Is saving for a rainy day old-fashioned or is it still a financially wise practice? I’m truly curious here and honestly not sure…because no one talks about money!
Sure, I want a nice new car, I want an updated kitchen and bathroom, I want the toy hauler with a side by side to go play in, I long for the tropical vacations…but how many people save for it beforehand?
I grew up learning on my own how to budget and spend the money I was making. For the most part, I made it work; that is, as long as I was getting paid! I always had a savings account for “emergencies” but I also had debt…it was normal.
I’m a rule follower, I’m pretty frugal, and I’m not a gambler, so luckily when it comes to money, I am pretty conservative. I have participated in the financing game and I have paid interest at times on credit cards…but the thing that got me fed up was that no matter how much more I earned, I was still living paycheck to paycheck not feeling like I was getting anywhere.
In 2015, I attended my first Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class and it was life changing…I finally had some structure to this whole money concept! Save for a rainy day; ahh, that’s what our grandparents said…save and then buy! …It would take me a few years later and some life mishaps to finally get my finances on track. I hired a Ramsey Financial Coach to not only hold me accountable but to also teach my husband and I and my daughter the structure and accountability we needed.
Saving for an emergency fund was something I knew about and always had done, but saving with sinking funds; mind-blowing! Today my house is being painted and we have money in savings to pay for it. Two years ago we redid our patio and it took us until this recent April to finish paying for it…. I can tell you from experience….enjoying my house being painted knowing that when they leave they are paid in full, will provide me a more joyful feeling than the patio I spent 2-3 years paying on after it was complete…the lingering payment haunted me and I hated it.
I’m not going to lie, this way of life is hard; there are several temptations everywhere we turn and it is definitely the road less traveled…and yet, so worth it! I am less than a year from being consumer debt free with my student loans but the best part is, we’ve had some major celebrations throughout this journey like having major vehicle repairs, replacing a water heater and a furnace, and a basement leak/remodel, that delayed our debt pay off journey but it did not derail it….the best part is, we were able to pay cash for all of those emergencies that snuck into our path along the way…focusing on sinking funds, paying off debt, and aligning our daily finance choices with our long term goals is how we made it happen. It can be done. It’s not easy. And saving for a rainy day does give me peace of mind.
So I’m OK saving for a rainy day and I'm OK being old-fashioned because it works for me! How about you?
If you want to learn more about what partnering with a financial coach looks like,
Book a complimentary session with me. You don't have to have it all figured out (we didn't), you wont be judged (I promise!) ... learning anything new takes courage and to let someone in who can who can shine a light of hope into your situation and provide encouragement to stay the course towards your long term goals, just might make all the difference in the world; it did for me!
Just because we don't talk about money doesn't mean we have it all figured out; you are not alone.
All the best,
Marci
If you want to learn more about paying off debt, check out some of Dave Ramsey’s free tools here:
Comments