Last year was a “pivot and recover” year for ol’ LeeLee and me. As I mentioned nearly a year ago now, LeeLee had lost one of his streams of income last spring (as a contractor, this does happen from time to time I’m sorry to say), so we pivoted, and pivoted quickly, reducing spending where we could and just generally tightening the belt overall.
This year, LeeLee and I have blessedly emerged from that time (I am inclined to add “for now,” as I know things can change on a dime!), but neither of us is all that enthusiastic about cranking our spending up at the moment given the tenuous national economic situation. So instead, we are saving – and paying down debts, some of which are car-note-related, some others of which we incurred while we were trying to right the ship last year.
But saving can get a bit dull once one is back into it full bore, day after day. Oh, sure, it’s the right thing to do, and we’ll thank ourselves in the end, but as the days wear on it’s easy to lose focus.
Enter: Our Whys.
Having a Why – or two, or three – makes it so much easier to keep on saving week after week. And when I say “Why,” I don’t mean the things we ALL save for – an emergency fund, retirement, all that good stuff. What I really mean are the things that make living fun. Do you like going to concerts? Fancy guitar equipment? Fancy car detailing? Going out to dinner? Travel? A cool pen? Splurging on your cats? These are all perfectly acceptable Whys to help keep you focused.
For LeeLee and me, one of our big Whys is travel. In fact, long ago we created a separate savings account, labeled it Vacation, and contribute to it every pay period. Watching that savings account grow keeps our eye on the prize – the more it grows, the more comfortable we are about taking a, well, vacation.
Another of our big Whys is going out to concerts and theater. While we don’t have a separate account for this the way we do for our travel fund, we use this passion as a test to pit other potential expenditures up against. Would we rather pay for this $50 out, or shall we eat at home for $15 and bank the rest to use for a show next month? Once we put things in that perspective, the answer to where our heart lies becomes quite clear.
Let’s face it: Saving can get a little bit dull, even though it’s the right thing to do. Add a bit of pizzazz to the proceedings with some Whys and you’ll stay on track!
What are your Whys? Let’s hear about it in the comments!
:)
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