Sometimes I fail to appreciate what I have. I see the 53-year-old cabinets, counter tops
and stove in my house and think it is time for an update. I crawl into my 20-year-old vehicle that I
drive daily and wonder if I wouldn’t look a lot better in a race red 2013
Mustang. However, I don’t suppose
updating those items would improve my cooking or my driving. And, spending money I don’t have on things I
don’t truly need, would definitely eliminate my ability to meet other future
goals. But sometimes I just need a
reminder that everyone out there doesn’t have newer, more, better and that it
is still good to keep my eye on important things that are down the road, like
braces for my kids, college and retirement savings.
Sometimes in our consumer economy it is easy to lose sight
of our true goals and to get sidetracked. If you sometimes have trouble keeping
your focus on your savings goals, too, I encourage you to check out www.americasaves.org and www.montanasaves.org. I’ve
been receiving correspondence from the organizations and it helps me feel
better and stay focused. I enjoy reading
the “saver stories” that are featured.
One of the stories is about a woman who was making little more than
minimum wage, had lost her home because of a family crisis and was living in a
rundown hotel. But, through education
and effort, she started putting away $10 a week in an emergency fund. It was money she didn’t think she could
really do without, but nonetheless, she kept her focus and continued to
save. When she got a raise, she put the
amount of the raise into her savings, along with her tax refund. Within a few years, through staying diligent
to her goals, she was able to purchase a home.
It is all too easy to compare yourself to people who seem to
have more, but you also should stop to think that they might have more debt,
too. Debbie Matz, National Credit Union
Administration Board Chairman says, “A savings account is very important to a
household’s financial stability. We
should be seriously concerned that nearly 44% of American households have almost
no savings for emergencies.” She goes on
to mention that the America Saves campaign is a great educational tool for
people learning how to balance household budgets, build a cushion for financial
problems or putt money aside for a new home, retirement needs or education.
For me, sometimes it helps to compare myself to people who
have less, rather than people who have more to know how truly great I have
it. One of the stories that always helps
me gain perspective was written by my great-grandmother, Blanche Wolery. In the story she tells how she met my
great-grandpa and about their first years of married life. She recalls, “In our 14 x 18 [foot tar-paper
shack], our bed was a spring hinged to the 2x4s that had to be raised and
fastened upon the side of the wall each day. Two improvised legs were on the front
corners that folded down while the bed was against the wall. Our furniture was very meager – a cupboard,
trunk, homemade washstand for the wash pan and water pail and a small cook stove
with a real oven. I couldn’t help but
think my oven was something extra but I did need to learn to use it. Guy had a lot of stomach trouble during the
first years. I am sure now that my cooking had something to do with that. Our home was covered with tar paper and
Ladies Home Journals because it was printed on better paper.” From the story she wrote, I gather they got
their first car in 1924, several years into their marriage. She ends by writing, “We do know that each
generation will be better off in many ways than when we started married life,
but none will be happier.”
I guess a new stove probably won’t improve my cooking and
since my old car gets me where I want to go, I might as well keep driving it. A new home or car might be a great status
symbol, but they probably do little to alter the status that really counts –
your happiness.
The evening that I wrote the post above, I was given a fortune cookie. Know what it said? Reaffirm your faith in financial plans -- make a budget. Coincidence?
The evening that I wrote the post above, I was given a fortune cookie. Know what it said? Reaffirm your faith in financial plans -- make a budget. Coincidence?
Websites to visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment