"It's always the simple..."

“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.”  Amelia Barr

That quote opens the first posting I read on my first visit to Anna Newell Jones' acclaimed (but I'd never heard of) blog, AndThenWeSaved.com.  

My spending LOOKS like it's gotten out of hand.  Only apparently.  (Okay, it's true about eating out, where I've definitely fallen down mightily because of poor at-home meal planning.)  There is A LOT that beckons to be done & the purchases made have been in support of just that.  

By purchases, I mean books.  A lot of books.  Am pleased to say that the last thing I did before making a purchase & mercilessly cut out any item that didn't really & truly say I CAN HELP YOU!, then the first thing I did when the shipment came in was to hold each book & ask myself, "Was this REALLY a wise purchase?"

Okay, the books I purchased to as Saturday morning give-aways at The Cupcake Lady turned out to be not as wise as I'd thought, but only because PA Health Dept rules & regs seem to have bounced us out of cupcaking at  this season's Bryn Athyn Bounty Farm Market.  But offering a weekly give-away was a wise premise, at least for me.

See, I'm not anyone's mother or BFF, my nieces & nephews are too distant to be a treasured aunt, am not a teacher or in any sort of position to seriously touch anyone's life - with a loving nod to the great & glorious exception, my John.  Sharing favorite books as part of a give-away would have filled a currently empty space.  And my present self is heart & soul about filling spaces instead of bemoaning them!

The books & classroom treats I get for the 3rd grade & the current 5th grade aren't splurges - they are life lines.  Again, am no one's mother or grandmother or doting aunt.  Doing things every year for the 3rd grade - picked for completely capricious reasons - and the class that is currently in 5th (also a choice of whimsy) - gladdens my heart, uplifts my spirit, gives me a thrill that goes way beyond the purchases.  

       

All that said, I was concerned that an unusual spurt of spending on things that actually did matter, that truly did move me farther down the path to fulfilling what shouts into my heart & soul, MIGHT lead to a binge of less appropriate expenditures.  For over a week, have been brooding on a longing to become as savvy a saver as I am an accomplished spender.

Knew all that, had been turning it all over in my mind, spear-headed with the question, "When will I know it's time to STOP acquiring & DIG into my purchases?"  Good question.  And, the Universe being the generous thoughtful active care partner that it is, stepped up to the plate & hit it out of the ballpark.  Way to go!
 
Was it mere coincidence that less than two weeks ago - April 26, 2016 - The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living was published??  I think NOT!  Over those two weeks, my heart & brain steeped in thoughts about saving over spending.   Waiting for me to discover the book that seems to fit me to a TEA.  Thanks, Universe - you rock!

Was also introduced to Anna's blog, AndThenWeSaved.com, with its spot-on opening quote - It's always the simple that produces the marvelous.  Which got me thinking that it's simple to save more - spend less.  

There are big things that clamor - and rightly so - to be purchased;  a second car, the July conference in Dallas, October's workshop at Rowe are all on track for taking me from what I dream to what I offer.  But little things that add up need whacking back - the little, unbudgeted, spur-of-the-moment  things that seriously eat away at our savings.  Especially meals out because I didn't think ahead to have a veggie compote available in the fridge or a mushroom lasagne with kale-laden marinara ready to pop into the oven.. (We don't spend a lot eating out, sticking to egg salad sandwiches, a garden melt or dinner-sized bowls of minestrone, but it adds up VERY quickly.) 

Mind you, simple doesn't mean easy.  Chanel's designs embodied simplicity, but cost a fortune because it took a lot of talent & effort to make the pared-down look seem effortless.  The dress with the simplest lines demands the most skilled designer & seamstress - plus a well-toned body because it reveals all. Simple looks easy, is often hard & totally worth it.

My thanks to Marie Kondo for kicking me into simplifying my life by paring down my possessions.  Started last year, still a challenge but working on it.  Learned that just knowing what works better doesn't mean it automatically comes naturally to me.  Good beginning training for what comes next.


It's always the simple that produces the marvelous. It's simply marvelous to realize that my aha awareness of the need to be financially savvy & the publication of Anna's new book turned out to be a one-two punch in knocking out the possibility of spinning into fiscal foolishness.  My thanks to Anna, to Harper Collins & to a great & glorious Universe for all that has been, all that is.  "All it will be" is up to me!