Or is it just me? As I type this, my husband is downstairs, still watching the vice presidential debate. Also as I type this, my husband's blood pressure is on the rise. Personally, I couldn't take it anymore. It's not just the blatant lying going on that's freaking me out (look, either he voted for it or he didn't, so someone is telling fibs up there!), but the issues flying about in the air like flies at a picnic. Are the polar ice caps really melting? And if so, is it really my fault if they are? (Seriously, was it all the aerosol hairspray I used in high school?) Then there are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not to mention the unstable, volatile places like Iran, North Korea, Israel, and Palestine. Not so ironically, the conversation about those places was immediately followed by a discussion about nuclear arms control...shudder. Oh, and let's not forget for even a second the grave financial crisis here at home. Who else feels in their gut like our economy is about to tank? Who else this week has felt the need to coldly assess the value of their jobs in a failing economy? My job is closely tied to healthcare, so it feels safer than others might, I suppose, but then again, I'm not a doctor or a nurse -- two jobs that would be safe in nearly any economic climate. I have a 401K that I no longer have any hope for, and not enough money on-hand to see us through an extended period of personal financial crisis, if we were both let go from our jobs tomorrow. I have bills to pay. I have to keep up a lease. I have to keep a gas tank filled. My husband drives a 60-minute round-trip commute to work 5 days a week, and even using his Toyota Camry, we're spending enough money weekly to feed a third-world country for a month. My husband was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure, and I suddenly found myself in need of creative ways to feed him a healthier diet. And all that creativity was deflated as soon as I got to the checkout line at my grocery store. I did what all the experts say to do -- I filled my cart with fresh things on the perimeter of the store and (mostly) avoided the processed, packaged things in the middle...but my bill was how much??? Exhausted yet by my stream-of-consciousness rant???In all seriousness, who else feels a pressing need to find a dark corner to hide in for the next decade, until all current crises have past? I'm not naive enough to think I'd emerge into a crisis-free planet, but at least there'd be a different crop of crises I'd have to worry about!
Alternately, I also feel a pressing need to trust in God's sovereignty, to understand that He's in control and not surprised by any of this. But I also feel burdened to be smart, clever, and resourceful with the abilities and funds and blessings I've been given (that verse is running through my head..."Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise."). Does anyone else feel this way? That it's time to get diligent and strategic about the way we earn money, spend money, and most importantly, save money? So here's the purpose of my little rant...dear readers, let's pool our mutual smarts and come up with new ways to penny-pinch and save money for a rainy day. Please share your tips, tricks, and ideas. I'll take anything ya got.
Help end this girl's anxiety attack. Remember, she's trying to live a peaceful life!!!
7 comments:
Save any change you have. Christopher and I keep a Yankee candle jar in the laundry room, and he fills it with his change when he gets home from work. We say it's the college fund for our nonexistent children. Also, always take your lunch to work instead of eating out. I know you work at home, but it's still a good tip, in case Marty eats out.
I've been thinking and talking to Dan a lot about all these things lately...they seem random yet connected together. We don't have enough money invested to really care one way or the other about a federal bailout (I tend to think it's a bad idea simply because no one ever thinks it's wise to bailout a business that acted irresponsibly, but now suddenly the USA is doing just that). I care about fellow citizens. A huge reality check is coming for people and its so needed. Without a crisis to push us into it, we will never learn self-control, how to find our best joys in people and the greater gifts God has sent, how to live for tomorrow instead of just today. How to live with our childrens' futures in mind instead of how to get our homes to look like HGTV ads or ourselves to look so put-together that no one will see the truth of our falling apart at the seams. How to care for ourselves and our loved ones emotionally and spiritually. All the intangibles. Yes, tangibles matter, like food and a home and work. But we can't do much except use what has been entrusted to us wisely and diligently and then focus on the intangibles. And I think that's what God is far more interested in seeing from us.
Just a ramble for today...
p.s. Now I feel guilty for philosophizing about your question as if I were a braino, and not actually thinking of any practical answer. I've decided to rein in Christmas spending in the next months and stick to thoughtful & homemade gifts: knit things, sew monograms to sew onto hand towels or kitchen towels or handkerchiefs, do a basket of soup and bread mixes, find used books and redo the covers with some lovely wrapping paper or fabric, write a family cookbook...
I think you are so right, Miss Philosophizer. Of course you're right. Just like Sarah Palin said last night, maybe we shouldn't get a $300K house when all we can afford is a $100K house!!! Keeping up with the Jones'es is at an all-time frenzy, and I can only imagine how right you are that the day of reckoning is coming. I just don't want that reckoning to be an economic downturn of epic proportions, like those bygone "Depression days" that my grandparents still talk about. Then again, they always talk about those days with fondness...maybe learning to do with much less is a bit of an adventure...but then again, I refuse to feel poetic about it when I already know the pain of spending gobs of money on basic necessities!
It's definitely food for thought, isn't it?
My best friend has been staying at my house this week. She called me at work and said, "Um, I was watching CNN and got stressed about the economy so I cleaned your microwave to calm down. Sorry."
I like the way she deals with stress. :)
Saving change, self control, sensible Christmas' and CLEANING MICROWAVES??? You guys sound worried.......and you would be right to be. I believe we are on the dawn of a recession, regardless of the next president. I feel like neither will have enough creativity or impact to save this country from the financial chasening we deserve. At the very moment I write this, I am also watching the news reporting layoffs in the auto industry straight across the boards.
Tough financial times always draw families nearer. Our resources are the wits God blessed us with and the family members we hold so dear.
Thank you for the reminder that God is in control. I've been stressed today for a different reason and I came upon your post at just the right time.
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