Hopefully you caught my post the other day about not being able to save money. In summary I inspired you to take the energy you use at focusing how to make your budget work and direct it at making more money. Now that you’re caught up, answer me this..
What could happen today that would reap your budget meaningless? (Besides death, for you sarcastic followers)
Most Common Answers: Broken bone or hospitalization, House Fire, Broken down car
For the last 19 years of my life my mother has told me that “nothing lasts forever”. Yet this is true, can you pick one of the common answers that is the least likely to last a lifetime? Just by asking my friends, I found out the majority have yet to break a bone. Even older family members have told me they have never broken a bone. Next, I say that hospitalization happens maybe once every 25 years for a person and more likely to occur later in age. A house fire might happen once in your neighborhood of 20,000 people over the span of 10 years. I am sure you could agree with these estimates, its common sense that none of them occur too often.
Did I miss one? Oh right, the car
The number of occurrences of a broken down car is too many to count and far too many to give a number anywhere accurate to the truth.
So why is it that people still do not save money for it? To often people put the car as a separate category in their budget but they don’t prioritize it until “after the fact”. After something happens to it they end up going into their savings account, taking a loan, or begging parents and friends to help out. People rarely have money saved up specifically for their car, and if so, it is only enough for a car wash.
Why do we sacrifice our working budget and saved up funds for a car repair? Because we NEED our vehicles to get us places.
With the cold season upon us, I am certain you can agree with me that the most car breakdowns occur in the winter. Are you putting money aside to fund the unexpected need for a car repair?
Some quick out-of-the-box tips to lowering budgets in other categories so you prioritize your vehicle
- Generic brands just started tasting better. A box of honey bunches of oats $4.45. Hyvee generic brand, $2.43
- Instead of buying a new block building set for your kids, find something in the house to be creative with. For example
- They call it junkfood, I call it junkfoold. Again, if you read my earlier post on saving money, you know that I had to cut way back. I would not share this tip if it wasn’t effective enough to share.
- Pull out that winter clothes bin and use it in the house. The average electricity bill in our apartment complex is 40-60 dollars. Typically 60 in the winter cold and 60 in the summer heat. I have spent as little as 20 dollars and as high as 46 dollars on our electricity bill. I am currently wearing her old black, white, and pink striped gloves to keep my hands warm instead of putting the heater on. *See above pic*
- Cash for gold. I don’t mean just gold (Although my Dad and his lady got over 600 dollars from her grandma’s bracelet and a couple of earrings. They were creative with how to pay for their wedding) It’s time to let go of those items that you keep but never use. The sentimental value it may hold does not counter the terrible feeling of owing money and diving into your savings funds and having a budget you can’t keep up with.
- Internet is not necessary at the home any longer (unless that is where your office is). I can bet that you can walk no more than 5 blocks from your house to get free wi-fi, as long as you don’t live in the country. I spent 16 dollars on a Droid application on my phone to get internet to my computer from my phone. That’s $16 dollars paid once compared to 40+ dollars paid each month for internet.
- Stay following for a post on more out-of-the-box ways to save money.
Stay Positive and For those with a bike and not an automobile. Brownie points right to you. (Generic brand of course, but it’ll do)
Garth E. Beyer
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