saving for that rainy day!

I have always advised my kids to have at least three months worth of their expenses in savings but they don't listen to me. What do I know? I'm just the mom who owns a lot of property that we earn income from and have our own business. When I was laid off in November we just had to readjust our budget because we also live well below our financial means...the other lesson we've tried to teach our kids but, again, they don't listen. Life's lessons are learned later on in life it seems.

hello antiquelady i try my best to save for a rainy day like that, but it is sure hard to do. it seems like i spend all of my money either at the grocery store or on my two sons. and i am so sorry to hear that you had a stroke in 2004. my Dad has had a stroke before as well. and that is all that i am able to save is my spare change and i do not spend any pennies at all. i have two large containers of pennies that i have saved and i have started on my third one. also, i save all of my other change as well and when that i need to go get my hair styled again, i usually have enough money saved up just in spare change to go get my hair done by the time i need to again. i work a part-time job and my hubby works for a local delivery company here in town. and it takes every penny that we both make just to make it, and luckily we do not have any vehicle payments. knock on wood. and i have struggled all of my life as well. i haven't had it on a silver platter at all so far during my adult life either. take care and have a beautiful evening.

You are a wise one, ANTIQUELADY. One thing I love about you is that you are proud of the way you have gotten yourself through life. You know, I bet your sons have learned more from you than you possibly realize. Being a good example is some of the best kind of teaching. My family and I feel comfortable that we could live about a year if something drastic happened to change our income. But it has only been in the last decade that we have come to this place. I can remember times in our 20s that we feared layoffs and weren't sure how'd we'd manage. Both my husband and I grew up with strong examples of why one should put away for the future. One of us had a positive role model and the other experienced the extremes of poor planning. It has made us a very well balanced couple in this reguard.

Not enough people do that,it is a shame.I have never lived beyond my means even when i lived on my own a few pound went away every week,I just went without luxuries that is what some people find hard.I know women who spend a fortune on their hair,new clothes for everyone,then sit and worry when the bills come in.Does not make sense to me.

yes, you are right! people must learn how to save for the rainy day so that when time comes that they are in need, it won't be a problem for them to find where to get money since they have savings,,,

Hi ANTIQUELADY I am happy that you are a very intelligent person who view things in a long-term way. It is always true who should prepare for the events that are not expected. There are always accidents in a life. I would have told everyone I loved they should do that, but in fact no one really listen to it seriously and think they should e njoy the moment right now. I totally agree with that "save for that rainy day"! Good day~

You are right, you never know what will happen. I am trying to keep some cash set by. I am fortunate in that my work has increased when others are losing their jobs. Mine is not the highest paying in the world, but it does seem pretty secure at this time. It was such an increase we are now paying down some debts that have been overwhelming us. It feels good. I also am putting some aside for later.

I agree with you 101%. This is a very good advice from an experienced person and should be read seriously by those younger people who are earning and spending. I should have read this post 20 years ago when I was like who's who in Forbes. I was too extravagant and spend lavishly as if there is no tomorrow.It was all sunshine and I did not think of the rainy days. My money rule me and it was pretty easy to earn then with my business outlets splash all over. Not being careful the years saw my money dwindling fast which left me just enough to survive. It was painful to fall from grace. From a comfortable life to a life of a pauper I learned a bitter lesson. If I could have saved my money I will not be so hard up now. Luckily I still have some assets to see me through.

Definitely....with the financial crisis, who wouldn't think of saving for a rainy day? I have done that already, and my two kids are following suit. They are wise savers, I should say. Of course, I could not do it in the past because my income then was not enough. But now that my kids are earning, I could save already. The point is, we never know when the next emergency would be, and saving up would save us from unnecessary financial worries. Well, my savings are not really huge, but at least I saved, and that's what matters. And hopefully, I'm still counting....

Saving is important, but I think the best advice (especially for young people starting out) is to live within their means. Growing up in the days before credit cards, we had to save for the things we wanted - and when we were married and bought our first house (a small one), we were happy to accept old bits of furniture from family and friends - and to sleep on a mattress on the floor for a few months until we could get hold of a bed. These days, credit is so easy I see many young couples wanting everything NOW, and putting new furnishings and expensive electronic equipment on their cards because they can't wait. This is where they get themselves into trouble - and once you're paying huge interest on credit card debt, you are paying many times more what the goods are worth.

Hello ANTIQUELADY! I really agree with what you said. I saw too many people spending too much money without thinking about tomorrow. That's what we call here one day millionaire. I am glad that my husband is very responsible that he always think about saving money. It's important to be ready in everything especially like losing job. I couldn't believe that I have friends who are survivor and fighter like you. I have known one friend here too who raised his sons alone two. I hope I could have a character such as yours.

I agree completly jo! A lot of the problems we are having right now are caused by people living above their means. I have also contributed it to the fact that people are in a hurry. A lot of younger people starting out think they should have the nice cars and the beautiful houses like their parents but what they aren't considering is that their parents have been working for these things for many years.

Hi, Very Meaningful Messages,indeed! But the situation is such, people spend more than they earn. Thus Saving for 'Rainy days' donot actually happen,excepting those who are very calculative and wise. =lahiri,Kolkata,India.

From my opinion,"save for every day",life is but a span,how long did we waste?

i do understand what you are trying to say.misfortunes do come when it is least expected.as you know ,i have balance problem(not of serious nature),i can do everything but a bit slowly as i havve to take care not to fall.this prevented me from working.as you said,it was a shock to me,as i was working one day and the next day,i couldnt work.

Frst of all..you touched a very vibrant nerve with me...I truly, truly am sorry about the stroke! My ex-partner (11 yrs.) had a stroke in 2002, and because of serious botched Medical intervention, he is institutionalized, and will forever remain so! I truly pray that you were/and are cared for properly! Since the end of my marraige, from which I was left penniless (by an Airline Pilot) and a son to raise...I became very frugal! Have been, always will be...and if things start to go awry and my bank account dips below a 6 month cushion, I will take on any job...do anything to plump that account back up! When I broke my hip, this past December, missed 4 weeks of work...I had a worse time with the stress than the physical impairment! Worked like a beaver! Played myself out..but bank account is back to where it should be! I'm beginning to think, tho, m'dear....just about any house you can't afford! Just when you save & repair something (big expense 2 summers ago--New Roof)...now I seriously need a new deck! Another huge expense! But that will be/is saved for in a seperate account! Thank you for a truly good discussion! A true word to the wise!

Yes its good to save for the rainy day.Sometimes there might be flood so we cannot go without food.We need to keep stock of food and money at home.There might be problems going to the bank.So emergency money is a must during those days.Also we may suddenly fall sick because of the cool climate.We need money for medicines and doctor.

Here rain resembles bad days, isn't it? Way to go, I must say. I didn't think about my future in my past and that's why I am in some amount of trouble these days. I am jobless and there is no source of money with me. I am dependent on my parents and their expectation with me is too high too! So, I need to find some way to get over this situation otherwise thing could be worse than now.

i think almost most people are aware that it's possible for an "emergency situation" to happen anytime , any place, but they DON'T THINK it's gonna haPPEN to them soon... or even later! my parents have that kind of attitude . me, well i think i'm a keen rainy-day-saver but the only problem is i don't have a stable source of income so i don't really get to save that much. oh and I love shopping for bargain stuff so much hehe.

It is great if you can save for a rainy day but when you just make enough money to live from day to day there is no way you can save for a rainy day.I have been there most of my life.I have got it better now.Have a Sun shiny day.