A while ago my husband and I were discussing with my dad our plans to move to a less expensive town. He was talking about how many financial blows a person can withstand, and how increasing that number should be a primary goal. It resonated with me, and really made me think. It’s part of the reason why we decided that we’d rather sell our current house instead of renting it out. Two mortgages, one of which is covered by rent from tenants, is great as long as things are going smoothly. But things don’t always go smoothly, and having just one house and one mortgage is a lot easier to juggle if things get a little rocky.
My dad pointed out that it would take several financial blows to knock my parents down. They’ve already withstood a few, the biggest being the autoimmune disease that struck my dad without warning in 2001 and caused kidney failure. He had to retire at 55, several years ahead of schedule. Even with health insurance, his medical expenses eat up a huge chunk of money every year. It’s not an ideal situation, but it would be much worse if they had been in debt when he got sick. They’ve always planned carefully, and while they’ve never had a great deal of money, they stretch what they do have farther than anyone else I know.
My parents would never in a million years put in granite countertops or buy a big screen TV. They drive a Hyundai that they paid for with cash. They taught me everything I know about shopping in thrift stores and at yard sales. They are the king and queen of do-it-yourself, and make frugal into an art form. Years of living like that put them in a position where a pretty significant financial blow wasn’t able to topple them. And they could withstand several more if necessary.
That is our goal. My husband and I are working to get ourselves to that point. When we bought our house six years ago, we were far from it. Our mortgage was a stretch for us, and starting our own business at the same time made things even tougher. We worked our butts off, but we were also lucky. We had the various financial hiccups that go along with starting a business, but we didn’t have any major catastrophes. We’ve gotten ourselves to the point where we could withstand some financial difficulties without too much of a problem, but we still have a long way to go.
These days our income is more than it was when we bought our house. But we won’t be upgrading to a more expensive neighborhood, buying new cars, or abandoning the thrift stores where we do our shopping. Upgrades are fine, as long as your financial situation stays the same or gets better. But what if it gets worse?
I look at every month where our income exceeds our expenses as a gift that should not be squandered. It’s an opportunity for us to build up a wall around our family to shield us from whatever life might throw at us around the next bend. That’s why we’re so focused on saving and living frugally. A few years ago, we had to be frugal because there simply wasn’t enough money in our budget to live any other way. Now, we choose to be frugal because we don’t know what the future will bring. Our income isn’t huge, and it could easily be eaten up if we chose to upgrade a few aspects of our current lifestyle. But carefully considering every purchase means that we’re able to put money aside every month instead of spending it.
I hope that we’ll continue to have smooth sailing for many years to come. And we’ll be careful and do our best to make that happen. But sometimes life throws curve balls that are tough to anticipate. Insurance (life, health, liability, etc.) can help with some of those, but avoiding debt and building up savings will make it much easier for us to weather whatever storms might lie ahead. And to me, that brings more comfort than anything we could spend our money on right now.
Kristi says
Babe, this such a thoughtful post. I have had a couple of blows this year at age 59 and am still standing. Exactly as you said because of no debt.
Mrs. Accountability says
We have had some blows in the past couple of years. I am so inspired when you mention starting your own business and the debt you incurred. It really makes me feel less freaked out about our financial situation.
SonyaAnn says
It so refreshing to read that someone is grateful for what they have and what they have accomplished. Most of the time I hear people speak about how life isn’t fair or life is beating them down.
I consider myself very blessed but we are in a tight spot most of the time. We were sued and almost lost our house. Then the city flooded our entire neighborhood with sewage because they had no where to put it. It was flooding terrible but still I think backing up the sewers in the poorer neighborhoods was a terrible think to do. Then I started a business with a friend (right there the alarm bells should have gone off) and it folded. Between all of the lumps it cost us over $100,000. It’s sickening. And I’ve really never considered us stupid with money. Maybe starting a business was the worst I’ve done but we had a very sound working business plan. It just didn’t work out.
But through it all, I know that we are lucky. We have no credit card debt and we make it on bare bones but it is a wonderful life. I see friends of ours, that rubbed it in our face that they were so much better off than us, sinking. I’m trying to help them but they won’t stop their spending.
I guess that taking lumps is just a part of life. We have made it through really bad one and stayed married and kept our little house. I don’t think that I could ask for more.
Thank you for the article, it made me feel blessed.
Dana says
Great post! We’ve weathered some financially trying years (medical expenses, car expenses, reduction in income, etc.) because of our no debt policy. Like you said, you never know what the future will bring. We love the peace our household has because of frugal living, saving money, and living debt free.
Kay says
Another thoughtful post!! and that provokes thoughts!!
Thanks!
Lilbet says
This is so fabulous.
I think we were raised by the same parents, but my mom (dad died 4 years ago) drives a Buick.
Knowing that you have enough or all that you need is something that most people don’t get. Wanting the right now not the right for you is a hard lesson to learn–and so many are now learning the hard way.
Congratulations to you from another frugal, thrift store shopping, penny pinching gal.
Trixie says
Hello,
Your dad made a very wise statement, thank you for sharing it with your readers. My husband and I are pretty careful with our finances but we’ve never looked at our situation from the perspective of how many blows we can handle. What a great incentive to start some strategic planning.
Take Care,
Trixie
http://farmhomelife.blogspot.com/
Broke Bettie says
“I look at every month where our income exceeds our expenses as a gift that should not be squandered. ”
Right on sister – keep it up!