I let the worldly things get the best of me. I never thought I was better than anyone though. I was more so very cocky and unappreciative! I had everything at my fingertips and took it all for granted👇🏻

WELL….. I lost my health. I didn’t realize that without your health, you don’t have anything. I ended up being diagnosed with 4 autoimmune diseases and other complications that have altered my entire life and continue to👇🏻

-Sjögren’s syndrome -Lupus SLE -Rheumatoid arthritis -Interstitial cystitis - hypertonic PFD (Waiting on oncologist results) for my other diagnosis. If you know what Oncology is for than you know what I’m talking about.

Life will humble you quickly. You may ask what this has to do with the truck…. but it has so much to do with everything that I’ve been going through the past couple of years. Going through life altering changes/having to make decisions. Grieving your past life wishing you could go back in time to appreciate what you had before losing it all, makes you look at life through different lenses. You appreciate things that you never appreciated beforehand. You’re more humble and kind. You smile at the littlest of things. You don’t sweat the small stuff that used to seem so big. It made me realize that all of these materialistic things that I was chasing, I already had. Maybe not brand new but good enough👇🏻

I now realize that I have so much that other’s don’t have. It took me losing my health to become the person I needed to be. I am who I am today because I had to be humbled and you know what? That’s okay with me! These are the cards that I’ve been dealt which means we gonna keep shuffling!

Next time you find yourself complaining about having to work on your truck/car…. be thankful that you even have a vehicle to work on!

My dad has always told me that things could always be worse.

Thankfully, I’m well off financially. I’m not rich by any means! However, all of my needs are met. And to me that is rich!

Even though I don’t have to pinch pennies, I’ve remained a penny pincher! When I buy the things that I consider a “want” I’m much more appreciative!!!!!

I can 100% attest to the old saying, “The best things in life cannot be bought.”

I’m blessed with five beautiful horses, a paid off truck, a trailer to haul my horses, a beautiful saddle that was passed down to me, the best parents a girl could ask for, my little brother(my sidekick), and my very best friend/husband who has been by my side since 8th grade. Sounds pretty rich to me 🖤

Here’s a recent picture of my truck! A constant reminder that broken things can come back to life. She may not be brand new anymore yet she’s still trucking along. No matter how tough things get, turn the tuner up and full throttle life!

I’ve always got a smile on my face when I’m behind the wheel. Every now and then I’ll hammer down and let her run like a scalded dog 🤘🏼🐎

FORD TOUGH