All the talk yesterday was about that stupid lottery. So much so, my husband and I did something we have never done in our marriage (and I've never done AT ALL)...........we bought Powerball tickets.
Guess who didn't win? C'mon, just guess :X
A very large part of me thinks we deserved to lose. What kind of person buys lottery tickets? Yeah, I USED to be that judgmental.
Anyway, we had a good time talking about what we'd do with the money. Christmas 2012 would blow the socks off everyone. We'd pretty much never have a financial problem ever again, and neither would our children and our parents.
Today it's back to reality! We're still the same people we were yesterday, with the same finanicial constraints..........and a new noise in my brakes that is demanding my husband's attention. Sigh.
There were a lot of stories online yesterday about people who had been previous lottery winners. Some made the mistake of spending it all very fast, and ending up more broke than before. Several were extremely wise........they paid off college loans, mortgages and invested the rest. Good for them. Unfortunately, human nature in all it's finest makes most people react like the former.
Like eating right and exercising, wise money management takes self discipline. What does the average person do when presented with an overflowing buffet? They eat themselves into a coma. What do they do when presented with a ton of money? Same thing, only a financial coma lasts a lot longer.
If we could just stop a second, we could take a deep breath and think through what we really need. You're starving to death and you're at Golden Corral. Instead of diving into several platefuls of bountiful carbs x infinity, stop and survey the food selection. What are you really hungry for? What will fill you up without making you hate yourself in 15 min? I'm not saying don't top your meal off with the sumptuous carrot cake and vanilla ice cream. What point is there to go out to eat if you're not going to have dessert? Just don't make that 3/4ths of your meal.
If you won the lottery, by all means, go to the mall and get that designer purse. Enjoy a brand new car without brake issues. Take that vacation you'd wanted to go on since 1986. Pay off your child's college loans so they don't have to put THEIR dreams on hold. Those 'splurges' will make you feel good and pay off for years (well, provided no one steals your purse!). On the other hand, if you take ALL your winnings and spend every single day blowing it on material crap you'll regret soon after receiving..........you may never recover, and life is too doggone short to have regrets like that.
For the rest of us poor blokes who didn't win the Powerball, put on your big kid pants and listen up: most of us WON'T win the lottery. Most of us won't get a windfall beyond our wildest dreams. We won't have Oprah swoop in and buy us a car. Our kids won't become famous and buy us a house. In Italy.
So, back to reality. How do you deal with real life and the everyday stuff you have to buy? Live within your means. Or, live beneath them. Save as much money as you can. Don't make that much money, or live paycheck to paycheck? Well, guess what? You're gonna have to slash something. You may have to put to put the kabosh on eating out. That satellite package may become basic cable, or no cable at all. You may have to make more food from scratch, wear your clothing until it falls apart, and rely on free entertainment rather than vacations to distant shores. It's called responsible financial planning, and it sure isn't fun, but it's what makes some people come out ahead, while others are still at the starting line, wondering what they're doing wrong while driving around in a circle.
I'm talking to myself as much as anyone else. I have to rein it in constantly. Believe it or not, I have to watch the amount of times I visit Goodwill. If I'm not careful, there goes the grocery and the Christmas money. You just can't let stuff slide. Once in a while you can say, 'I've had a bad day, I need a Big Mac,' but not every day.
So, let's be adults out there, people. Let's pay our bills on time and forgo Florida for Spring Break this year. When YOUR brakes make funny noises, you'll be glad you did.
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