Remember when you were in high school – when days were MUCH SIMPLER. When I mean much simpler, I mean financially. I won’t discount the raging hormones, dramatic relationships, and mountain of insecurities we all experience when trying to get through puberty – aside from these, life was pretty easy.
Looking back, we had simple financial lives, at least for me. No cell phone bills. No car payments. No grocery bills. No debt. I remember I would receive a weekly allowance of $10 and that was my lunch and fun money – that’s all I really needed. My favourite lunch cost only $2.00 at the time – the local deli across the street from my high school. I didn’t buy it every day either- sometimes I would bring my lunch, so whatever I didn’t spend on lunch was my entertainment money. Weeks would pass by and before I knew it, I had a wad of cash in my drawer – which I would use to go to the movies or go out for dinner with friends. Next thing I knew, I got my first part-time job and I opened a bank account!
Between going to school, playing soccer, dance, and work, I was a busy cookie, which means I was able to save a lot of money! More importantly, and this is the death of North Americans, no credit cards. I only spent money on things I can afford. If I didn’t have the cash for an activity, forget about it – there was no buy now, pay later! Frankly, I don’t even remember trying to do things that were out of my price range – I knew how to have fun without spending a ton of money.
Guess what? We ALL know how to do that because once up on a time, we were all 16 years old, debt-free, and simply just living.
If you are struggling financially now, just think back to those days and how you managed to live a simple life. Perhaps re-visiting your budget to determine what constitutes needs vs. wants in your life. Whatever it is that you need to do, it’s time to get back to basics.
