Organizing Life, Home and Work
Nearly everyone goes through some period in their lives where money is tight. Whether by necessity or by design, the purse snaps shut and with each potential purchase you’re forced to ask yourself: Do I really need this?
Separating wants from needs isn’t as easy as it may sound. “Most people would agree that ‘needs’ are shelter, clothing, food and transportation,” says Ronica Stromberg, a Olathe, Kansas stay-at-home parent who has had lots of practice cutting back to the basics. “The problem is that these needs easily morph into wants. Is the make and model of my vehicle so important? Do I need as many shoes as Imelda Marcos to be clothed well?”
MATCHING YOUR PARTNER’S PERCEPTIONS. Identifying necessities can get tricky when you’ve got someone else in your household to consider. For instance, what if your husband sees his golf lessons as indispensable and you don’t?
Stromberg encourages couples to discuss why they feel the way they do. “Has he received job promotions in the past after schmoozing the boss on the greens or networking with others? Share your definitions of ‘need,’ then search for some common ground.” Talk about areas where you’re each willing to give. “One person can’t make all the sacrifices, though,” she warns. “That’s guaranteed to breed resentment.”
LOVING THY NEIGHBOR’S STUFF. “There are people all over the world who are living off a fraction of what we Americans do,” Stromberg notes. “If you start comparing your lifestyle with theirs instead of people around you, you begin to see what great abundance you have and where you can cut.”
The pull to keep up with the American Joneses is hard to resist, though. It’s easy to get caught up in the competition,” she admits, “unless you set different priorities for your life. People who run after youth and riches often end up disappointed and disillusioned. Everyone gets older, and there will always be someone with more money than you.”
INDULGING IN MODERATION. That doesn’t mean you can’t cut loose sometimes. “You shouldn’t get yourself so focused on saving money that you can’t ever enjoy spending it,” says Stromberg. The key is to control your finances, not vice versa. “Work toward getting some financial cushion. Then once you have it, splurge every once in a while on the extras you don’t really need, but you truly want. Reward yourself.”
------------------- Copyright 2005 Comments? Write Cheryl at homebodies@comcast.net or discuss cost-saving ideas on the active message boards at www.homebodies.org. If you’d like to get an autographed copy of Cheryl’s "Stay-at-Home Handbook," visit http://www.gospelcom.net/homebodies/bookstore/orderSAHH.php
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