Save Money by being perceptive.

How to be open to the possibilities already around you. Save money. Improve your life by being perceptive to the things in your life.

 

January 21st is National Hug Day! Usually, I don’t hear about these kinds of special days until after they have already happened. This year however I actually heard about it prior to the event, almost 2 weeks before! Pretty amazing. I am attributing it to the feel good magnitude of National Hug Day. You can never have enough hugs, love, and positive things in your life. Being happy is 40% attitude, 40% choice, and 20% luck (well that’s what I think anyways). Your choices put you in situations that make you happy or unhappy. Luck is what accounts for good or bad things that happen that you didn’t choose and can’t control. Your attitude is what helps you perceive a good situation as great and a bad situation as okay. You can’t always choose your emotions but you can control how you handle them. Choose to spread the love this Saturday, indulge in National Hug Day!

 

“Being happy is 40% attitude, 40% choice, and 20% luck.”

 

Attitude and perception can play a huge role in saving money. Being objective as well as receptive to everything around you and its possibilities will help you keep an open mind. When it comes to saving money and working towards a life you want, an open mind is very important. Sometimes we aren’t even aware that we are closing ourselves and our minds to things. We are so busy or focused that we forget “to stop and smell the roses.” Of coarse no one knows the future and it would be impossible to find every opportunity out there but if you are open to possibilities around you, it’s surprising how many there actually are.  Sometimes I feel like I need to pay more attention to the things around me and remember to look for the big picture. ‘Big picture’ to me means things outside of myself and outside of this week. Some times we get so wrapped up and distracted that we miss things. Try to see the big picture and the world’s possibilities.

 

•Be open to sales and sale items.

This takes quite a bit a self control. Most stores have sales (weekly or monthly sales) and most have a clearance section. When you are in a store and you see these items ask yourself, is it a good price? If not continue on. If the item is a good price it deserves more of your attention. Ask yourself the following questions: Will I use it? Do I need it?  Would it make a good gift? It’s amazing how often I find things that I wasn’t looking for. This is how I find the best deals by checking sales, discounts, and/or clearance sections. If you don’t have a need for the item and you wont use it then DO NOT buy it unless your buying it as a present. (What works for one doesn’t work for all.) If you need the item consider buying it. If you would use it but don’t need it, it belongs in the maybe area. You’ll have to pro-con the item and always keep in mind that you can put the item on a birthday/xmas wish list.

 

I have definitely used this method. Frequently I use this for buying gifts. But I also get things I need/want this way too. It usually means that I have to wait to buy items until I find a good deal or I buy before I need an item (like if I will need it in the next season). If I have to wait it just makes it all the more special when I finally do get the item. Waiting also gives me more time to make sure that I actually want/need the item. Buy waiting to purchase something you have more life experiences and time for research on the item before purchase. This makes me better informed about what I actually want.

 

As I mentioned this one takes a bit of self control because you can’t buy everything that is a good deal. Eventually you’d run out of space in your house. Not to mention your finances wouldn’t love you. It’s a balancing act between your budget, finances, and home space. Never spend money you don’t have, to make a purchase.

 

•Be open to DIY ideas.

This takes some self control. When you are out shopping at second hand/thrift stores pay attention to all the items that are there. Is there something there that you need? Maybe it isn’t in the best shape. If it’s a good price this leaves you with two options. Option 1) Use the item as is until you can afford a new/nicer one. Then sell the first item. Option 2) Revamp the item. Can you revive it? How much will it cost? Will it be cost effective? If you can revamp it cheaper than you could buy a new one, then it might be worth doing it yourself. If you can revamp/repurpose it to get a look you want that would be tough to buy, then it might be worth doing it yourself. Always consider the time and cost involved in a DIY to make the best decision.

 

Lets say, as an example you need a new throw blanket. The fuzzy style you want in the color you want is $80 and you can’t seem to find anything cheaper online or in stores. Consider making it yourself. If you have a sewing machine and have beginners level sewing skills you could probably make yourself a blanket, for far cheaper than $80. Most fabric stores have tons of fabrics in tons of colors making it possible to find the color you are looking for for cheaper than you could buy the item pre-done.
This is only one example. The DIY options are endless just hop on Pinterest for 5 minutes and you’ll most likely be overloaded with ideas. You might be surprised what your capable of or can learn to do. Be open to the possibility and be open to things that can make you happy. You might just find out you love to sew or any other hobby/project you might try.

 

Repurposing for crafts almost requires you to find cheap, unusual, random, quirky, weird things. Finding your craft stuff at a good price requires a good eye and ideas. You just need to keep an open mind. Some people would look at a pile of buttons and think why would I ever need so many useless buttons? Other people look at the buttons and think, hmm I could probably find a way to use those buttons to make a Valentine’s Day gift. If you don’t give things more than a glance your mind may not have a chance to come up with creative thoughts about them. Or if your not creative, your brain might not have a chance to remember that button craft idea you saw online last week. DIY is a lot about being creative but thanks to the internet and shared ideas you don’t have to be creative to DIY.

 

The reason this requires self control is because you need to be able to realize your limitation or that you at least need to start at a basic skill level on new things. You wouldn’t want to start learning to sew on a quilt project because the knowledge and skill required might lead you to give up or think you wouldn’t ever be able to make a quilt. By starting with something simple you can learn how, perfect the technique, and learn more about the skill as you go. The second reason DIYing takes self control is because you have to know and realize your time limits. If you don’t have time for the project then I advise against it. If your not sure how long it will take do some online research to get an idea of how long it might take you.

 

 

 

•Be open to beauty and wonder.

This takes some time. It’s amazing how many times I drive past something amazing on my way to/from work, errands, appointments, meetings, events and I see something amazing. (Like a beautiful sunset, flowering trees, baby animals, exc.) To often though I am in a hurry and can’t stop to enjoy the view. Taking the time to enjoy the beautiful and amazing things on our planet gives us perspective, happiness, and sometimes feelings of aww. The wonder and amazement it gives is a special feeling, almost like being “king of the world.” It really is the small things that add up to make our lives seem great.

 

This really only takes time. If you have a chance to go for a walk at night/morning to walk through a park, city trail, watch the sunset, exc. you’ll be amazed what joy and/or peace it might bring you. Sometimes it feels like our lives are already jam packed with things to do that we don’t have time for stuff like “stopping to smell the roses”. Make it a priority and make time. But if you really don’t have extra time get creative, add a few minutes in here and there. Drive home past the city flower display or along the river, it can definitely add some beauty to my day that I wouldn’t normally have if I wasn’t paying attention to the details around me. 

 

•Be open to new budget and saving ideas.

This might take some learning. You have to be open to the idea of learning. Admit that you don’t know everything, no one can especially because the world keeps changing, and be willing to learn the things that present themselves in your life. Perhaps you can find an even better way to reach your goals or a quicker way. You might not find them if you aren’t willing to learn different ways to reach your desired outcome. Not everything is one size fits all and finding the right fit might require you to learn something or try something else. New articles are always popping up for me to read. If it pertains to something I have going on in my life or a goal of mine I try to read it. Being open to these has helped me so much in shaping my financial and life goals and the way I go about achieving them.

 

The ability to learn is an extraordinary thing. It isn’t always easy and sometimes without notes or plans to turn back to it’s impossible to remember everything exactly.  None the less the more we try and the more we repeatedly learn the same skills and topics the more fluent and effortless it will become. Knowledge is power for sure.

 

  

 

•Be open to the opportunities

This takes your time but can prove very beneficial. The opportunities that prevent themselves to us don’t always knock. If you aren’t paying attention you could easy miss an opportunity. When opportunity knocks it may only knock once and if you’re not paying attention or you’re too busy to notice you’ll miss the opportunity again. When opportunity knocks repeatedly or bangs on the door don’t just ignore it. Every opportunity is worth a some attention. It might seem like a bad time for you right now but the opportunity might be just what you need to turn that bad time around. If it’s a new job possibility consider all the facts before saying no. Facts like wage, benefits, hours, co-workers/boss’s, perks, holidays, and time off. If it’s new chances to grow personally like health, fitness, personality, well-being, relationship improvements don’t let them pass you buy. Often we dismiss these things because we don’t think we have time or we think things are fine the way they are. They might be fine but what if they could be better? You won’t know until you try. Perhaps the opportunity to buy an new house arises but you dismiss it thinking your fine. Only to realize 2 months too late that you really are cramped in your current home and need a bigger space or you realize your home is to large and you just can’t manage all the extra space anymore. Considering all the angles of what is best for your life when opportunities present themselves can really help you to achieve better things and be happier.

 

Opportunities to help others often present themselves as charitable donations of money or time. Making time to help organizations and people around you can make the world a better place and can give you warm and fuzzy feelings. Being kind and helpful goes along ways towards helping others and improving our own lives. Which touches on my next ‘be open’ topic of being open to people.

 

•Be open to people.

Time, time, time. Relationships are one of the purposes of life. They are very important because most of the time they make our lives worth living. Sometimes we close ourselves off to new friendships because we think we don’t have the time or we are happy with our current situation. Relationships are always worth a try. You never know how much you might need that person or how much they might need you. People want to connect, give of themselves, and have loving relationships.

 

Helping people isn’t always just one on one time. It’s bigger and broader than that. It brings up big questions like, Can you benefit man kind? Can you make a positive impact in others lives? Can they make a positive impact in your life? Helping people really makes us feel good. It also makes us more appreciative for the things we have in our lives. It can definitely give you a new outlook, a new purpose, sense of pride, or sense of belonging. Making an impact with our lives is very appealing. Tons of fluencial people throughout history just took the opportunities around them to create, do, teach, and learn more. So many things are possible if we just make use of the things around us. And fight for the things that aren’t.

 

Time in our lives can be a very precious thing to come by. But our lives are always measured by time, the length of time we are here on earth. Sometimes we need to look at our lives with perspective to realize the value of our time and what we actually want to do with it.

 

“Be objective as well as receptive to everything around you and its possibilities.”

 

When we reflect on the previous year in our lives or on our entire lives (via New Years, Birthdays, Anniversaries, exc.) we think of all the very good and very bad things that happened. The places we went and saw, the experiences we had, the good and bad times with the people we loved, the jobs we had, the things we accomplished, and the impact we may or may not have had on the world. Try to add more love, warmth, and good memories to your list. The possibilities are all around you. Get as many hugs in as you can, on National Hug Day and every day of the year.

 

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