It’s Going Going Gone!
In light of the baseball season, I cannot miss an opportunity on using some sort of baseball gorgon. I know many of my counterparts are rooting for Boston and the like but I, for one, am rooting for the Cardinals. My wife would have it no other way. Of course, I have spent a lot of time watching it even as I grew up. I remember spending time at my grandparent’s house and my Granddaddy would have that on the television. Of course, at that time, I didn’t pay too much attention to it. But I remember a few times when the announcer would yell over the mic “it’s going….it’s going….it’s gone! That’s a homer for the Cardinals….!”
In this season, there aren’t many days that I can catch a good game on television because we are saving up and paying off our house. It’s a small price…I know… Something that I caught myself in the habit of was being reluctant to spend money. We recently had a car repair that was necessary and I held off until I could hold off no more. Some of you know that feeling of “do I really want to fork out $800?” With that, I had to start working on showing what is a need and a want. In the midst of that, we have been teaching our kids about what it takes to run our house. They are often shocked that it takes money to make the world go around. I wish I could make it all appear out of thin air but unfortunately I can’t do that.
When it comes to the spending budget, it would be easier to get the credit card out and just spend like Congress. But unfortunately, in our reality, we wouldn’t be able to get a bail out. Our household has to budget that spending money and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Dave drove this principle out in the Smart Money, Smart Kids book. He and Rachel both spoke about the time they went to Opryland and Rachel spent her money before they even got through the park. She got to a game and realized she had no more spending money. Thinking that her dad or mom would bail her out, she asked. Their response? “When it’s gone…it’s gone.” It’s a hard pill to swallow when you’re out having fun and reach into your pocket only to find…there’s no more money.
Spending is a lot of fun and you should do it often but within balance. You can’t rob Peter to pay Paul in order to spend. We, as a microwave generation, have to train our kids to spend and do it within reason but have fun doing it. It’s fun to spend when you have the ability to do so without breaking the bank.
Comments