Let’s face it, almost all of us go through some tight financial times through our lives, but how we look at and face those times can set you apart from the crowd. It’s kind of that, the glass can be half-full OR half-empty situation. Some people who are in a tight financial situation will let it take them down and they’ll use it as a crutch and blame all their woes on it, whereas another person in the same situation will say that money is tight, but that’s finances are not the end all and be all of their lives.
First, I’ve come to realize that money doesn’t make you happy! I used to think that it did, but the reality is, that YOU make yourself happy! The most financially strapped person in the world can still be the happiest. Life is what you make it!!! Mother Theresa dedicated herself to the poorest of the poor, and she herself was poor, in the monetary sense, but she was rich in spirit, in friends, and in attitude! She once said, “I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money.” Money won’t by happiness and she knew it!
Deeply dwelling on your financial situation costs you energy you could be using to improve your situation or at least try to make the best of it! Dave Ramsey, author of , “The Total Money Makeover”, points out that if you’ve always done things the same way, financially speaking, and your situation hasn’t improved, well then it’s time to do things DIFFERENTLY!
This reminds me of my honeymoon. My husband and I were golfing at a course in Bermuda (this was long before I knew what frugal living was) and we had to hit over this ocean inlet to the green. My husband INSISTED that a certain club would do the trick for him and he proceeded to hit the ball and come up short. After watching his ball end up in the water, he took out another ball and hit it with the SAME club! AGAIN, the ball landed short and ended up in the water. Now, at this point, I suggested a different club, but he argued that he KNEW that club should work! Need I go on as to where the ball landed? The fourth time, he changed clubs and FINALLY got the ball over. What is the moral of the story? If it isn’t working for you, do something DIFFERENT Just like my husband spent time and energy insisting that THAT club should work, if you’re spending time and energy insisting that your current financial management or situation SHOULD be working and it’s not, then do something about it!
How do you do something about your current financial situation? There is a bounty of books and internet resources on budgeting, frugality, stretching the dollars and such to be had right from an awesome FREE source, your LIBRARY! If your local library doesn’t have what you want, then they can borrow it from another library for you. These books can get you into the nitty-gritty details of various systems that will help you manage and change how you’re handling your finances. The point I DO want to make is that you can do this for FREE! There are lots of “systems” out there which would have you pay for this information, but it can be had for nothing through your library and a little online research (done for free at the library of course!).
Do something different today so you can enjoy tomorrow more!
Tammy Paquin is a work from home mom of 3 boys and publisher of Frugal Families, an online resource for frugality, finances, budgeting and families. www.frugal-families.com. |
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