Making Ends Meet, Favorite Quotes, Stories
This school of hard knocks also left its' mark on my children, who are both commendable savers.The standard financial advice (pay yourself 10%, build up an emergency fund) seemed out of reach to someone like me, who was living day to day. I decided, though, that if I could not do what I SHOULD, I would do what I COULD. I figured we could live without $20 dollars a month without stretching our budget too thin. I had that money put aside where I could not touch it. As I could do more, I put more aside. Then one day I was shocked to discover I had enough to put a down payment on a townhouse. Today I am a landowner (that is, me and the bank). My best advice in a nutshell?
Set aside an amount every month, no matter how small, where you cannot touch it.
Want to see how your savings grow?
There is a free Investment and Loan Calculator from Mercantile Bank.
The Fund Library of Canada provides a great one-stop list of Mutual funds.
Do this only if you love keeping lists. Most of us don't have the time.
If I had sat down and factored in all the unexpected, I would have sat down and cried. Why try? Somehow I managed to make my budget every month without a clue how it happened. Like the bumblebee who keeps flying though the scientist hasn't figured it out yet. One of the better suggestions I read over the years is the cash envelope system. Have a bunch of envelopes marked with your monthly expenses - such as ;Food; Utilities Clothing Fun and the one for your savings (see above). Take your available cash for the month and fill the envelopes. When an envelope is empty, you are done for that category for the month. If there is extra in an envelope, save it for next month (i.e. Adidas next month instead of canvas sneakers this month).
Prayer helps in emergencies.
Oh, yes - what does KISS stand for? Keep It Simple, Silly
Do you argue for change, or do you argue to feel better?
There is a kind of person who argues because she wants to feel good about herself. Not really expecting others to change, she complains about the same issues in meeting after meeting. For a short time, there is a captive audience for her just cause. Because there is little chance that change will actually happen with this approach, she can remain secure in opinion of herself.
It is much braver to care about an issue and risk being wrong. To argue to instigate change requires more skill and finesse. When giving a gutsy argument, every effort should be made to engage the audience by bringing up issues that matter to them.
"By solving my problem, I solve your problem too."
That means stepping out of your own needs and empathizing with the needs of others. By recruiting others to your cause, the result may be different than what you wanted. The issue must be explained clearly and logically. Presented with a clear argument, others may find discrepancies you had not considered. This could result in a different result than you had desired, but it will likely be an improvement. If the issue has been brought up repeatedly without result, it may be more effective to let it go for a time, to avoid issue fatigue. The final result is that you have your change, but ego may have taken a good scrubbing. That takes guts.