Jill writes in:
I don’t earn much and am consequently unable to save much and what little I save is often wiped out by breakdowns (e.g. household stuff), minor illnesses and other emergencies. I am actually quite a frugal person, it’s just that my income is not much and tends to be irregular.
I am very troubled because I wish to save for a big purchase (about USD $3500) that would serve as a basis for a career change but I’m not sure if I have the ability/willpower to do it. I’ll calculated that I’ll take at least a year to do it and in the meantime I would have to be very,very careful with my money and not sink any $$ into my usual hobbies so life will be very dull. My hobbies all cost money e.g. ballet class
How do I deal with this tough waiting period of deprivation and no enjoyment? I do have some weaknessness eg kitchen equipment.I cook most of my meals and I can’t help think how life would be easier if I had a pressure cooker and so on so that I can cook things quickly after work.
Right now, I am considering putting my money in fixed deposits regularly with shorter and shorter maturation periods as I save to prevent myself from touching the money. Do you have any advice?
The problem right now isn’t that Jill doesn’t have enough money to achieve a goal. The problem is that Jill is chasing a lot of goals at once simultaneously and stretching herself too thin in the process.
In this email alone, Jill directly references three different significant life objectives: ballet class, upgrading kitchen equipment, and a career change. Jill also alludes that there are more beyond this in a couple of different places, and notes that each of these goals costs money.
The real issue is priorities. In Jill’s day to day life, she’s telling herself that she has a certain thing as a priority (saving for the career change item, which I’m guessing is a musical instrument), but in her actions, other things are priorities (ballet class, kitchen equipment upgrades, and so on).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life over the last three years, it’s this: the more things you try to set as a major priority in your life, the less successful you’ll be at any of these priorities.
For me, my only major priority is my family. Everything …