Smack!

Sometimes you read things and they just smack you upside the head. This was one of those things.

I was reading all of the posts on Google reader and the blog where I read this is moving from my "Testing" folder into a permanent older. A big deal around here!

I read this at beingfrugal.net

It hit me like a ton of bricks

I was reading The Simple Dollar late last night, and a single statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Trent wrote:

Every time you spend a dollar, you sacrifice a bit of your future.

I’ve known this concept for a long time, but I never thought of it in exactly those words before. Let it sink in. Every time you spend a dollar, you sacrifice a bit of your future. Last night I broke that single statement down in my mind.
Every time. Not sometimes. Not most of the time. Every single solitary time.

You. Not my husband. Not my children. Me. My responsibility.

Spend. Exchanging my money for something else. Trading it. Is the exchange worth it?

A Dollar. Not $100. Not $50. Not $20. Not $10, but one dollar. Less than a 20 ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper costs. Less than a DVD rental. Definitely less than dinner for 4 at McDonalds.

You. Again me. My responsibility.

Sacrifice. Merriam-Webster Online defines sacrifice as the “destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.” Destroy. Powerful word.

A Bit Of. Not at once. Little by little. Chipping away, so you don’t notice. It’s kind of like when your children grow a little bit. You don’t notice right away, but when you visit relatives that haven’t seen your children for a year, they see the huge amount of growth.

Your. Again, mine. My responsibility.

Future. That which I have to look forward to.

Putting it all together, every single, solitary time I spend less than the amount of money it takes to buy a 20 oz. Dr. Pepper, I myself destroy in bits and pieces the things I have to look forward to. Over time, those bits and pieces become huge chunks. And those huge chunks come from little amounts of money….less than it takes to buy a single bottle of Dr. Pepper.

Kind makes the cheeseburger I had for dinner sound like a really bad idea. Thanks, Trent, for giving me a better perspective. Perhaps I will make better decisions from now on. I think I should print this post out and hang it on my wall.