Sharon, over at Musings of a Midlife Mom, has a thoughtful post on being grateful.
She's been doing great on her budget and determination to save, but Murphy has been just as determined to bring her down. In a prior post she admitted to going on a mild spending spree, even in the face of (or maybe because of) Murphy.
Some readers, including moi, chided her a bit.
But just when we get to whining about our financial situations, sometimes reality sets in. For Sharon, it was Haiti.
For me, it's thinking about the fact that even factoring in inflation, I make far more than my parents ever made per year. If a single person, including a single person with expensive adult kids, cannot make it on $75,000 a year, something is very, very wrong.
And to then whine about it?
I gotta get me a life!
And I'd better smarten up about the gratitude. My life could be so much worse.
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8 comments:
We all need a reminder to put things in perspective. Sometimes we lose it, and get so keyed up.
I'm going over to Sharon's blog to read it.
And if I haven't already wished you a peaceful and fulfulling new year, here it is now. :)
$75k/yr?
You really have to take into account the geography.
In NYC or on LI $75,000/yr gross is barely surviving.
MasterPo knows many are going to just shake their heads but it's true. NY, especially the city and LI, are super expensive.
I think striking the balance between being grateful for what you have and trying to always better your situation is the key to a happy life.
I could live really well on $75,000 in fact I,d do really really well.
But then I,m not in NYC or even in USA or Canada. The Australian dollar is now equal in value to the American dollar, and I now get a lot more bang for my buck when buying overseas. Everything is relevant.
As you may have read we are getting our fair share of tragedy over here in Queensland and this has put so much into perspective for me.
Sometimes we all need a wake up call
thanks for mine
Kelly
Grace,
I believe we all need to be reminded every once in a while how very fortunate we are. Thanks for the mention. :)
Mr. Po--you're right, of course. Geography matters. I love Manhattan--it's where I went to grad school, where my sister lives, and where I'd gladly live. I even think I could do it on the $75,000 if I didn't have so dang much debt.
The average American family lives on $40,000. So I shouldn't be whining about trying to live on $75000. Relatively speaking, it's a lot of money.
Well-heeled--you nailed it!
"Living" and prospering are two very different things.
There are places in the world people are "living" on two bowls of rice a day and are grateful to have that. A fish a week too if they are very lucky. But it's doubtful you would want to live that way too.
"Balance" too is fine. Nothing wrong in finding your level of comfort between work, income, family and personal interests. Just realize the price to be paid in that certain opportunities will likely be lost with that choice.
BTW, MasterPo has traveled and lived extensively outside of NY. While some prices (notably taxes, though that may not last much longer) are cheaper most are not. At least not significantly. A dollar or two here and there but nothing eye popping.
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