Today in the life of the Cromwell Household, money has been very tight and bills are being separated and paid by the importance factor. The lack of unemployment is hurting us and we are faced with change - all of it driven by the worldwide economic crisis. In our defense to control our budget and bills we are facing major decision making challenges.
In this world change should be common and easily adjusted to; as everything changes so quickly. Technology has driven our wants and needs to where we are accustomed to upgrading and moving on quickly. We flip a switch and we’re now using a new system. We push a button and our favorite program is saved to watch later. Then painfully a announcement of layoff is declared and we stop moving forward. Now is the time to reverse the upgrading and determine what needs to change so we can continue to survive.
The change is not so much the issue. The issue is the psychological and emotional process that we go through in transitioning from the way it used to be - with which I am very comfortable - to the new way. (or the more economical way)
So I sit down with the monthly bills and start to categorize the needs! After many piles and rotations of change we determine we really can’t change too much of what we already have. But we can learn to live better with in our means.
So I start to make the little lists of what we all can do to help save money. So my list looks like this:
· Shutting off the tv, lights and radios when they are not in that room.
· Conserving the water usage by not running water while doing the dishes.
· By taking shorter showers. (This is my huge down fall)
· Combining large loads of laundry for fewer loads.
· Making more meal at home, no eating out.
· Change out the light bulbs for the energy smart ones.
· No more shopping for un-needed items.
· Cut back on groceries a week by making a list and sticking to it.
· Turning down the furnace when leaving and sleeping.
· Changing out the furnace switch to automatically switch temperatures.
· No more shopping.. (did I mention that already)
· Change cell phone plan to lower costs.
· Home phone, local calling only. (saved $60.00 a month)wow
· Turn down the water heater temperature.
· Limit trips to town to save on gas
· Change Dish-Net to general package and cut out all extra packages.
· Coupon clipping (saved me 11.50 cents this week)
These changes will save us a couple hundred dollars a month and was not as difficult to endure as I thought. Little changes in life are actually not too bad; it’s the big ones that really scare me. It doesn’t matter what the change is. The issue is not the change. The issue is the emotional turmoil, chaos and confusion we go through during the transition from the old to the new.
Change is inevitable. There is no choice, it just happens. Things that happen to us are sometimes out of our control. Like loosing a job! Very Stressful on everyone.. But how we make the transition is always a choice. And that choice makes all the difference as to whether the change creates havoc or livable results. Saving money is exciting and the new way of living will take time to adjust but eventually things will go back to normal and the new habits will still remain. Life is a roller coaster with no promises. We need to hang on tight and enjoy the ride as it comes.
In this world change should be common and easily adjusted to; as everything changes so quickly. Technology has driven our wants and needs to where we are accustomed to upgrading and moving on quickly. We flip a switch and we’re now using a new system. We push a button and our favorite program is saved to watch later. Then painfully a announcement of layoff is declared and we stop moving forward. Now is the time to reverse the upgrading and determine what needs to change so we can continue to survive.
The change is not so much the issue. The issue is the psychological and emotional process that we go through in transitioning from the way it used to be - with which I am very comfortable - to the new way. (or the more economical way)
So I sit down with the monthly bills and start to categorize the needs! After many piles and rotations of change we determine we really can’t change too much of what we already have. But we can learn to live better with in our means.
So I start to make the little lists of what we all can do to help save money. So my list looks like this:
· Shutting off the tv, lights and radios when they are not in that room.
· Conserving the water usage by not running water while doing the dishes.
· By taking shorter showers. (This is my huge down fall)
· Combining large loads of laundry for fewer loads.
· Making more meal at home, no eating out.
· Change out the light bulbs for the energy smart ones.
· No more shopping for un-needed items.
· Cut back on groceries a week by making a list and sticking to it.
· Turning down the furnace when leaving and sleeping.
· Changing out the furnace switch to automatically switch temperatures.
· No more shopping.. (did I mention that already)
· Change cell phone plan to lower costs.
· Home phone, local calling only. (saved $60.00 a month)wow
· Turn down the water heater temperature.
· Limit trips to town to save on gas
· Change Dish-Net to general package and cut out all extra packages.
· Coupon clipping (saved me 11.50 cents this week)
These changes will save us a couple hundred dollars a month and was not as difficult to endure as I thought. Little changes in life are actually not too bad; it’s the big ones that really scare me. It doesn’t matter what the change is. The issue is not the change. The issue is the emotional turmoil, chaos and confusion we go through during the transition from the old to the new.
Change is inevitable. There is no choice, it just happens. Things that happen to us are sometimes out of our control. Like loosing a job! Very Stressful on everyone.. But how we make the transition is always a choice. And that choice makes all the difference as to whether the change creates havoc or livable results. Saving money is exciting and the new way of living will take time to adjust but eventually things will go back to normal and the new habits will still remain. Life is a roller coaster with no promises. We need to hang on tight and enjoy the ride as it comes.
Wow.. way to go Jules!! I admire your attempt to save money and the thought that went into it. Does this mean we are not going out to eat now????
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