Babci Says It’s Never Too Late to Save

Barb Friedberg wrote a post the other day stressing the importance of how to save and she basically said that the earlier you start the better off you are.   Although Babci would agree, she wasn’t able to come to America until she was 36 years old.  She was starting at square 1 with nada, zip, zilch, zero, in her late 30’s.   I’m 37 and I can’t imagine hopping on a plane to a new country with no language skills or money and starting over.  I’m sure I could do it because Babci did, but what a scary thought.  I’ve had an extra 20 years to get educated, establish a career, pay off debt, build a retirement nest egg and build equity in my home.  By age 37, all Babci  had was a supportive brother, a minimum wage job and a roof over her head.   Wait, she did have one other thing and it’s the most important one of all, HOPE.

She had hope that in America, she had opportunities to get ahead that she would never get in her home country. In America, there were jobs that women could work.  In America, when you worked 15 hour days, you got paid for 15 hours.  On her farm, she worked from dusk til dawn and was still dirt poor.

She also had perspective.  She hardly had any money at all, so when she finally started earning it, she saved most of it.  Perhaps that’s what’s good about coming from a developing country. You literally don’t know how to spend money yet, so you manage to save quite a bit of it.   I really feel bad for people who grew up in upper middle class homes and now are struggling financially.  I think it’s so much easier having nothing and then going to a poverty level income, than it is if you have always had everything and now must learn how to edit and cut back your lifestyle.  Adding is so much easier than subtracting when it comes to lifestyle design.

How to Save – Starting Over

Some of my favorite blogs are the ones with stories about people starting their lives over again, after a divorce, job loss, or looking to make a big move.  Babci started over several times in life and each time it was a little better than the last.  I think if you believe your new life will be better than the one you left, then hope springs eternal and sometimes that’s enough to pursue your dreams.  Sacrifices are made willingly in the pursuit of this better life and eventually, it will come.   I think like a lot of parents Babci sacrificed a lot to make sure I had a better life than she did.  Thankfully I’m now getting to pay her back a little with a nicer home and the piece of mind that there is more money than her $740/month social security check and she doesn’t need to deplete her savings to pay for her day to day expenses.  In the end, it did pay off for her.

Bruised Produce Apple Berry Pie

I’m seeing more and more people in their 70’s working as baggers and cashiers. Are they doing it because they need the money or do they just want the social aspect of working and maybe getting the store discount?  Someday I might have the guts to ask one of them.

When I’m at the grocery store, I can’t help myself notice that the only people who are perusing the slightly rotten produce section are the elderly and immigrants.  I wonder if they do it because they are thriftier than we are or if they are actually doing it out of necessity. (By the way, that section is great for things like fruit pies or bananas for baked goods.  Here’s a pie I made last night from slightly bruised apples and berries from Babci’s garden. Delicious!).

Step by Step Instructions on Being Frugal

So, in summary, here are Sandy and  Babci’s tips to starting to save at any stage in life.

1. Convince yourself that saving is critical to your success and happiness. (If you start with the belief that frugal living is about deprivation and denial and that you’re making yourself miserable on purpose, then you are bound to fail.  Attitude is everything.)
2. Tell yourself:  better late than never.
3. Believe in yourself.  Make sure you think it’s possible to get ahead no matter how dire you think your circumstances are.
4. If you haven’t already, start looking at how and where you spend money.
5. First Reduce Expenses without making any major life changes (like moving, getting roommates, selling cars, etc). After a couple of months of this, determine if this gets you saving fast enough.
6. If your answer to #5 is no, I’m not saving fast enough, convince yourself that you can always cut more out of your budget and that you may need to take bigger steps to achieve your goals.
7. When you’re going through a tough time transitioning to a newer more frugal way of life, tell yourself “it’s only temporary.”  This is how I got through my college years.  I knew the reward at the end was a good paying job and it kept me working hard.
8. Once you get into the groove of your new lifestyle, make sure you schedule in some fun.  Pot Luck Dinners, Parks, Hiking, Swimming, are all frugal and fun.
9. Set little goals and milestones for yourself that are achievable. Don’t set 100 goals at once. Start with one and move onto the next one once you achieve the first. I’d start with something easy to get the ball rolling.
10. Last but not least, ignore the haters and try not to listen to the people who think there is only one right way to live your life.  Try to build a support system with friends and community members to help you achieve your goals.

I look back at this list and realize this is mainly my take not Babci’s, so here are a few things she’d say:

• Babci would say that people are crazy for buying expensive electronics on their credit cards and paying double for an item that is not necessary for survival.
• Babci would say the right way to do things is save up the cash, then buy the thing you want, not the other way around.
• She would also say that prepackaged convenience foods are for people who are okay with poisoning their bodies with chemicals and paying more for fake food.
• She may also use one of my uncle’s favorite sayings “Americans have more money than brains.”

Readers. Am I missing any steps?

Tagged as: Budgeting, How to Save, Never too Late to Save