Nette Life

I went home early yesterday because I was feeling a little run down from this cold and so I was able to watch Ellen then Oprah. What a treat! I don’t ever watch Oprah when it comes on since I’m usually at work at that time. If I happen to be up at 1 a.m. when the re-run comes on, then that’s the only time I watch the show.

Anyway, yesterday, they were talking about things that we dare live without. They featured two families who have been living a wasteful lifestyle and dared them to give up their splurges and luxuries for a week.

At first, I didn’t know whether to be mad (I’m not sure that’s the right description - aghast maybe?) or sad that people can be that irresponsible and wasteful. I had to keep my indignation in check as I could feel that green eyed envy sticking it’s ugly head again. I kept thinking, “I sure am glad my daughter aren’t like those girls in that family” but in the back of my mind, I also had that monster wishing, “wouldn’t it be nice if my girls had all the clothes and gadgets they had?” I can’t help but think, if we had the means, if we had as much money as they seem to have, would we be as wasteful? Would our children be as spoiled?

Perhaps by default since we earn probably less than half of that family’s income, our girls have gotten used to living with less. They accept that we will eat left overs at least once a week, that mom will only cook one dish per meal. That shopping for shoes and clothes will be out of necessity and not of want or recreation. They know that they can watch TV (sans cable) and play on the computer when they get home from school, but only after all homework has been done. They accept (grudgingly) that they will help wash dishes, do the laundry, and clean the house. For us being a family of five living in a small house and living on income that is only enough to keep us out of poverty, I think we are doing pretty well, albeit we could probably do better, and relatively happy.

Of course, it’s not perfect. This self imposed frugality is due to necessity; it is unfortunately not a choice for us and that, in a way, makes me sad. And yes, a tad envious.

This morning, I also ran across this article on how sometimes it is the amount of money you make that determines how and what you spend it on. Sometimes not having enough makes you spend smarter without even realizing it. Here is how she sums it up:

Boiling down the argument to “it’s not what you make, it’s what you spend” is oversimplifying the issue and not giving due credit to all the middle class families like ours who truly don’t make a whole lot of money every month. But don’t let that stop you - seek ways to make you life truly guided by what you choose to spend and not spend. The amount of income we can earn is certainly not limitless, but it may be more than we previously imagined.

With that in mind, remember that when you don’t have the income you want or need, just like the way you can trim down your expenses, you can find ways to expand your income. That’s two of my goals that I’ll try to document on this blog: be more frugal and make more money.

Related posts:
Living Within Your Means Part 1