40 years ago the price of gas was around .40 cents a gallon. Wow. Today, I paid $2.49 a gallon and that was a good price. Until I saw a better price on the way to work at $2.39 a gallon. And here I sit, 3 hours later, still mad that I didn't wait to save that .10 cents a gallon.
I admit, I'm a worry wart. I worry about everything. It's getting worse as I age, too. I like to think I carry the titles, "coupon clipper, budget queen, frugalista and champion penny pincher and yet I still can't justify spending $1.00 on the occasional box of chicken nuggets to soothe my toddler's hunger woes while I multitask at the grocery store, weekly shopping and placing Avon orders on my smart phone. (Not when I could spend that $1.00 on something that would last longer than 2.5 minutes, not to mention, something better for his health, like 6 delicious bananas)
I must look ridiculous walking around the store in 5" heals (no time to go home and change after work, also a waste of gas), singing the ABC's, dancing as I push the 2 year old down the isles, blocking his little hands from reaching the shelves blindly as I read the ingredients on the back of the boxes of "nutritiousness"....for an hour and a half. I usually forget a calculator so I'm also trying to keep a tally in my head of what I'm about to spend on food that will inevitably last only 3-5 days, if I'm lucky. I go over my list (in my head of course, since I almost always leave the list in the car) at least a dozen times before I get in line because I can't bare the thought of getting half of my items on that conveyor belt only to realize I forgot some staple for the week....like toilet paper. Every. Damn. Time. All I can do is close my eyes, crinkle my nose and sigh, deeply. What are you gonna do, Silver? Put the groceries back in your cart or proceed to checkout, take them to your car and come back in for the damn toilet paper? The todster (toddler monster) votes for skipping the toilet paper all together...or just coming back later, leaving him home with daddy to eat all the food I just bought. I know this is what he's thinking as he's rambling about manas (bananas) and cips (chips) and duce (juice).
Food isn't the only place I scrimp. I try not to make unnecessary trips, killing two or three birds with one stone, as often as I can. Now my family truckster gets pretty good gas mileage...probably 25 mpg or so, but who's counting?? But if I can get away with $20 in gas for the whole week I'm doing great! Clothes is another one. Unless the todster prevents me from keeping my jeans clean enough to wear more than once I can usually get away with wearing them at least twice before washing. The problem is that by half way through day two, my nice booty and crisp, clean look have turned into saggy butt and 2 day old, worn out granny pants. It's not exactly 'saving' me, if you know what I mean. I should add, I'm the only one who can get away with wearing something twice before I wash it. Everyone else has about 15 minutes of 'clean clothes time'. Even on the days that they shower before dressing. They might be able keep their clothes clean longer if they refrained from crinkling them into a ball and throwing them on the floor, right next to the laundry shoot. hang that sucker up and wear it tomorrow! Smells fine to me!
I am definitely guilty of saying I'm 'poor' from time to time. And sometimes, that's not too far from reality. But the truth is, even though I've made mistakes with money in my life (huge, life-changing, immature, can't ever, ever, ever get it back types of mistakes), I'm far from poor. I have money in the bank to keep food on the table (albeit the generic brand or a little less tasty than the teenster and todster would like), shoes on my feet (thanks also to my amazing shoe angel!), a roof over my head (currently in need of repairs I cannot afford but also the number one area of my adult life that I WISH I could save more money![first time home buyer mortgage crap victim]), a reliable family truckster to get me and my family where we want or need to go, and to keep my utilities from being shut off. But if you ask me if I want to go get ice cream or see a movie at the local theater don't be surprised if I burst into jealous tears, mkay? I can already feel it....in my nose...it's starting to crin...k...Sign, no wonder this wrinkle cream isn't working.
Busy mom, yes. Too busy, no. I like busy. And I seem to work better that way...busy. While I crinkle my nose at missed opportunities to save a buck or just missed opportunities I know that I am fortunate enough to have things to complain about. I have a job. I have awesome bosses. I have a car. I have an amazing husband. I have wonderful, beautiful, fabulous children. I have my own home where I can make all the messes I want and postpone cleaning them as long as I want! I have a fully functioning body and mind (keep your jokes to yourself!) and a very colorful life. I can tell you stories...and likely, I already have! But I'm here. I'm alive. I'm loved. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. And I hope I get off work a few minutes early so I can stop and change my shoes before I do my weekly, coupon clipping, todster toting, Avon ordering, ABC-ing, 2 hour long grocery shopping shindig.
Maybe I'll ask the hubster if he can swing by the liquor store on the way home. I'm sure there's room in the budget for that!
Your perspective is no different than many others. The difference, in my opinion, is that you stop to recognize what you have. Not many do that. Are there wants? Of course. Are there needs? Absolutely. Other just cry that they can't get them. You recognize what you have is the most important and I share your sentiments exactly.
ReplyDelete