A Slicker, Umbrella & All-Weather Boots

Tony! Toni! Tone! wasn’t quite right.  It may not happen often, but it does indeed rain in southern California.  And rain here is the equivalent of snow in the southeast.  No one is prepared for it, and not a soul seems to be able to safely and successfully navigate a vehicle in it.  We had a few sprinkles yesterday, and it got me to thinking about preparedness.  Being ready.  Having a back up plan.  Hell, having a plan at all. 

 

Have you ever met those people that say, “Man, I used to drive a Benz” (fill in the blank with the high end vehicle of your choosing).  Or the ones that brag about all the money they used to make at fill-in-the-blank job.  Their faces light up with excitement as they reflect on the days of yesteryear when their bank accounts were fat and they had it going on.  But you look at them now and often times they are worse off than they were before they got blinged out.  Why?  How does that happen?  How is it that you can work a job for six months, a year or even longer and make a steady, very generous income, and the second the job is over you don't have a pot to piss in?  How the blankety-blank does that happen?  I’ll tell you how.  You actually believed Tony! Toni! Tone!  You bought their lie hook, line and sinker.  They sent you a bag of tricks that you gladly signed for, and you never thought to plan for a rainy day.  Well shame on you.  Someone once told me that if you make $200 learn to live off $100 and stash the rest.  That same mentor also shared these nuggets with me:

 

1.  Always live beneath your means.

2.  Don’t buy a vehicle that you can’t pay cash for.

3.  Never purchase the newest technology the second it comes out – the prices will always go down.

4.  Sit on all major purchases.  When you want something, write it down, and wait 3-6 months.  If you’ve been able to manage without it, chances are you don’t need it.  If it’s something that you still want after your ‘waiting period,’ set goals and make yourself earn it.

5.  Establish a monthly savings goal and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT even if it means going without something else.  Pay yourself first. 

 

All I’m saying is no matter who you are; no matter where you live, rain is always on the way.  There will always be a rainy day (or two or three).  So if you know and understand that to be a fact, why not always have an umbrella with you?  Of course we don’t know when it’s coming, but we can at least be prepared.  Stop behaving so foolishly spending every single nickel the second you get it.  And stop bragging about the shiny toys you USED to own, because no one really cares (just being honest).  Invest in an umbrella now so that you’re prepared for the next rainy day.  It may not be because of anything you yourself did, but there will come a day when you’ll have to put away your flip flops and don those all-weather boots in the back of your closet.  Why not prepare yourself now?

 

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.