Comments on: Working Through the “Off” Days

By: eemusings

eemusings — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:08:28 +0000

Nicely said. When it comes down to it, life is for living, and there’s no point when personal finance is making you miserable (who wrote a post about that? You? FB?)

By: Abigail

Abigail — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:07:40 +0000

I know just about ALL the ins and outs of this subject. Tim and I both have medical problems that tend to create on again/off again problems. It can also keep us from being as frugal as we’d like if both of us are too unwell to cope with shopping/cooking. We’re doing better lately (mostly because now he can drive to the store for me) but it’s still a battle.

I truly hate being in debt, so it’s hard for me to keep having setbacks without getting discouraged. It’s gotten easier over time, though, to remind myself that it’s an ongoing process. Some weeks we’ll be uber-frugal, other weeks things just implode and there is a day or two that we end up far from home and voracious, so we order some fast food.

So long as you remember that life is one big learning curve, I think you’ll survive.

By: Meg

Meg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:02:46 +0000

Very good point that you have to forgive yourself and move on from setbacks AND that it’s ok to have “off” days. But that’s a lot easier said with regard to dancing than to financial matters.

The truth is that one “off” day spending spree (or especially an off month or year) can set you back for years to come, no matter how earnestly you “forgive yourself” and try to move on.

It depends on the degree of course. But lets say you can only afford to pay off $100 of credit card debt a month. If you allow yourself an “off” day once a week where you blow $50 then you are losing ground no matter how good you feel about it. It’s like a woman who diets and works out ferociously Mon-Fri but allows weekends to be free days. Sounds good in theory, but if she’s binge eating her way through buffets every Sat and Sun she’s just killing herself all week for nothing!

I think the key is that the setbacks can’t outweigh the progress you’re otherwise making.

By: Paragon2Pieces

Paragon2Pieces — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:08:17 +0000

well said!

By: Foxie | CarsxGirl

Foxie | CarsxGirl — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:43:31 +0000

This is perfect, thanks for it. I totally needed the reminder!! (So it’s okay to skip a day of classes every once in a while, right? I know, that’s probably stretching it too far, sigh. )

By: SS4BC

SS4BC — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:34:51 +0000

You’re absolutely right. My only concern is when people just start accepting those “off” days as life and don’t bother to push forward anymore. Then they just give up because they’ll fail anyway. So it is important to understand that you will fail, but not to give up just because you do.

By: Mari

Mari — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:16 +0000

As usual, you’re right on the money. It’s important to know when to push yourself – and when to cut yourself some slack.

By: myprettypennies

myprettypennies — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:16:49 +0000

This is so true and something I easily forget about when something interferes with my goals. Thanks for the reminder.

By: Zofie

Zofie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:58:16 +0000

I completely agree with you. I actually started taking Argentine Tango lessons a few years ago and basically became obsessed. I had even gotten to the point that I was able to assist my instructor with teaching classes. I became worn out at some point though and needed a break. The break was exactly what I needed because it renewed my love and passion for the dance!