Stop Trying to Impress Other People
It’s sad for me to look at the big picture of life and think about all the things we do while we’re here on Earth. I read somewhere that we spend so much time trying to impress people we don’t even like, spending money we don’t really have, doing things we actually do not enjoy doing. This statement is SO true! It’s all to try to impress someone. To get the girl, to be more popular, to have more friends, to have the big house, the new car or some other nicety. And why? Who are we living for? This life is too short to try to impress other people.
Save Your Money
I could go in several different directions with this post, but I’ll try to stay on task here and say this. Think about all we could do if we didn’t try to impress others with our words and actions. If we focus our lives on the important things, this becomes a lot easier. Start young. Save money to do the things you enjoy, don’t finance it through those high interest companies. When you finance at one of those places, it takes months, sometimes even years, to pay for things that may only last a few days, such as a vacation. Give up the little things each day to enjoy the big things that you really want. When I was still working, to eat lunch out at a restaurant (fast food or a lunch menu item at a sit-down joint) was $7-$10 at least. If I did that every day, well do the math, that could be a $50 savings each week. It adds up fast. It doesn’t take long to finance your own stuff when you cut out just one thing, like a lunch that you could easily bring from home.
Below is a list of ways you can save money.
- Get a second job, maybe a part-time job in the evenings.
- Set the thermostat to 78 and leave it.
- Cut back on eating out, cook at home more.
- Sell some things you may have that you no longer use.
- Only buy things you NEED, then buy sale items when possible.
Pay Off Debt
If you’re like we were and already have accumulated debt, work hard at paying it down. Thankfully, we didn’t have a lot. Coming from bad financial backgrounds, we both had learned our lessons the hard way about credit cards and debt in general. Did that mean we were debt free? No! We had medical bills and a couple of department store accounts with outstanding balances. We started with the account that had the smallest balance, and paid as much as we could each month. Once that one was paid, we added that amount to the next smallest balance and knocked that one out. All the while we paid minimum balances on all other accounts. Now, let me say this. If some of your accounts do not have interest, such as medical bills, only pay minimums on these. Pay off all others first. It’s great to have no interest rates, it’s also rare for that to last very long. Interest is what kills you. While you are paying off debt, don’t do anything else. Focus on the debt and get it done before you allow yourself any other pleasures that aren’t necessary. Once you are debt-free, you won’t be sorry.
Who Cares What They Think
If you’re like me, you worry about what everyone thinks. Well, don’t. It’s really not important. And the truth is, they probably aren’t thinking about you as much as you think they are. Besides, what someone else thinks of you is none of your business. I try to tell myself that all the time. I’m not living for anyone else. I want to be happy, so that’s what I’m doing. My journey is different than yours. That’s ok. God made us all different. I trust Him to be with me in my journey and help me make decisions. So far, He’s not let me down. That being said, who cares what anyone else thinks. As long as you are happy, that’s what matters. And, as I’ve said before….you can’t take all that stuff with ya!
As always, I’d love your feedback. If you have questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or you can also send me an email to nana@simplelivingwithnana.com Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!