What Are You Saving It For?
By Melissa Tosetti
Everyone loved my grandmother. She was one of those people that made each individual feel special. It was her gift.
A few years ago, as she became less mobile and the need for more caregiving paraphernalia increased, my mom decided to clean out the hall closet for the much needed storage.
Almost everything in the closet was in individual boxes. The first box my mom pulled out was a new blouse with the tags still on it. Next was a beautiful bathrobe – tags still attached. The next box included a gorgeous set of linens still in the package… and so it went.
Because Grams had the gift of making everyone feel special, everyone always wanted to do things for her or give her the types of gifts she would never splurge on for herself as a child of The Great Depression.
That entire closet was filled with gifts given to Grams that she treasured, but never gave herself permission to use. They were to be kept safely in their original packages tucked away in the closet.
As my mom continued excavating the treasure trove she came upon a particularly promising box. After inspecting its contents, she took it into the other room where my step-father Gary was watching TV.
“Gary, I have good news and I have bad news,” she said.
He answered, “Oh yeah?”
“I just found a 2 pound box of chocolate.”
Gary, sweet tooth engaged, answered as he moved toward the box, “That’s fantastic!”
Before he could grab it, Mom went on, “The bad news is that it expired in 1979”.
A few years after the Ancient Chocolate Excavation, my mom was getting ready to move and began going through the items in the attic. She came across a series of porcelain tea cups her godmother had given her over the years. Knowing my affection for things reminiscent of the Victorian time period, she decided give them to me.
Those teacups are some of my dearest treasures, a few of them now being over 50 years old. So, what do I do with the antique heirlooms? Drink out of them of course!
Why am I confessing my family’s storage stories? To encourage you to treat every day as a special occasion!
Use the good china on pizza night.
Put those beautiful silver candle holders to use on a Tuesday.
Wear your favorite antique jewelry to work on a Friday.
Living a Savvy Life is about creating a strong financial foundation, while enjoying the journey. So celebrate every day by putting your treasures into use.
For more ideas on how to enjoy the journey, send an email to me at Melissa@TheSavvyLife.com and I’ll send you the article: 7 Treasures To Use Over 7 Days.
Melissa Tosetti is a cash flow planning expert, founder of The Savvy Life and author of the international bestseller Living The Savvy Life.
For the past eight years, she’s worked with over 625 individuals and families to create Spending Plans.
To learn about the Spending Plan process, visit The Savvy Life’s Home Page. If you’d like to learn about how The Savvy Life works with financial advisors and their clients visit: The Savvy Life Advisor’s Page.