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Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “a rainy day.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the phrase “a rainy day.”
Growing up, it was always a case of saving for a rainy day. I would religiously put one shilling of my two shilling pocket money into the post office and usually buy sweets with the rest.
In my teens, I had a little holiday job which paid £5 a week, and £2 went to Mum for my keep, £2 went into the post office for a rainy day, and the remaining pound was my mad money, which covered lunches and bus fares. Oh those were the days!
In later life, saving became a rule of thirds, and has stuck. Saving for a rainy day became saving for a torrent when we got caught in negative equity with our first house in the 1990s. But we overcame all of that, yet still the rule of thirds was our mantra and we continued to save, though to be honest, we didn’t really know what for. Any rainy day we could usually cover without raiding the savings pot.
Being made redundant and then Hubby also losing his job made us more determined to manage on what we had coming in rather than borrow up to the hilt as I already knew from past experience how difficult it was to pay back.
Today we are thinking saving for a rainy day is a waste of time. There is no incentive as regards interest on your savings, and I can assure you that if I had £20,000 a year surplus on my income, the last place I would put it is in an ISA.
When I think of the years Hubby and I went without luxuries like holidays, socialising, a decent car (until 1999 when for the next 5 years we changed our cars four times) or enjoying ourselves, although I am glad we are in the position we are now with no mortgage or debt of any description, I resent those who whinge about not being able to manage on salaries I could only dream of.
Rainy Day?
Over to you Babs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yfh_CpA9Sk
pensitivity101 
Nice job. I thought about writing that way. You did a great job. I am glad you are enjoying living your life in a way that makes you happy.
We do very well and it’s nice to be able to treat ourselves occasionally rather than worry about how to pay the next bill. Not more we could want really…….. apart from a new pup!!!
It’s on it way . Hopefully soon.💜
Hopefully………………………
Life can be a struggle but it’s great to be debt free! Great video 👍💜
She’s a belter.
She is indeed
I am with you there even though I never managed the art of saving up. We make do with what we have and are often gobsmacked by the amount of income people have and can’t cope with. It’s capitalism I guess. We are bombarded with messages of what we supposedly need but don’t. And people just run with it. How stupid is it to tell us washing clothes is difficult. None of us have to go down to the river in winter and scrub the undies on a washing board. So wtf are they on about? Have a lovely Saturday 🤗
Thanks Bee. We discovered exactly what we needed when we were on the boat, and it was surprisingly not very much over the basics. Frugal living was already second nature to us so being on a low income wasn’t exactly that much of a hardship. I admit though that if we had a mortgage or rent to pay we would have sunk a long time ago.
I think it’s a shame that normal people can’t afford their rents or mortgages in one of the richest countries of the world while billionaires get more and more. That is simply wrong. 😪 But you are right once you get out of the ” I have to buy more and more” mindset you are surprised how little you really need 🤗
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I learned to live frugally after my divorce. Now when I have extra for treats I really appreciate them, plus I no longer have a house full of clutter!
We had nothing when we moved here, so have gradually added furniture. We have enough but when things need to be replaced may well think along different lines. The most important thing is that it’s home.
We did not spend extravagantly when we were both working. It is nice now to have some savings to make our retirement more relaxed and comfortable. Maybe if the virus ever clears, we will travel again.
We always promised ourselves a good holiday when Maggie was no longer with us. Covid has knocked that on the head
and now we just want another pup to share our lives. We are comfortable and have a nice cushion for emergencies,
so I’m not complaining.
I understand exactly how you feel, Di.
Frugal is the word I live by. I don’t think I’ve ever felt true want. Now we are retired (mostly) and the money we make is enough to allow a night out and to purchase what we need. We did splurge last night and had sushi (an expensive treat)… But I think we will be comfortable as we don’t have extravagant needs.
We have enough to meet the bills, have the occasional treat and a little cushion for emergencies.