America, it’s time to cut the fat.
For too long now America has lived off of a fat mentality. I’m included in this scenario. I’m guilty of living outside of my means, outside of my financial comfort zone, outside of what’s wise and we have taught our children to do the same thing.
What happened to youth groups meeting together for an ice cream social at church or bring a pot luck dish to church? Now the kids have to go to youth group, then meet 15 minutes later at the local Starbucks. Even my tweener can’t eat at a local fast food for fun but now it’s Chili’s or equivalent. WHAT?? Why does a 12 year old have to dine in a restaurant that my husband and I dine at for a date? What kind of standard are we setting for our kids? Stop the insanity.
America is a car driven society. In my area it’s unsafe to ride a bike to work not to mention the distance by car to anywhere is 20 minutes. My kids would be vulnerable to riff raff also. It would be great if developers turned back the clock to the time when Main St. USA was the place for business, fun, and social gatherings. I miss that.
In our family, we had a talk about living a little leaner. Gas prices have cut our social budget. If we keep the same pace driving tweens and teens to and fro we won’t have money left to see the movie or go have coffee afterward. We explained that if you ask for skinny jeans the answer might be no this week or next week. If you ask to go to the fair and then ask to see a movie the answer will be not this week. Our money has to pace itself with what’s going on with the economy.
In our pantry and fridge we’re asking our kids to eat what’s in the pantry instead of passing it for a favorite. I realize this creates a total mind shift. Wow, mom, do you mean that I can’t eat the whole bag of chips and will have to pop up some pop corn instead? Yes! Does that mean I can’t drink the whole gallon of milk in two days but should choose water and save the milk for cereal the next day? Yes! Does that mean packing my lunch instead of buying it at school or work? Yes!
Does your teen have a job? Mine just got her first job. We just appreciate the effort to participate in her own social financing. Now that she’s working she can afford her cell phone (a luxury we did not pay for before she got a job) and support the bill for it when it comes in. Are we mean parents? No. We all had to work at some point or another. We want our children to understand the sacrifice you have to make to have a cell phone, go to the movies, or out to eat with friends.
Our focus has to be on paying off debt as fast as possible. If you’re debt free then what ever the economy does your immune from it. You could work anywhere for almost any wage and it won’t sting. For this middle class family it’s hard to pay off debt when the economy is whacking you from every angle. Our desire is there but bills keep coming and the cost of living continues to go up. We take three steps forward and two steps back.
Don’t lose heart my fellow middle classer. Keep the pace, cut where you can and continue to focus on debt reduction. Learn all you can about spending less and using cash instead of credit. Say no sometimes to your kids. It’s really hard to do that but we have had to recently.
When the elections are over it’s my hope that things will settle down some. I love to root for the little guy. Small businesses have taken a hit recently. The American spirit won’t stay down for long and sooner or later you’ll begin to see “open for business” back on the small shops around our country. I can’t wait.