Time and Money

    I just read several articles written by people who say they have paid for EVERYTHING with cash.  They claim to have paid for their homes, cars, everything with cash.

    I have read the articles so I can tell you that some of that is true, and some is not. One person making such claims even lists the amount owed on their cars.

    Wait.  How can you OWE anything on a car purchased with cash?

     Be careful.

     Yes, there are a LOT of ways to make changes and cut back budgets, but be aware of who you are taking advice from.

     I do not live on such a tight budget with some grandiose scheme of paying cash for my next home. I do it out of necessity and paranoia.

    Every couple of years, we have had MAJOR financial setbacks. These have usually involved health care expenses. We have always had health insurance, and most of the time we have had really good insurance, but it does not take long for the medical costs to snowball with a major issue.

     I do not watch every single penny. I do not do that because I value what tiny shred of sanity that remains.  I swore long ago that money, whether good or bad times, would NEVER be the focus of my life.

     I have seen it go both ways. I have known people who could literally account for every single penny spent. I have also known many people who had no respect for money or possessions as long as they could continue to throw away both.

     Neither seemed particularly healthy to me.

     As I sit, I have just written my budget for the next two months.

     I do this periodically as needed. Clearly, my old budget is not going to make me happy or I would not be re-writing it in the middle of July.  We have had another change.

     Currently, my husband is not only not working, but he is accumulating medical bills like a greedy hoarder. The papers are stacked alarmingly high.

     I look around at all of the things I have learned to do as an adult and I am pretty impressed with myself.

     I can make almost anything in my kitchen. I have researched our favorite recipes and snacks, condiments and sauces. I have altered them for our medical needs and viola! Not only are we consuming more healthy foods, but I'm quite sure that overall, we have saved a fortune.

    I have learned how to repair many things also. Yes, the stories are funny... my first time taking a washing machine apart...

hmmm... but again, I am sure that I have saved thousands by doing my own maintenance and repairs when possible.

     I look at the overall picture though. I do not buy they best quality that I can when making larger purchases. Money is just as wasted if it something does not last very long.

    In short, I am just a person. I am no guru of savings. I do the best that I can and try not to incur debt. I have not had a car payment for several years, but honestly, I may have a car payment again soon.

     I will not lose sleep over the millions of things that I cannot possibly do perfectly today. I believe in "quality of life".

      My children do not wear the latest mall fashions, but they do have value. My children do not base their value on the logo on their shirt. I think that is AMAZING in today's culture. In fact, my children will pick clothes based on favorite colors or styles over a name on a shirt or jeans any day.

     We have worked out a system of accountability and responsibility for those electronic items that teens and preteens have. Technically, I do believe that they are NOT a necessity, however, at the rate technology progresses now, I do believe they should be as familiar as they can.

     High school students submit PowerPoint presentations now. Wow! I love this and despise it. I love the progress. I love that education is using technology. I dislike that I must continue to pay for technology to be available to insure my children have a competitive future.

     Like many others, I am simply trying to do the best I can to avoid the whirlwind of debt that seems to plague so many people. There have been times when we have had to change course to keep from doing this.

    We have learned. One of the major medical issues left my husband unable to work for nine months. Nine months was such a long time. We were still having to pay for childcare, diapers and formula during this time.  We incurred a LOT of debt that year. Thankfully, the following year we managed to catch up but it taught us a valuable lesson. There were things that we continued to do during that nine months that increased that debt dramatically. We didn't even consider trying to live without those things. Cable TV was one of the more frivolous items. I estimated at one point that we would have incurred $4000 less in debt if we had given up a few simple things. $4000 less certainly would have made that next year easier.

     But, it was the way it was supposed to be. We didn't know. We do know now. We learned a few valuable lessons.

     This is all temporary. The money, the cars, the house, the meals. What really matters is how we spend our time together. Maybe we do not spend $500 in one afternoon at the amusement park. We make our memories doing things that cost less. We do go out. We do take advantage of many wonderful opportunities. We discuss the value of our time and money. We decide together what is the best use of our resources together. Would we rather take our budgeted amount of money and do this? Or would we rather do that?

    I am hoping that these are the most valuable lessons in frugality that my children are learning. I am hopeful that they are able to distinguish between who they are and what they own. If they are able to live a multi million dollar lifestyle, I would hope that they would still understand the value of time and money.

    For those who count every single penny: I wish you well. I have made cuts. I have made adjustments. I will continue to make adjustments to do the best that I can for my family. I have enjoyed learning to do so many things on my own. I love the sense of pride with each new discovery and accomplishment. I just will not allow myself to lay awake at night wondering how I can squeeze another quarter out of my day.

     It is about life.  We shall get through this, ride a nice cloud, and then go through something else. It is what it is. I will adjust as necessary and keep going.

     I write my budgets for two to three months at a time. I don't like to spend much time focusing on the little things. I just like to make the plan and move on.  Living it.

     Maybe someday, we will have a long enough break that I am able to purchase another car with cash, or maybe even a home. I won't lose sleep over that either.

     Goodnight.