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Living a Better Life
The Power to Say "No!" March 2009, by Michelle Jones
We've all
experienced days when everyone seems to need or want something from us and it
feels like we're being pulled in every direction at once. I believe
parents, especially, feel this quite often. Whether it's at home, school,
or the workplace, the demands in life may always be there, but sometimes we do
have the power, or option, to just say "No!" Like turning the
television off when media coverage of the gloomy economy, rising job losses, or
billion dollar bailouts seem never-ending. More...
Life is not only too short to spend each day watching, thinking and talking about the economy and all the decisions that our qualified elected officials should or shouldn't be making to help get this country back on track, it's also too precious to throw away on any other constant negatives such as the simple financial struggles of our own that we may have now or in the near future. What may seem huge and devastating to us on a personal level at any given time during our lives financially, is all a matter of perspective. It is certainly not as bad as the entire country struggling, or war, or illness, or death. With my husband's company closing in February, another 4,000 plus employees are out of work across the country and we are hoping he will find a new offer soon. And oh my goodness, please let it be in ATLANTA so we don't have to move again!!! Do I think about these issues facing us every day? No way! If we got up every morning and talked about the job loss, watched the news about the stressed economy and housing market, or looked over our dwindling 401k, how depressing would that be? "Breaking News" at noon, and 5:00, 6:00, 10:00 and 11:00! The radio stations, newspapers, even the magazines are all covering the same thing. If we allow this constant drain on our energy we'd be letting the needs and wants of the world to pull at us from every direction instead of getting on with the things we really should be doing. Life still goes on and I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss it! Sometimes we just have to say "No, I have better things to think about and do with my time!" So, we turn the news off when it gets to be too much and skip right to the life or sports section of the newspaper. Or just have a good talk with the kids. It's so refreshing. Then we can go about our week, taking care of our family and getting our work done. If folks want to argue on the radio about who should do what about the economy, we don't have to let them pull us into it. Business will get taken care of and decisions will be made, things will get better. And thankfully, there are plenty of stations that still offer real music, and it's FREE! In our Better Budgeting Class I encourage students to only work on their finances once a week when possible, in order to free up the rest of the week for Living a Better Life!™ Checking on your money or stressing over how it's doing every day is a burden that no one should have to deal with unless it's absolutely necessary. If you're making changes to your investments then of course this is a time when you'll need to keep on top of things, but generally once a week should be enough! If you're one of those folks who needs to check their bank account every day, you will probably benefit greatly from implementing a successful household budget. Then, you can start learning how to say "No" to that constant need to think about your finances every day... and start enjoying your life again!
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Copyright © 2009 by Michelle Jones. All rights reserved. Author of... Frugal Family Recipes Cookbook The Better Budgeting Class: A 5-Week Course 101 Coupon Tips... To Help You Save More at the Store!
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