Lessons I've Learned from Being Broke

This article in Kiplinger made me start to reflect on my own life and the times when I was happiest. Ironically, the times when I had the least amount of "things" in my life were some of my happiest times. One of the things I can't explain to my husband is that right now, even though we don't have a lot of extra money, I feel rich. I own a home. I have two kids that I adore. We can afford to have birthday parties, go out for dinner and buy clothes that fit. For someone who grew up without being able to afford to either attend or have a birthday party (my mom wouldn't let me go because we couldn't afford a gift), throwing my son a party at the Children's Museum in Tucson made me very happy. We might have a crumby car, and my husband might have to save up for his iTouch, and maybe I make things from scratch during the week so we can have that Sunday morning breakfast at our favorite breakfast place, but the more I downsize and get rid of "stuff," the happier I feel.

Very un-American, isn't it? At least, what with all the newspapers and t.v. media encouraging us to spend our way out of a recession.

Here are the highlights from this article, which I found very interesting.

1. Know your priorities.
2. Debt is a vampire.
3. Have a cushion to fall back on.
4. Set goals and tune out peer pressure.
5. Small sacrifices add up to big rewards.
6. The size of my bank account doesn't matter.

My favorite quote from the article: "I remember my dad telling me that the only things worth going into debt for were those that appreciated in value: a home and an education. Anything else will suck you dry. Lesson learned."