Turning a $6 pizza into $8,000.

Many people underestimate the little things.  It's evidenced by their spending habits.  I include myself in this.

Last week our pastor talked about money & being on a spending plan.  If you've read this blog for any period of time, you're probably aware that money management & being debt free is a huge part of my life.  Four & a half years ago we decided to get out of debt forever.  It took us 3 years and we absolutely worked our butts off.


But after that?  Truthfully, we took a break.  I'm not proud of it, and it's pretty hard to admit.

No, we didn't go crazy spending.  We still put money in savings, & tried to make smart financial decisions. But we also did fun things, like buy new clothes, go out to eat.  We bought a new mattress, a 40" TV (on a Black Friday sale, but quite the upgrade from our 21" that was given to us!).  But after sitting down & taking a hard look at our finances this week, we realized that we could have saved $8,000 more than we did this past year.

$8,000.

I immediately thought, What could we have done with $8,000?  That's a hard pill to swallow.

Chances are, though, if someone gave you $8,000 you probably know exactly what you'd do with it... or at least have a good idea.  It's easy to see when you have it all in front of you, all at once.

But what about if you have to earn it, little by little?

It's all in making the little decisions.  Saturday, Josh was recovering from food poisoning & I had a coupon for a $6 large pizza from Dominos right next to our house.  Hello, I'm pregnant, & pizza sounded delicious!  Plus, Josh was eating very little, so that pizza could last me for 3 days!  Added benefits-- we'd be rushing out to church on Sunday & I could just heat up some pizza to eat on the way... see how beneficial it would be to spend just $6 on a pizza?  It's quite practical!

But no... it has to start somewhere.  And like Dave Ramsey says with The Great Recovery... it starts with me.

So instead I scrounged around the house, where we have plenty of food.  $6 pizza is no longer just a great convenience, it's now a reward.

I have to change my way of thinking if we ever want to save to our full potential.  Save that $6 pizza for a day when I really need it.  And as time goes on, I'm going to start seeing what I need and what I want a lot more clearly.

Would I have missed $6 in my bank account?  Not at all.  But now, I am satisfied knowing that I'm now $6 richer because of a smart decision.  I just need to make that decision 1,334 more times, which actually feels a lot easier than it sounds because really... I didn't miss out on anything.