Do You Not Wish you knew these things before hand
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
June 7, 2011 10:23am CST
I learned yesterday, that I needed more gas for my weed wracker and gas mower. So this is went through my mind.
If I had not bought that extra can of extra virgin olive oil on sale, I would have had enough for gas.
If I had not got the extra switter refills I would have had enough for gas.
IfI had not bought that dishwashing soap, I wold have had enough for gas.
If I had not bought the kitchen shears and the tea strainer, I would have had enough for gas.
If I had not bought the pasta strainer I would not had enough for gas.
If I had not bought that dvd player (cost me less then $80 because of accumulated points, I would have had enough for gas.
If I had not had a large grocery bill due to my having to get multivitamins as well, I would have had enough for gas.
It is a good thing I did not buy that dvd cabinet.
I did check my budget and there is enough left over, so that I do not have any thing to be concerned with.
The point I am trying to make is that I was brought up by with the adage, "if you bought this, you should have had enough to p;ay for this other thing that they considered more important then practical." No wonder I go into panic when I have to buy clothes or shoes. I am thinking of something else that is needed and does not come up until I actuallyy bought what I did.
How what you hear in early life interferes with your decisions now.
2 people like this
10 responses
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
7 Jun 11
I understand what you mean. When I was younger I often regretted buying things because if I got something nice for myself, inevitably there would be some disaster happen where I could have used that money. So I'm very, very frugal now.
I was raised with the old adage of saving for a rainy day, never buy on credit and if you don't have the money for something you don't need it. I take that seriously now.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
7 Jun 11
I sometimes I wish we had foresight to know when buying something would cause a later disaster. But sometimes that makes one afraid of even buying the necessities or buy something that will break down n a year or so. My husband grew up the same way, and when we went shoe shopping for me, he wound up getting ones that eventually gave me corns because they were cheaper. So sometimes these old adages backfire.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
7 Jun 11
I am more like, "If my husband hasn't bought" more than myself, but I probably have done this as well.
But I couldn't help laughing as I was reading your post. It reminds me of part of the hagggadah read over Passover. There are 15 stanzas that are spoken and after each one, everyone says, "Dayenu" which means, "it would have been enough."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayenu
So as I am reading your list, in my mind I kept wanting to say Dayenu...
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
9 Jun 11
I never knew that, I guess the poet was into putting things in categories as well. Oh when my husband was alive and working, he had to get work shoes, and I kept thinking, if he had not gotten those work shoes, iI would have had enough for a pair of my own. And I would have gotten a pair that fit and was wide in the front, not shoes that were too big to accomodate my bunions.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Jun 11
I could get them removed, but they do not hurt and the only bother is finding shoes that fit. Now if I had moved to England or ven to Vancouver or Victoria where there are a lot of ladies who have this problem, there would be lots of shoe stores that specialize in hard to fit shoes. But it seems that magically here on the Prairies no one has this problem. Or perhaps if your ancestors came from the Ukraine, or Eastern Europe it is not as common as it is if your family came from Great Britain or Western Europe. If they hurt like blazes, then it would be a necessary surgery to get them removed, but now it is elective and that means it might not be covered by my insurance. Also if part of it is inherited, not much you can do with it. So I live all summer in sandals and do not have enough money to go South for the winter.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
9 Jun 11
Ugh, I am starting to have problems with bunions, not good for one who loves to dance..I read up on them and am not wearing anything tight at all, hoping to keep them at bay..
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
8 Jun 11
You are right, it is hard to dispose of theose voices in our brain, and yet you know that as an adult you are able to make good decisions in life.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
8 Jun 11
Well I went to get my new dvd player and then later on the fence blew down, but it was in bad shape to begin with. Besides I had already planned to get something with my points and I was debating between getting a Cuisinart or a Dvd player. Well the Cjisnart was more expensive and my stove still works so no sense in paying over $500 just to get more points. I do have to get my airconditioner looked at, but think I will just keep the window open during the summer.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
9 Jun 11
When I was a teenager, my parents never invited young people to our house, and I had visions of being a spinster with a whole lot of cats and I am a dog lover. I did figure out that much of my bad decisions had to do with inexperience.
@yoyochan (10)
• China
8 Jun 11
I know a way to deal with this problem----To make enough money !hahaha~~~just play a joke!I think we should make a good plan to arrange our money and some other things!For me ,I will make a plan at the beginnin of a month.Put my money into different aspects such as food,clothes and so on.And the most important thing is that you must prepare some cash for emergency.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
8 Jun 11
I am good at that, but not good at saving money for clothes. I have to get over the adage that if you could afford to get that, you can get that. I have a sort of a plan and it works, but I forget the extras and that is the problem. I also figure that by such a such a date, I hate to have so much money left in my checking account, so I am also checking it to see if I have spent too much. It is just that I do not want to spend something I need without feeling guilty about doing so.
@xyzm12 (26)
• United States
7 Jun 11
Usually for me this sort of thing happens when I don't have much money. When that happens I just try to be more careful and tighten up on my expenses and buy only the necessary things. I try to look ahead and estimate what I'll need in a few days to a couple of weeks to get by. Some more gas this day, some more food that day, etc. If I don't do that I'll either have to put my account under to be able to get gas or I'll have to just live with not having something like dish soap for a while.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
8 Jun 11
I keep to a budget and when there is more then enough, I have a list of things that I intend to buy. I did not include gas on that list. I had assumed that the lawn mower had been filled when the fall was over and there would have been enough for the first mowing. I also have to be careful, because of the basement, and other things. If the basement is not insulated, that would meen high gas bills as now I have a renter and cannot keep the temperature down to below 60 during the day and 55 during the night.
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
7 Jun 11
I know that feeling all too well. We never know exactly what we need until we are out of money. LOL It's like Murphy's law, or something. LOL My husband and I are always saying stuff like that to eachother, but as an observation, since there's no use crying over spilled milk, or spent money. What's done is done.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
7 Jun 11
I used to be afraid of even buying things, and then what happened is that I would be so deprived I would go and buy something stupid. So whatever our parents told us, backfired. For instance because my mother and stepmother was told that to make things last just in case, I wore shoes that were too small for me. I remember seeing my friends try to shove a little larger toddler foot into a small shoe. I knew I would need to fill the gas in the lawn mower eventually, but did not expect it to happen when I had this large grocery purchases. It was as if I expect the gas in the lawnmower to magically stay the same or increase if I had only spent the regular grocery money or magically increase.
@sweetgirl_k1 (3972)
• United States
7 Jun 11
I understand what you mean. I was kinda brought up that same way. And I often think well if I didn't buy this or didn't buy that then I would have had enough money to get blah blah. I wish I just had enough money where I didn't have to worry about things like that. But sadly, I don't so that's why I try to work on the computer to make more.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
7 Jun 11
The whole darn trouble is that I did have enough money to get all these things and more, but it is just I got the feeling when the reverend who was helping me by mowing the lawn told me that the weed racker needed more gas as well as the lawn mower. Yesterday there was a wedding shower, I had a little money for the gift, but on Saturday, I decided I needed more groceries just in case and of course I run out of things at the same time. I do find that things run out when I am a little short of regular money. And I am trying to save for the basement insulation and of coures a new fence.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
9 Jun 11
For me, it is having places to store them. I do not exactly have a large house and besides there are some things I need now or in the near future. For instance, I cannot see my keeping a dvd player and not using it until January. And with getting tnings during the year, if the person does not like it, they cannot return it.
@greenfeathers (1206)
• United States
7 Jun 11
I have tried budgeting. It works for a short minute. The problem I seem to be heading towards is 'food or rent?'. Oh well..there will never be 'enough for..' as long as there are folks who expect more than needed...Enjoy!
1 person likes this
