Skip to main content

Locate the Emergency Exit Closest to Your Location

I remember the first time I got brave enough to go on a roller coaster. I was 12, and I was at a theme park with some friends. I was nervous. As the line snaked through artificial rocks and trees that were characteristic of the theme of the ride, there were numerous exits half-hearted thrill-seekers could take advantage of if their apprehension got the better of them. Before I got brave enough to make the entire journey, I would take advantage of one of those exits. More often than not, someone else would follow me out. Eventually my friends talked me into actually getting on the ride. Yes, I had a great time, and I’m glad I did it.

What does this experience have to do with finances, you ask? Hear me out. Sometimes it’s alright to go with the crowd, but sometimes, even when it’s hard or uncomfortable, you have to be willing to be the one to say, “No, I’m not doing that because it’s not in my best interest.” It’s possible that no one will go with you, but someone just might.

On your financial fitness quest, there will be things (and when I say things, I mean people) who try to detract you from your worthy goal of total independence. Like when you lose weight, even your best buddies might be jealous of your willpower and desire to change for the better. It might be subconscious or not, but it doesn’t matter. There will be things (people) who will attempt to sabotage you.

You need to have a plan, an exit strategy. List all the potential distractions and your responses to them ahead of time. Write them down. Make them positive. “I’m choosing to spend my money on something else,” instead of “I can’t afford that.” Make sure your children hear you use this kind of language. Practice in front of a mirror. When confronted with this type of situation, you will have already verbalized the response. And who knows, maybe someone else will take a cue from you and get off that insane roller coaster known as the Spending Spree.

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

Timing is Everything

I was told that a good time to buy a car is January or February. Why? I would guess it’s because many people are financially destitute right after Christmas (because they have not yet been introduced to my blog!) so car sales are down. I do think there is another reason. I think that most people have yet to file their taxes and receive their tax returns (a.k.a. overpayment that they loaned interest-free to the government ) with which they plan to make a down payment. Now it’s March, and many people have already filed their taxes and received said overpayment that we common-folk refer to as a return, and it’s burning a hole in their pockets. This can be good news for you if you have things you want to sell. Now is the time to capitalize on the extra influx of cash. What do you have around your house that you no longer use that you can sell? Speaking as someone who has done this very thing, I must warn you. Selling stuff you don’t need anymore and collecting the cash can be addicting...
Post a Comment
Read more

The One Nobody Wants to Talk About

A young, twenty-something wife and mother of three in my neighborhood lost her husband unexpectedly a few years ago. He died with no life insurance. It left the family financially devastated . She had to sell her house and move into her parent’s basement. A Go Fund Me account paid for her husband’s funeral. I have another friend who lost her husband to a horrible illness when they were in their early forties. This couple had planned ahead and made sure they had the right amounts of the right kinds of insurance in place, including life insurance on the major breadwinner of the family–my friend’s husband. A year or so after he passed, I asked her how she was doing financially. She said her husband had taken care of her financially in death just as well as he had in life. Life insurance is crucial for a specific portion of your life. Do not overlook this. There is more to losing a family member than the overwhelming grief of the loss itself. No one needs financial hardship heape...
Post a Comment
Read more