Testing Yourself....

[inneedofhelp]

With the economy the way it is, how many of us feel like we need to "test" ourselves?

I feel enthused about the upcoming month as it is going to really force me to test myself. I won't have any refunds or excess money to overspend (unless I go to my savings, and that is a big no no). And even though I will be eating the same kind of food often and not going out much, I feel like this is a test I need for myself.

Has anyone else ever felt the same way?

I lost 2 parents in the space of 4 years and it sort of messed me up, I think.

I come from a background of beans and rice and using all kinds of parts of an animal to make meals and eating at soup kitchens and getting those huge free blocks of cheese and whatnot....so I know that deep down I can deal with the current stuff in the economy. I just feel like I need to get back into that kind of survival mentality and just do what needs to be done and be more responsible and strict.

Is anyone else going through this or feeling this way? Especially if you went through something similar?

[ladydii]

Testing yourself

I am not sure I would call it testing myself, but certainly way more determined to cut down on unnecessary spending and tracking the budget more closely. I just would feel a whole lot more comfortable if I boosted my emergency fund right now.

[Broken Arrow]

Almost every day, I feel like Mr. Market is testing my discipline whenever I look at the intra-day trading.

(I only do it to monitor my trading positions, and for learning purposes. Otherwise, I realize doing something like this could do more harm than good.)

[blankcheck]

Before market tanking:
-saved 19% gross in retirement funds
-barely added to EF, used these funds for house stuff (replace pipes, new heating equipment)
-standard payments towards student loans and mortgage

After market tanking:
-saving 14% in retirement funds
-build EF to 3 months of expenses using 5% adjustment from paycheck
-rethinking prepayment of student loans on top of what we're already saving.
-when EF is built, back up to 19% retirement funds

Our jobs are fairly stable, so it helped me adjust my priorities a bit. I already knew it was a bad idea to let my EF lag, but current conditions pushed me to rebuild faster, and retool out budget to see what we can do in addition to that.

[swaymonae]

Luckily I'm a horrible cook.. so at 24, I still eat out of a box.. If the economy has done anything for me, it's made me save, save, save...

[ScroogeMcDuck]

"I lost 2 parents in the space of 4 years and it sort of messed me up, I think."

That is a heavy blow ... you seem pretty together in my book.

"I just feel like I need to get back into that kind of survival mentality"

Do you get the feeling if we knew better what was coming, we'd sharpen toward that mentality even faster? ha

Am brand new to the site but am telling people about it.

[maat55]

I think sacrifice is easy when you are seeing positive results. Getting ahead is worth it. You will find it gets easier as you go.

[inneedofhelp]

I can't say I am looking forward to it, but I am thinking positively and realizing that I am just going to have to learn to do fun things that are free, and that I will have paid off a major bill by the end of this year, which will make me have an additional $180 per month to put towards other bills and maybe some fun activities. I just need to keep thinking positively is all.