Over the next few weeks my Snippets are going to be part of a series on money. Hope you will join me as I explore Money Matters, Teaching Young Kids Money Basics, Raising Financially Responsible Teens and Young Adults, and Building Bigger Barns. Now for today’s Money Snippet…

My late husband and I raised our three children in a comfortable middle class house. We maintained a comfortable middle class lifestyle on my husband’s salary alone for many years so I could be home with the children when they were young. Later I supplemented our income with my teacher’s salary.

Meeting the financial expenses of a mortgage payment, utilities, food and clothing for five, costs associated with public school for three, and camp-in-a-tent vacations all over the United States was easy! The shared financial principal that my husband and I agreed upon and lived by was “Live below your means.” And mind you, we didn’t have the advice of financial Gurus Suzie Orman or Dave Ramsey.

We lived below what others might have thought we could afford by:

1. Staying in the same house, doing repairs and remodeling ourselves
2. Using a few credit cards for convenience but always paying the full balance every month, shopping for sales in retail stores but also frequently buying at thrift stores, pawn shops, flea markets, and estate auctions
3. Buying every car we owned (always a used vehicle) outright through savings we had put aside with every paycheck–buying from individuals who advertised or purchasing at car auctions (Of course, I need to mention that my husband was good at car mechanics.)
4. Never giving extravagant gifts at birthdays or holidays
5. Setting aside a designated portion of what we made to give to our local church

Living below your means is key. But first, what about your job? If you have prepared yourself for a good job through education, and/or training, and your job meets the needs of the marketplace, by using the above five principals YOU, TOO, CAN HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED! Don’t let it slip through your fingers!

Snippet on Money Management
By Connie Carlisle Polley, 2020
ConnieCarlislePolley.com

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