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Let’s talk about reality. Warning: Rant alert:
I am so sick of hearing people’s advice on how to save money. Ironic because I’ve given the same advice. But the thing is, sometimes, there’s not much you can do. You can be sitting pretty comfortable with a decent job, bills paid and even savings in the bank and still lose it all. When that happens, when it all falls apart, can you still survive? I don’t know of very many who can. We live in a world that preaches the “spend, spend, spend, spend” philosophy. So much of our self-worth is wrapped up in our spending. How big our homes are, how nice our cars our or what the label on our clothes say. I realized how out of hand this mentality has become when I was talking with a pre-teen relative of mine. Her sister remarked that they mainly shop at a local thrift store (awesome place and great deals!) and this pre-teen relative of mine immediately piped up “Don’t tell anyone we shop there, it’s a thrift store!”.
Wow.
But, that response is what so many adults have to other financial concerns. Yes, it’s pretty trendy right now to shop at thrift stores and scour the clearance bins. Especially if you don’t HAVE to do it. Yet, you don’t see many people sharing their struggles over WHICH bill to pay this week because the paycheck doesn’t stretch far enough. Or figuring out how to have enough gas money to make it through till the next pay period. There are countless blogs and websites talking about how to stretch the grocery budget. Heck, I even have posts myself about it. Sometimes though, it’s not enough. The money and the coupons just don’t stretch enough. It can be so frustrating seeing everyone else’s success. Or their posts about purposely living below their means to be able to become debt free or finance an amazing vacation. I wish I was in a financial position where I was living below my means in order to save up for a really big purchase or to become debt free. But, that is not my reality. My reality right now is taking it day by day.
I’ve really had to take a step back and look at my life. I have thought about moving because we currently rent a mobile home and I remember how some of this kids in my elementary school picked on those who lived in mobile homes. How messed up is that? Then, I realized, I love living where I am at. I have very few neighbors, plenty of space outside and other than the random wildlife (yep, we live in the middle of nowhereville), I don’t have to worry too much about who is around. I can’t believe how much time I spend worrying about what other people think. I don’t want my daughter growing up and feeling ashamed at how we choose to spend our money or lack thereof. We might not have a large, spectacular home or the newest vehicle but that is not what’s important.
Are you feeling at the end of your financial rope? Do you also not worry about finding coupons for restaurants because even with a coupon, it’s out of your price range? Or are you broke and happy in spite of it? I’d love to hear your story.
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