Growing up as the son of a saleswoman who made her living via straight commission we were trained to instantly go into "money freeze" mode when the alarm was sounded. What's a "money freeze"?
A money freeze is when only money is spent on necessities. Necessities being real needs, not wants. Food, water, mortgage, electricity, gas, etc. We all had to go into survival mode. If something broke, it stayed broke! I can still remember spending 2 summers in FL with no air conditioning. My complaints got me no where with my father, who routinely told me that he didn't have that growing up, EVERY SUMMER. He also walked up hill, both ways, to school with no shoes, in the freezing snow. I find this hard to believe...
This was an incredibly important lesson that I learned growing up because it allowed me to separate myself from most in this regard. Money freezes were a fact of life, not a game. And for many of the poor in the world they aren't temporary. All of us at some point in our lives will experience a need for a money freeze. Few will actually enact it when needed. At that point they will draw on debt that when the money is restored will be very difficult to pay back. They will fall further and further behind.
In order to prepare yourself for this, try it for a week, then a month and see what happens to your bank account. You will be shocked to see how fast it grows! Compare the week and the month to really fine tune what is a necessity and what is a want. Cable is not a necessity! While you may need food and electricity. Going out to eat and leaving all the lights on, is a variation of a need, don't fool yourself.
A money freeze is when only money is spent on necessities. Necessities being real needs, not wants. Food, water, mortgage, electricity, gas, etc. We all had to go into survival mode. If something broke, it stayed broke! I can still remember spending 2 summers in FL with no air conditioning. My complaints got me no where with my father, who routinely told me that he didn't have that growing up, EVERY SUMMER. He also walked up hill, both ways, to school with no shoes, in the freezing snow. I find this hard to believe...
This was an incredibly important lesson that I learned growing up because it allowed me to separate myself from most in this regard. Money freezes were a fact of life, not a game. And for many of the poor in the world they aren't temporary. All of us at some point in our lives will experience a need for a money freeze. Few will actually enact it when needed. At that point they will draw on debt that when the money is restored will be very difficult to pay back. They will fall further and further behind.
In order to prepare yourself for this, try it for a week, then a month and see what happens to your bank account. You will be shocked to see how fast it grows! Compare the week and the month to really fine tune what is a necessity and what is a want. Cable is not a necessity! While you may need food and electricity. Going out to eat and leaving all the lights on, is a variation of a need, don't fool yourself.
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