Doing Better Than Before

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Wellll, it was time to call the propane man to come fill up our tank.

When you heat with propane, you can’t really put off a refill. No one wants an exploding tank in their backyard.

But I hated to call them, because this was the first year my propane company ever refused to lock me in on a price.

And I could only imagine how much this was gonna cost.

Sure enough, the price was over $4 per gallon. But I told them to fill it up. Because who knows how much higher it will be the next time I call them?

Finally the bill was totaled. And even though I knew it would be high, it was even worse than I expected. I’d never seen a four figure bill for propane before.

Perspective: How To Get It

Big Bills Feel Like A Punch In The Gut

The thing is, propane bills have always been a budget killer for us.

It’s something that I realized a while ago. But for a long time, I couldn’t do much about it.

We just didn’t have the wiggle room in the budget to plan ahead for the bill. That meant we were always scrambling and draining the savings account when it inevitably got cold in the winter.

(Which, by the way, happens every single year in Ohio.)

But one day I realized that was just no way to live.

When my husband got a small raise, I knew it was time to start funneling that money into a separate savings account just for heat bills.

A Change In Perspective

So when they propane guy stuck that bill in my door, I already knew I had money in that account. But I wasn’t going to have quite enough to cover that huge bill.

And that felt SO defeating.

Even after saving money for a year, I still wasn’t able to save up enough money to pay for our heat.

BUT…

after my little pity party was over, I realized something.

What was happening here was actually a victory.

Sure, I was gonna have to come up with some money to cover that bill. But I did not have to magically come up with $1,000 to pay the bill.

Because I had planned ahead.

I had skipped buying frivolous things. We didn’t just absorb a raise and then wonder why we couldn’t pay bills.

We had successfully adulted. Well, mostly.

Sometimes Better Has To Be Good Enough

If you’re feeling defeated by your budget, or wondering why you never seem to have enough money left, stop and think.

What things in your life are better now than they used to be?

What changes did you make to get things to that better spot?

Aren’t you proud of yourself for getting things to where they are now?

And…

Is there something you could do today that would put you in an even better spot a few years from now?

Because the problem with a defeated attitude is that it tempts us to throw in the towel altogether.

And that doesn’t help anything.

Sure, I could go to a concert and a night on the town with the money I’ve been saving for my heat bill. And if I get that “might as well” attitude, where will I find myself the next time a big bill comes in?

Not better.

So just take a minute and remind yourself of how good you have it. Be proud.

And maybe see if you can find another way to do a little better.

What’s something you’ve done that’s made a difference in your budget?