Some People Really Don’t Understand What Cutting Back Means

I guess, with all the talk about money and finances in the forefront of everyone’s minds, you would think that more people would be taking action and cutting back and saving money now for the future.  This is really not the case because some people really don’t understand shopping wisely and saving money and all that stuff.  It seems pretty simple to me, maybe because I learned from my grandparents, who came from the Great Depression times and didn’t have much money even after they started a family.  Growing up I would hear my grandmother tell stories about wanting to buy a Christmas present for my aunt when she was a little girl and about how they could only afford a doll, but they couldn’t afford the clothes, so she made an outfit for the doll which was my aunt’s only Christmas gift.  I heard stories about adding water to stretch things and making lots of Koolaid to quench the thirst of friends who would come for a visit.  My grandparents now have money, but still do not spend.  My grandmother still recycles her tin foil and uses it again.  She shops a bargain whenever possible and will reuse items past the point of exhaustion.  Since they never really had money, when they did get it, they still continue to act as if they don’t.  This is how they were raised.  Many times when speaking to my grandmother and grandfather about my struggles with raising a family and about having no money, they share stories about wondering how they would pay for heating fuel and about the tough times.  I look at them now and hope that my future holds for me money in it, as they are a true testament to the power of pushing forward and going from have nots to haves.  A rags to riches story that even now, makes you think about how you are spending your money and what you are spending it on.  I am gradually learning how to cultivate my money and keep it going far past where it should.  I am cutting coupons and shopping sales, I am going to yard sales, I am cutting back.  My kids feel it and are hating it, but I can’t just blow money on their every desire, I keep trying to explain to them the difficult financial times that we are in, but I really don’t think they get it.  The time to cut back is now, so start making gifts for Christmas and thinking of ways to reduce costs where ever you can.  This is a time of “Economic Slowdown” so be ready because when things start to slow down, they eventually come to a stop.