Skip to main content

What's The Boy Scout Motto?

It’s technically still summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but it seems that the Rocky Mountain West (where I live) has already moved on to winter. No, not fall, winter–on Labor Day we had a record-breaking windstorm that downed scores of trees, tree limbs, fences, and walls on my friend’s house that was under construction. It damaged and/or displaced trampolines, garbage cans, outdoor furniture, and anything else that wasn’t tied down. It left lots of people without power for over 24 hours. I felt very fortunate that mine was only off for about 3 ½ hours. When I was out assessing local damage, I noticed a dusting of snow on the mountains near my home. This does not make me happy.

But I digress because my blogpost this week is NOT about my dislike for the cold, it’s about being prepared.

In the middle of the storm, it was too late to stock up on anything, including batteries, flashlights, and bottled water. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when something like this happens, as long as there is not a declared national emergency, the costs of these items skyrocket (anyone remember trying to buy a facemask at the onset of the epidemic?).

Work emergency items into your budget and watch for stuff on sale. Garage sales and second hand stores are ideal places to score some of those much needed items. Camping gear anyone? And many grocery stores have case lot sales going on right now. Getting prepared ahead of time will save you money and stress, and I could certainly use less stress in MY life.

Comedic note: This post is dedicated to the friend of a friend who kept reminding us of The Boy Scout Motto when we, quite unprepared, set off on a hike in Southern Utah earlier this year and ALMOST got lost because we knew not where the trail would take us (and we did not have any water with us. Don't try this at home). 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One More–Christmas Experiences Part II

Christmas is just a week away. Hopefully you’ve checked everything off your to-do list and can spend some quality time “experiencing” Christmas gifts with your family. Because, after all, your loved ones will be far more touched by how you made them feel than they will be with what you gave them. This week, I want to share with you my sister, Carey’s, family Christmas experience. “One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 23 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year. We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite. I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking p...
Post a Comment
Read more

More Financial Help

As part of the Discovery Family Coalition, we work with many agencies whose purposes are to help families in a myriad of areas. One of those areas is finances (that I get to chat with you about every week–yay!). And right now, families need all the financial help they can get, mine included. One of our fellow coalition partners, the Utah Department of Health & Human Services Child & Family Services, also does what it can to get help, including financial help, to families who need it. I happen to be on an email list, and this week I got an email with this information: “The Connect toCollect(C2C) program is focused on increasing low-income Utahans' receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by educating individuals about this federal program and linking them to high quality, free tax preparation." What is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)? It's a tax credit that  helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can us...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Marshmallow Experiment

In 1972, Stanford did a study about delayed gratification with children. It involved giant marshmallows and testing their patience.  You can see a short YouTube video about the study here . Basically, the kids who could sit alone with a giant marshmallow without eating it for a certain length of time were rewarded with a second giant marshmallow. Fun, huh? Some kids could be patient and reap the rewards; some could not. I was a small child when the study was conducted, and I wonder which side I might have been on. I HAVE learned to be pretty patient as an adult. One of the areas in which I’ve seen improvement is in finances. I have become a good money manager–I could be paid once annually and budget so that I won’t run out before year’s end, including having enough money to pay my own quarterly taxes–self-employed people do that. Speaking of taxes, I try not to overpay so that I qualify for a “refund,” because the government does not practice The Marshmallow Experiment. Huh? ...
Post a Comment
Read more