Okay, admit it....how many of you out there unwind after a stressful week, or a stressful day with the time honored traditional coping skill known as Happy Hour? Clearly enough of us are out there doing it (and daily, I might add) as pretty much every restaurant and bar advertises or offers it. So, why is it a focus of mine today? And what does that have to do with downsizing? Well...let me tell you!
Okay, so part of this whole let's-change-our-life thing, involves developing a budget. Now, I can't tell you how many times in our 22 years we have sat down and done this. And, honestly, in the past 8 years or so, things have been fairly great and we've been paying our bills and spending our spoils without incident. However, in our earlier years. I remember being so frustrated because we had a lot of trouble budgeting. It never made sense that we couldn't make it work. But, the element we were missing was not the intellect to accurately figure out our budget. No, no...it was the commitment and the willpower to stick to it! Which, we have now.....I think.
So, Dave Ramsey advises that you develop a monthly budget of your income and your outgoing. The outgoing needs to be a realistic picture of what you spend your money on. This can be a wake up call for a lot of us out there. So, after you pay the bills, you set aside money for the necessities (gas, food) and the extras (in our case, this ranges from my hairdresser to his cigars - squeezing some pocket money and entertainment in there, too...and I mean squeezing).
At this point I think..Hmmm, I like spending money to cope with my stress. Doing this whole budget thing seriously is going to cramp my style. Or is it? Maybe it's just going to make me come up with new (possibly more healthy) ways to deal with the irritations of life. Maybe it's going to reinvent the relationship I have with my husband. And the cherry on top will be total freedom from debt.
Wow, I never cease to amaze my own ability to talk myself back into the positive side. It's not going to be easy - but it's going to be a challenge. And, a challenge breeds creativity and generally ends with accomplishment, or the worst case scenario..a lesson learned.
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Again LOVE the post. You are my hero (heroine?) Okay, here's the deal on cheap Happy Hour and entertainment. Happy Hour is BEST spent at home -- better pours, better prices and you can do it in your PJs while watching DVR. Which brings me to entertainment -- other than watching DVR (no, not sad, relaxing!), having friends over is one of our favorites. Making dinner can be pretty inexpensive AND fun, and guests almost always bring wine -- decent wine! Play a board game or two (no, we are NOT nerdy freaks, this is actually fun ... refer to earlier Happy Hour ... it makes everything fun). It's WAY too early for me to getting into the "I cut my own hair" schtick, so I'll leave you to gnaw on this ... as a Happy Hour appetizer. Bon Appetit!
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