Savings & Rubber Band Balls.
Rubber band balls and savings have a lot in common. For one, the more you add to them the bigger they get! Savings, retirement, emergency funds, you name it. The life of a rubber band ball is awesome - as long as you never take from it ;)That picture you see there on the left is the ball I've been working on for 2 years now. What started as a wee little pile of bands have blossomed into a hefty young man - all due to a little TLC. It's a little small here on the screen, but I assure you it's quite the sight.
While I've taken on more adventures since starting it (like this blog for example), my ball continues to grow. And little did I know I had a great metaphor sitting right in front of me the whole time! Yup, when you think about it, rubber band balls & saving goes hand in hand. Here's what I mean:
- It's exciting to watch it get bigger and bigger - Dirty thoughts aside, momentum is a BEAST - especially first starting out. You go from absolutely nothing to something tangible within days. Same thing goes with putting away savings - everyone starts at zero and builds from there. The trick is to keep motivated as time goes on.
- It's crazy easy to add to it! Anytime you have extras laying around, apply it to the fund/ball! With savings, you could even automate it so it pulls from your paychecks automagically. You can't be as lazy with the rubber ball, but luckily it doesn't require much energy. In both cases, the more you pile on the happier & more confident you feel.
- It's best NOT to pull from it. This is very important. If you keep taking out and putting back in, you're not gonna do anything but drive yourself crazy. If it's just not working, try lowering your expectations a bit so you can stay in the game. Take the small set back now to reap bigger rewards later! It's a little less emotional for rubber band balls, but the theory still applies ;) One might even ague it's *harder* to keep adding to it with thieves around the office! I swear someone's pulling from mine when I'm not looking...
The truth of the matter is, the more you continue to save and put aside, the happier & more secure you feel. And the easiest way to make sure this happens is to never touch it! If it goes in, it stays there - that's it. You'll have plenty of time to meet with your beloved money later when the time's right. For now, keep on adding to your financial rubber band ball.
Labels: randomness 3000, saving
posted by J. Money at
8:12 AM
7 Comments:
Agree, ever since I began to slowly put away for retirement and small savings I feel better. Wish I had more to put away but those weekends add up.
Another simple but powerful thing to do! I, too, wish I had started a savings & retirement much, much earlier. But all I can do now is move forward with a much better stride!
Love the rubberband ball. ;)
Hey, that's all we can do right? Can't go back in time and do anything about it - we start now and push forward as best we can ;)
Happy Friday the 13th everyone!
#4 for your list....when problems arise you can just throw your rubber band balls or emergency fund at it.
Ahahahah...zing! Nicely done, sir.
Hey J. Money - What are the real life dimensions of that ball?
So true:
"The truth of the matter is, the more you continue to save and put aside, the happier & more secure you feel."
At least 5 inches in circumference ;) maybe 6. heavy little booger!
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