While taking a shower this morning it came to mind how we utilise our water is rather like how people utilise their money. Until we have a drought we do not think about it much.
When we have a regular supply we do not think as much about how we use it for example when I was growing up we would spend our summers playing under a sprinkler but now due to the drought we have restrictions and children no longer experience that joy. A regular healthy paycheck also means we are free to sprinkle the money around.
Money which flows into our household can be restricted just as a river can affected by someone further upstream. Government taxes can eat into the flow of money just like people further up the river who divert water for their own purposes, although both would say this is done for good reason, it still restricts the flow.
Okay now the water/money has reached us how can we make good use of it? If we are smart we will try to make the best use of what we have such as recycling our water from our showers and washing machines to use in the garden. While my daughters were growing up I used to sew clothes for them which meant that my hobby also helped the family budget therefore fulfilling two purposes just like recycling the water. Growing veggies is also another way of doing the same.
A budget is a way of controlling the flow of money the way you would control the flow of water to get the best use of it. Just as restricting the flow of water too much will cause it to break it’s banks so too will having a budget which is too tight. Guide the money allowing for ebbs and flows, discounted items or unexpected bills, a little something special now and then will lessen the urge to just blow the lot.
Saving for a rainy(?) day. If we only could get water out of the tap when it rained then it would be a long time between drinks. The people who supply water to our taps know that they need a store of water to cope with days in between. So too we should make sure we have a store of money for those days between pay packets, a little something at least to tide us over, even a sip of water is better than none.
Thinking along the lines of storing water, having a well thought out, well constructed dam does more than just hold the water. A problem that can often occur with dams is that the water evaporates similar to putting your money somewhere which allows fees and charges to drain off your savings. Having a large, shallow dam leads to more evaporation whereas a smaller yet deeper dam does not. Putting a larger amount of money into one account can be good as interest will build on what is already there.
On a hot day, in a dry climate, a cool deep dam, surrounded by trees for shade, abundant bird-life flying back and forth, who would not be impressed? Just as a good dam lessens the effect of a dry spell so too does putting away a little money to be used in tougher times.
Could you endure a money drought?
(I so wish I was clever enough to do illustrations to add to my posts)
dimension to our lives but when bought out to the light they become clearer even taking on a life of their own. When you bring a memory out into the light to share with others you will find that as with a shadow everyone’s perspective on the same subject is a little different. Without memories our lives would seem very one dimensional. Memories of my mother bring back her warm smile, her comforting hugs, her sense of humour and her good advice, indeed all these memories add dimension to my life and hers.
