Last weekend I was back home spending a day with my family while I was in St. Louis, and spending time in my hometown reminded me of the days when I was in high school and didn’t have more than a few hundred bucks to my name.
I was driving a crappy car that hardly ever worked, but I needed it to get to school or practice of whatever sport I was playing at the time or work.
This reminded me of a time when I literally couldn’t afford to fill up my tank with gas. Never mind that my car was basically a steel tank and got about 5 gpm (gallons per mile), which may or may not be hyperbole. There was actually a time when I literally believed my gas tank had a hole in it because I thought there was no way I was burning gas that quickly. The point I’m trying to make is that the only thing “green” about my car was the paint job.
Not having gas money sucks
Nowadays, I pull into the gas station about once every two weeks when I’m running close to empty, swipe my AMEX, and fill up the tank knowing that I’m getting 5% cash back for the purchase and that I won’t even have to think twice about having enough money to pay off that credit card in full. Having enough money to buy a full tank of gas is truly a small thing, but it does make a noticeable difference in my life.
It took a trip back home to remind me how terrible it feels to live “gas tank to gas tank”. There is so much extra stress and unhappiness when you struggle to pay for the most basic essentials, yet it makes life that much sweeter when you have made it through the worst times.
It’s not so bad
I doubt many of us are exactly where we want to be financially (I know I’m not), but I also doubt many of us are in the worst place we’ve ever been. I recommend you take a minute and think back to a time when you were poorer than you are today, and come up with one tiny thing that you used to worry about, but don’t anymore.
Once you come up with something, post it in the comments. I would really love it if you could help me make a big list of things we take for granted, and hopefully it will help us all realize that we don’t have it all bad.
This post was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
My thing I used to not be able to pay for was unexpected repairs on my car. I’d take it in for something small and end up being told I had to get new tires (etc) and I wasn’t able to afford those types of expenses on such short notice. I definitely broke down and cried after leaving a repair shop once, just because I was so frustrated with having sudden expenses throw a wrench in my plans… no pun intended. I sure am glad to now be able to save for a car expenses fund and/or rebudget when necessary!
I’ve definitely been here too. There’s nothing worse than saving up a bunch of money and feeling like you’re finally making progress, only to have a car expense knock you back down to earth.
Oh man, this was just the post I needed! I’m fond of saying, “it could always be worse.” I recently started reading The Millionaire Next Door and pretty much hate it. 50 pages in and I feel so inadequate. I can justify away those feeling for the most part because I’m a graduate student, I actually have savings/investments, I budget like it’s nobody’s business and yet some how that book ruined my weekend! Thanks for the reminder that everything is actually ok just the way it is and having goals is only going to make it better!
I bet even those millionaires next door have goals for their financial future. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being in debt or having a low net worth, just as long as you are doing the right thing to get out of it.
I remember fretting over every single dollar menu item at Wendy’s because I was living on $3 or less a day for food in college, so eating at Wendy’s was me splurging.
This week alone I’ve had homemade soft tacos, Chick Fil’a, homemade Quesadillas, Subway, and steak with mashed potatoes…
Thanks for inspiring a post for next week!
I used to worry about my morning/afternoon coffe ($6 per day). Now, not so much.
I love the title of this post. I went to the gas station today and gas was $3.45 a gallon for 87 octane. The gas station was PACKED since it was the cheapest one in the area by a good $0.10 per gallon. CRAZINESS. I’m going to be one bus taking chic from now on.
You missed the fun of yet another (possible) tornado blasting through the Lou. I’ve been two for two (New Years one was two miles from my house; this past weekend was a block) but holding strong.
I survived my post-college years on cereal for dinner. I even ate it a few times with water because I didn’t have milk. I’ll still eat it on occasion when I don’t feel like cooking or don’t want take out. Sometimes it’s the sugary goodness I’m craving.
Cereal and Kraft mac & cheese. Good times (not!)
I can totally relate to your gas tank story. While in grad school, DH and I had to live in different cities, and didn’t know what we know now about budgeting, so it was more than tight. In retrospect, I don’t think we ever paid every bill in a single month…oh how far we’ve come 🙂 I would watch my empty light come on and I knew exactly how many more trips to campus I could make and limited myself accordingly until the next pay day. I would also be sure to buy my gas at the station that gave grocery store “cash” coupons, and when things were tight for food, or if I was really longing for a “treat”, I would use the coupons once I saved up enough.
Thanks for the reminder-it’s easy to take for granted how far you’ve come when you’re always looking forward and setting new goals for the future. 🙂