So day 2 of my husband being at home. All of the sudden, the little things we were planning on doing are being put on hold. These are not major things, but still some were necessities and some were plans that were going to make life more fun.
What’s on hold. First, the purchase of a leotard. Yes, it is a small item, but with dance many times a week, all of the sudden, due to a growth spurt, we are down to one leotard. Should I spend the money now considering I don’t know when the next paycheck will be? I have opted to just wash the single leotard that still fits until I know the budget will be back on track. Second, the haunted house. We love Halloween and have collected each year a nice bunch of spooky, creepy objects that are very entertaining and possibly scary. This year we planned to make “walls” in the garage and have an actual haunted house. As of now this project is on hold. If the shutdown continues, we’ll just have to figure out how to showcase all of our creepy critters some other way.
The bills will come and go, we know they are coming and fortunately have not had any big ticket items lately. Additionally, we both drive cars that have been paid off for a while. We don’t need to have the latest vehicle to live life, we need a reliable vehicle that is properly maintained.
For the rest of the country, are people able to survive with the lack of pay and not have it be a major inconvenience? I imagine not. People rely on electronics and technology so much, what would happen if push came to shove and the general public had to decide which bills get priority. Would the smartphone be more important that the electricity or mortgage? Would the auto payment come before or after cable TV?
These past few years I’ve tried to be less materialistic. My one exception was some colorful furniture I insisted on acquiring. I don’t dress trendy, my car is 15 years old, I don’t need the latest jewelry, but I do need a watch — though I refuse to buy one until the faces of the watches reduce in size.
We all have our priorities in life: Some people decorate their insides of their houses. Some people need hoards of clothes. Some need every technical device around. Some people lease a car so they have the newest and latest every few years. Some people eat out for dinner almost every night of the week.
My priority is the outside and the garden. I feel that attracting wildlife and having beautiful plants is very important and just makes me happy. Living in a newer neighborhood, I was given a clean slate to create my own spot of nature. I will reduce my spending budget for the plants, but really that doesn’t affect me too much. The plants are established and already have multiplied on their own. Thanks to gardening friends, we are always exchanging plants with each other.
So all in all, for now the shutdown is working for me, but then again, this is only day 2. I can see this rippling down to affecting the holidays and limiting gifts if this is not resolved quickly. Home-baked cookies for all this season! Just kidding … or not?
