August 17, 2010

Changing Your Attitude About Money


Have you ever told your kids that they need an attitude change?  Many times I have said things to my kids that I should be directing to myself. 

Making the change from one income to two incomes means more than doing the numbers to balance your family budget, it means changing your attitude toward money.  This is easier said than done. 

Last week I was in a store picking up some things on my carefully prepared list, when I walked down an aisle that had plastic shelving units.  I came close to picking up those shelves when I stopped myself.  They would have to wait until the end of the month - next pay period.   We need some plastic shelves for our basement for storage but it wasn't a need at the time.   So, I put those on a short list I keep for items I feel that we need in the near future. 

Putting off purchases until you can afford them or work them into your budget, is something that is foreign to many people.  After all lets look at those shelves.  The price for one of those plastic shelving units was $15.00.  I could have bought them then, but I wanted to keep more money in our checking account at this time of the month and I knew that I could get one shelving unit at the end of the month and one at the end of September. 

This is a change in attitude toward money or perhaps it is a respect for money.  It looks as if this attitude change is sweeping the country.  The news reported that households are now saving close to 6.3% of their income as opposed to less than 1% before the Recession hit. 

This Recession has been hard on a lot of families but if there is one good thing that will come from it, it is that people are starting to respect their hard earned money and have changed their attitudes about spending and saving. 

1 comment:

Maureen said...

More and more often now I find myself putting things back onto the shelf, which I would have put into my trolley without a second thought. I am trying the want or need attitude to shopping now and saving myself money.