Putting things in perspective

I was talking to a friend yesterday about money. I was lamenting about not having saved as much as I would have liked to save this year. I don’t like talking about money with friends, so I didn’t really go into detail about it, I just casually mentioned it.

He told me to look at my good friends. He asked, how many of them could we really call “successful,” 2.5 years out of college. I mean, he’s right. Most of my friends are still up to their eyeballs in debt, and working low-paying jobs that they despise. Not that finance is all that determines whether one is “successful” in life.

But being “successful” in life takes hard work. For most of us, the good life won’t just appear right before our eyes. I have a friend who always says he can’t afford to do things. He says he doesn’t have the money and it’s impossible for him to save anything at this point in his life. But I know how he spends his money, so I called him on it. Not in a mean, or a preachy way. I just wanted to tell him that even when you think you can’t do something, you CAN. That’s something I learned the hard way. I told him that he IS able to save if he wants to. I showed him that if he stopped dining out so often, or drove less, or drank less with his buddies, etc. he could save. The little things make a huge difference. He might not be able to save a lot, but it’s something, and that’s better than nothing. But he’s not willing to change his lifestyle. He’s comfortable and it’s easy for him. And that’s fine, because that’s his choice. But at least now, he knows that if he’s willing to put in some hard work and sacrifice a bit now, he’ll be able to accomplish what he previously thought was impossible. Because nothing is impossible.

Sometimes when I get into these little ruts and I feel so demoralized and unmotivated, I have to put things in perspective and realize how lucky I am. I have my health, my family, my friends, and BF. And even though I’m not saving at the pace I want to be saving at, I have no debt and I work at a job that I enjoy doing. Not many people can say that, and I definitely take that for granted.