I'll talk about my run today in just a minute. But first, I want to share something that inspired me today. It came from a program on PBS. It made me realize just how rich I truly am, and how much money I have been wasting.
First and foremost, I am rich because of my faith in Jesus Christ. But beyond that, I am rich for so many other reasons. I have clean drinking water. I have food to eat every day. I have a decent place to live. I have clothes to wear, and a vehicle to drive. I have a beautiful child, and a loving husband. There are those in third world countries who would love to have even just those things, and consider me very rich indeed. How grateful I am to have those things.
There is yet another element to being rich as well. Instead of seeing it as a certain dollar amount, you see "rich" as the ability to pay your bills and to buy the things you need when you need them, with cash. This includes emergencies.
Lately I have been racking my brain, trying to come up with an idea for making more money. Something I could do from home that would help supplement my husband's income and give us more breathing room. Sure, I have the opportunity to make a little money now working part-time from home, but to me, it hasn't seemed like it's enough.
Then today, I came across that program on TV, and I began to change my way of thinking. To get my priorities in order and take a hard look at what I'm spending money on. To "sweat the small stuff" and watch every penny. To ask myself every time I am about to purchase something, "Is this a need, or a want?" To be willing to have less "stuff" and more money, so that I can then spend that money on the things that really matter, like saving for retirement, a bigger emergency fund, a savings account, or adding more to the college fund for my daughter every month. And with more money available, I can also do things like pay cash for the next car when I need one, or at least pay it off early.
I don't spend a LOT of money on "stuff" right now. But any purchase that isn't a necessity can be "too much." That's money that could have been saved, or used for something more important.
It gave me much to think about. Starting today, I have a challenge for myself. I'm going to see if I can go this rest of this week without spending money on anything except absolute necessities. It will take some planning on my part, and I'm sure it won't be easy for this convenience-oriented girl, but in the end, I am sure it will be well worth it.
Don't get me wrong, I will still have splurges every now and then. But they will be much, much less frequent. And I will still be looking for ways to bring in more income, just in the meantime, I will be bringing in more income by spending a lot less.
Anyway. As for my run today. I was pleasantly surprised (and very grateful) that my muscles recovered quickly from overdoing it a bit on Saturday, so that I wound up only needing to take one day off. Today I decided to run in a different place, so after dropping my daughter off at school, I drove to a park that has nice running trails, parked my van, and "ran for the hills." It was a very hilly running trail, but it was a nice change from my usual "mostly flat" route. The scenery was beautiful, too. Lots of trees, a lake, and a well-manicured landscape. I wound up running 3 minutes, then 6 minutes, then another 3 minutes. The 6-minute stretch actually took me by surprise. I looked at the time on my cell phone, put it in my pocket, then enjoyed the scenery while I ran, and the next time I checked my cell phone--thinking it had only been 3 or 4 minutes--I was surprised to see that it had been 6 minutes.
It was a good run. The hillier parts were a bit tough, but it was good for me.
In a little while I plan to take my five-year-old daughter for a one-mile practice run (which we will be doing all week), to try and get ready for this coming Saturday. It's funny how she is so confident right now that she can run one mile without stopping with no problem. We'll see how she feels when she actually has to run it. Who knows, maybe she will surprise me.
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