From Cindy's Porch...
"A person has to live too!"

When we hear these words, they are usually associated with BUYing
something, or spending a ton of money on an activity like supper out,
an expensive holiday, or a special treatment at a spa or hair salon.

Marketers, retailers, and advertisers love using these words on us.
It's implied that if you don't BUY whatever it is that they are
selling, then you are not living. I say "phooey" to that!

"A person has to live too!"

People who are BUYers, not DOers love to use these words too. They
use them on themselves to justify all the purchases lingering around
on their credit card debt, plus the one they are about to add at the
checkout counter. And they use them on their friends and relatives to
encourage them to make as many IMPULSE purchases as they do. I have
learned that BUYers like to try and convince others to become BUYers
too. I remember a shopping trip in New York City. Wow! For this
prairie gal, there were so many things to see. I had no plans to BUY
anything; I was there to look. It was absolutely wonderful. But my
shopping companion just couldn't understand how I could be in all
these stores and not BUY a thing. "Come on Cindy, a person has to
live too. You should buy something to remember this trip by." So I
bought a 10-cent postcard. I shopped in New York City on a dime LOL.

Let's think about this "living" thing. Why has it become all about
BUYing? "A person has to live too." Sheesk!

Let's get rid of the retailers, advertisers, and marketers'
definition of "living." Let's define "living" in our own words. Not
BUYing, but DOing. Are you ready? Go grab a cup of tea; this is a
long one.

There are three stages of "living." They are living in the present,
living for the future, and living in the past.

The first is "living" in the present.
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I love living in the present. It is a gift. This is where I get to
enjoy the weather, a walk with my special guy, spending time with our
kids, working on Cindy's Porch, doing work for other clients, caring
for our home, visiting with friends and family, hiking during the
summer, skiing during the winter, reading all year round, and
whatever else happens to come along during the day.

To enjoy "living" in the present, we eat healthy foods, move our
bodies, and take care of our health (hmmmmm – it's time for me to
make an appointment for "that" annual visit to the doctor).

While "living" in the present, we look for ways to keep costs down.
We're not talking about "cheap" as in "junk." We're talking about
shopping SMART - with our eyes open. And we are patient. We
procrastinate when BUYing. No more IMPULSE (I Must Purchase Use-Less
Stuff Everyday) buys. When we are patient, we know we will find
exactly what we are looking for, for exactly the amount we want to
spend. Or else, we will learn that we didn't actually want or need it
in the first place. We spend our money on things we love and things
we use. And we want to OWN these items, not OWE on them.

We DO instead of BUY.

Great conversation, giggles, a healthy sweat after a bike ride, a
great supper cooked at home using fresh veggies from the garden,
watching your oldest child beat grandpa at a game of chess, a good
book, and a glass of cold lemonade shared with someone special on the
front porch is "priceless." That's living!

If retailers, marketers, and advertisers had their way, "living" in
the present would mean BUYing absolutely everything our hearts desire
(and everything we didn't know our hearts desired until the retailers
hawked their stuff). And if we couldn't pay for this stuff using
our "present" funds, we could dip into our "future" funds and pay
with our credit cards or the ever popular, "BUY now, pay (much more)
later" money offers. YIKES!

The second is living FOR the future.
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We've all heard of the rainy day fund, the emergency fund, the
vacation fund, and the retirement fund. These funds are about living
for the future. Even our "I'm dreaming of a Cash Christmas" is about
living for the future. This is a future I plan on enjoying with my
friends and family.

The money we earn today has to take care of living in the present AND
living for the future. And often, our poor future gets little
financial attention.

I know it is hard to find the dollars to put into savings accounts
and retirement funds. And gosh, the chances of setting aside three to
six months of your income into an emergency fund seems as likely as
winning that elusive lottery.

But it can be done, one dollar at a time. Keep reading….

The third is living in the past.
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You know why it is so tough for so many people? They are living in
the past using their future dollars while trying to find the last
penny to pay for living in the present (you may have to read that
sentence a couple times LOL).

Think about it. If they have long-term credit card debt (not the kind
that is paid off in total every month, but the kind where only the
minimum payment is paid), then they are living in the past. Their
monthly income is used to pay for meals they ate two months ago, for
clothes they wore last winter, for a wedding gift from last summer,
and for a trip they took over a year ago. They are living in the past
and paying much more for it now. There is nothing left over for the
future.

And retailers, marketers, and advertisers don't help this at all. In
fact, they give us "discounts" when we use their credit cards instead
of cash. They want to keep us living in the past. They want to
maintain our "interest" for as long as possible. And gosh, at 20%
interest, this is very profitable. BUY now, pay (much more) later is
another one of the schemes that keeps us living in the past. And if a
person cannot pay the total amount by the year 2007 (or whenever it
was due), no problem, the retailer will let you transfer the amount
onto one of their store credit cards (for an extra fee) and you can
keep living in the past at 23% interest for several more years. That
stereo is starting to get VERY pricey.

Living in the financial past keeps us from enjoying the present and
saving for the future.

This is a vicious cycle, but one that can be broken. It is going to
take time. You have three tools that are going to help you:

1) DO instead of BUY: this is what living is really about - the
things that you DO. Think about the things you've always wanted to
DO. Instead of heading to the shopping mall, head to local parks,
swimming pools, or other places where you can move your body. Instead
of going out for supper, invite friends and/or family over for a
potluck meal. Learn how to make a new salad. All of us like to DO
different things. We just have to DO them.

2) SHOP at home FIRST: This is one of my favorites. Over the
years, all of us have purchased tons of stuff (I know it is tons,
because ours got weighed a few years back when we moved YIKES). In
your home you have food waiting to be eaten, craft supplies waiting
to be used, tools waiting to be put to work, clothing waiting to be
worn, shoes waiting to be walked on (except those red high heels –
what was I thinking, they're only good for standing on for about two
minutes LOL), toys waiting to be played with, sports equipment
waiting to be used, cleaning supplies waiting to be sprayed, brushed,
and broomed, bubble bath waiting to be bubbled and more. Our homes
are a treasure trove of things waiting to be discovered. SHOP at home
FIRST. You have already paid for this stuff, you may as well use it.
(I think I will take the kids for a bike ride this afternoon – it
won't cost a dime).

3) PROCRASTINATE: Remember, there is always another sale. If you
are thinking of BUYing something, try to procrastinate. Wait a couple
hours, a couple days, a couple weeks, or even a couple months. There
is a good chance you will find it at a better price, or you will
discover you didn't really need (or want) it at all. No more IMPULSE
purchases (been there, done that).

These three tools are going to help you bridge the gap between living
in the present, paying for the past, and looking forward to the
future. The less you spend, the more there will be for credit card
payments (beyond the minimum amount).

Once those credit cards start to get paid off, there will be more
dollars left over at the end of the month. Keep focusing on your
financial goal. Use those dollars to pay off that high-interest debt.
When the cards are paid off, cancel the useless ones. Keep a couple
for emergency or travel expenses. Start using cash for living in the
present. Before you know it, a few extra dollars will begin to appear
to put into your future savings account. I've seen it happen over and
over. Here's a link on Cindy's Porch for tackling credit card debt:

http://www.cindysporch.net/pages/mon8chunkmore.shtml

The more we live by DOing, instead of BUYing, the more we will have
to live for!