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| Photo: Forbes |
I have a Manhattan friend who is always worried about not having enough money to maintain her present lifestyle. I try to sympathize, and yet, we’re two different types of people in outlook and approach. I may write about value and bargains, but I’m not preoccupied with not having enough money to live on. Justified or not, I have confidence I’ll always manage. I don’t sound like the broken record that my friend does. As it happens, she inherited money 3 times, and IMHO, is better off than the average American who lives from paycheck to paycheck. This makes it tiring listening to her, but I find it’s best to just let her talk. She knocks down any logic I offer, and it doesn’t stop her from talking about the subject again and again since her anxiety is real.
A glass-half-empty attitude is draining. If you really need to tighten your belt, do it! Instead of rehashing your fears, take action!
Sometimes I fall into the trap of wanting to fix problems when someone else just likes to vent. So here goes.
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| Photo: HuffPost |
Ways I think my friend could save if she had to, but I don’t believe she really has to:
1) She could cut her cable tv subscriptions.2) She could lower her cell phone with a better plan. Last year, she was paying per minute. This year, she changed her plan to one without unlimited texts ... a huge mistake. It limits her ability to share information and keep in communication with her contacts, which is never a wise decision. Out of habit, people will continue texting her, and, like last year’s per-minute rate, her inflexible plan will significantly raise her bill. The world is not going to stop texting anytime soon.
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| Photo: Dreamtime |
6) The more self-sufficient we can be, the better. We don’t have to pay for services once we can do certain tasks for ourselves. We may get a sense of accomplishment, also.
