Ok, so I’ve been on this new kick of trying to live within my means. What does this actually mean? Well the way I think of it, it means that I am trying to live in a way that doesn’t force me to shuffle money around like transferring money from my savings to my checking to cover those shoes I absolutely needed! It means trying to look into the future and not just the present. Usually I just buy what I want (never anything too extravagent), because I deserve it! But we’ve had layoffs at my work and at other places within the same industry as mine and I fear for my job. And I know that if I get pulled into HR the reasons like, “I have a mortgage” or “I have to pay for school” won’t matter to their bottom line. So I’m on my own and ideally I should be able to survive without an income for a couple of months and I am far from that goal. And this whole scenario is part of becoming a “grown-up.” I need to be able to manage my finances, budget, and save. But it is a hard lesson to learn because I’ve been able to live like this so far, so why not continue? I think because now I have a lot more to lose. I think that is what it takes for a wake up call, when I think that I could lose my house because I wanted a new cell phone (Blackberry Storm!), and those new shoes, and that nice new jacket, and on and on. All those little “necessities” add up and there has got to be some point where I stop and reconsider what is truly important.
This doesn’t mean that I give up all my shopping or stop my cable, I think it just means being more aware of my purchases and how I want to live in the future. I think buying a house makes you really reevaluate everything! To me, it was a bigger decision than getting married. So where do I go from here? Fight the urge to spend frivolously (which I absolutely adore) and be aware of what I have and what I need, because to me the future and the family I want should mean more to me than that nice new gadget or sweet new dress that is on sale.
I think what this recent economic crisis has shown me and a lot of other Americans is that we can’t always buy now and pay later because later comes sooner than expected. I don’t want to be that American family with the 2 cars in the driveway and the repo man at the back door. I want to be proud of what I have because it is what I earned and not be so caught up in keeping up with the Jones’ because statistically, the Jones’ are probably up to their ears in debt. Its been a complete reevaluating of what makes me happy and what I value. And while it would be nice to have a lot of nice new things, I think I’d rather sleep well at night.
Has the world’s economic state of affairs made anyone else reevaluate? Am I being overly sensitive/cautious?

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