I’m someone who often tries to turn lemons into lemonade. And so our downward spiraling economy has given me yet another opportunity, albeit a tremendous one, to transform my life. When I was a kid, my friends and family had a nickname for me “cheap” or “tight with her money” because I hated spending. I was also skinny. I thought buying candy and popcorn at the movie theatre was absurd, not only because it was costly but because it was so fattening. Somehow I had everything all figured out when I was younger and then something happened…As I got older, my waist grew and my wallet shrank. How did that happen? More importantly, how did I let that happen?
When I look at online job sites now the prospects of me finding my dream job seems slim. It’s also a constant reminder to me about the importance of that simple life, the one where I knew when to stop eating and spending my money. The greatest lesson it has taught me is how to take back control of my life. Somewhere in my twenties and thirties, I had the insane notion that I could spend as much as I wanted and eat twice as much without any consequences. Whatever it was that got me here, one thing’s for sure, this economy has brought me back to reality. I don’t want to be looking back on my life ten years from now, ten pounds heavier and in debt. It’s a wake up call for me to start thinking the way I did when I was younger-to separate want and desire from necessity. To remember that a brand new car or outfit will not suddenly transform me into the confident, happy and successful person I’d love to be. That it’s the difference between the fantasy of a marketing ad and the simple honesty and realness of my own life.
