We all have disappointments in our lives, all we can do is go day by day and deal with life as it comes to us. We have all heard the phrase “carpe diem”; seize the day. What does this truly mean “seize the day”. There are some days we don’t want to seize, like the day we loose a job? Do we really want to seize that day?

There are days that we may want to keep in our memory forever, wedding day, first kiss, and perhaps the day your child was born. Now those are days to seize.

What can we do to prepare for the financial disappointing days that happen in our lives? Things so bad you just want to stay in bed with your head below the sheets. Hide away in a movie theater watching other fictional lives flash before you? Escape in food you know you shouldn’t be eating?

Our family has been saving and making sacrifices for a long time. It comes naturally to us now. We don’t live in a big house like most of our friends. We don’t drive new cars like most of our friends. The little one wears consignment clothing, and plays with consignment shop toys and we only try to only buy things that we need.

By making a few sacrifices that really don’t matter in the long run (do we really need a that 3000 sq foot house); we are able to buy pretty much what ever we want and not have to worry too much about that disappointing day.

Now I know not every one can go to the extremes of what we do. But think about what you can sacrifice to save a little money?

• Could you take your lunch to work or eating at home instead of going out to eat ($1,212)? http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann06.pdf
• Could you increase your car insurance premiums to cover a $1,000 deductible that you put in the bank in case of an accident ($456)? www.consumerreports.org
• Could you increase your deductible on your homeowners policy (25%)? www.smartmoney.com
• Could you rent your movies from the local library and turn off the cable ($600)? Do you really care what house is being remodeled on HGTV, couldn’t you use that time to get some exercise or spending that time with the people that you love? www.moneycentral.msn.com
• Could you rent the books from the library instead of buying ($117)? http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann06.pdf
• Could you cut off the home phone and only use a cell phone ($980)? www.consumerreports.org
• Could you get rid of that cell phone or trade it in for a pay as you go phone for emergencies ($720)? www.associatedcontent.com
• Could you not attend birthday parties or showers to avoid spending money on gifts?
• Could you turn down the hot water heater and the thermostat and use ceiling fans or dress warmer ($512)? www.consumerreports.org
• Could you ask your spouse and family to not exchange gifts this year for birthdays and Christmas and just spend time with each other? ($400) http://americanresearchgroup.com
• Could you commit to go one day a week without spending any money? Not using the debit or credit card for a 24 hour period.

If you did all the items listed above you would save an average of $4,997 a year!

What could you do with that extra money? Pay off a credit card or pay down on the mortgage, of course!

We may not be able to prepare for the emotional disappointments that happen in our lives but think about some of the things you can do now to ensure you are prepared for the financial disappointments. Go through your bills and write everything that you spend down on paper. You will surprise your self on how much money you are spending without even knowing it.

You can do this, just start today!

Tags:

This entry was posted by Frances on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Frugal Fairhope Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.