Don't Save Anything for a Special Occasion

Don't save anything for special occasion being alive is the special occasion.

The saying “yesterday is a memory and tomorrow is not promised” is so very true and something we often need to remind ourselves of to keep us living in the now, loving and experiencing life. I remember a woman I worked with once, a sweet lady in her early fifties named Cindy. We somehow landed on the topic of vacations one day and it seemed we had very different ideas about when the appropriate time to take them was. She believed that any money spent on “frivolous” things should only happen when all else was taken care of. I, although not independently wealthy, always made a point to take at least one family vacation each year. My late husband and I always took them whether or not we had other debt or if we could pay cash for them. It was just something we both loved and important family time. Cindy on the other hand let me know that her and her husband have always wanted to take a vacation, they’d talked about it and started the planning many times. They had been slowly paying off all their bills and they're hoping to someday be able to book the week away. Her goal was to be able to pay for it in cash and have zero debt to worry about at home. I completely respected her position but remember thinking wow, I truly hope that you get to do that. Sadly, that same year, without every reaching her goal, her husband passed away. When I heard the news I couldn’t help but go back to that conversation in my mind. My heart broke for her. Yes, I had lost my husband as well but I had so many amazing memories through the years to look back on. I knew she missed out on all the memories they would have made together on their vacation. A trip that they both had so been looking forward to. If only she had not placed money as her top priority, if she had put their relationship and their memories together as her primary concern, she would have had that to look back on forever. Having been there myself, I was also fairly certain she would have traded all the money in the world for more good times and happy memories to hold onto after his passing. So remember, today is your gift. It is what we all have right now. Make the most of this life, don't put off until tomorrow or for a special occasion something that will make her heart sing. Make those good memories with your friends and family, the time is now, IT IS YOUR PRESENT