Lesson 26: Trust your Instincts and Be Prepared

Today I experienced what an earthquake feels like.  Living on the US east coast, we do not experience many of them, mostly because the rock structure is knitted tighter and stronger than on the west coast (so the newscaster said today).  Either way, it was a startling experience to feel totally out of control.  At first, we were not sure if it was a gust of wind, but as the house started to shake back and forth, all kinds of thoughts raced through....an earthquake? a terrorist attack (we are so close to 9/11)? an impending tornado (we've been through that before)  a gas leak somewhere? Will my house fall down?  Will we be injured?

My instincts said, "Get to safety."  So, the dogs and hubby and I left the room with the windows where we would not need to worry about shattered glass and went downstairs.  By the time, we reached the space where we could go outside, the tremor stopped.

This event reminded me that we must always be prepared for natural emergencies.  Make sure you have a week's worth of bottled water, canned food with can opener, batteries, flashlights, candles and matches in an easy-to-find location. If you can afford to, purchase a radio that can run on AA batteries, but can also be hand-cranked if you run out.  The American Red Cross endorses an emergency radio that has AM-FM and TV channels, as well as outlets for your cell phone and USB ports.  Hopefully you will never use it, but it's good to have just in case.  We bought ours at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but I honestly do not know if they still sell them. It's been some time. In the old days, before cable, we also had a portable TV, but since you can't get any channels that aren't digitized today, that's a throwaway.

The final instruction for today is to not fret if your cell phone cannot dial out or in due to high utilization or line damage.  In most cases, texting and email will still function so you can still communicate. 

Lesson 25: Smile and the World Smiles With You

This lesson is a fun one!  Have you ever noticed that there are some people who have the ability to attract people around them like magnets?  They may not be particularly beautiful or handsome, but they exude positive happy energy. 

Fact: No one likes to be around a sad sack.  Everyone has their own troubles.  When socializing with others, most people are not interested in hearing your woes. They want to energize themselves with people who can shine a happy light on life's events.

For starters, smile at everyone you see.  You may get some strange reactions, but for most folks, they will smile back at you.  It will make you feel good that you brightened a moment in someone's life, and it will make them feel good that a stranger shared a happy moment with them.

Lesson 24: Importance of Saving Money - Determining What You Want vs What You Need

This is a hard lesson, mostly because it is not usually learned until you get into debt. Usually, the debt is caused by things you want, not what you need.  The best time to start saving money is when you are young. There are very few people who can't manage to save $1 to $5 a week.  Young couples will benefit from putting away $1 or more a week in a savings account with interest. It doesn't seem like a lot now, but you will be happily surprised by the time you have children and they are ready for college, what that small investment amounts to over time.

If you are a person who can't wait to burn all the money in your pocket, the best savings strategy for you will be to have the money automatically transferred into a savings account from your paycheck, or set up an automatic transfer with your bank.  This way you never see the money to actually miss it.

Why is this so important?  In my lifetime, the value of the dollar has shrunk considerably. My father in the 1940s could go to a movie for a nickel. Today, the cost can be as high as $12. In turn, salaries rarely rise to equal the cost of living expenses. If you learn early to save, it will not appear to be "impossible" as the economy changes over time.

The hardest part of this lesson is to learn to purchase what you need versus what you want.  In my thoughts, this is the primary cause of debt.  We don't buy the inexpensive car that will take us from Point A to Point B. We would rather get the nicer looking, more comfortable, and thus, more expensive car.  We want to live in the nicer house, not just the house that provides enough space for our family, which keeps us safe from the outside elements.  It's not a crime to want...it's human nature.  However, it is a challenge to separate wants and needs. Simply thinking about this everytime you make a purchase is the start in learning it as a habit.