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Eating the elephant one bite at a time

January 19th, 2008 at 02:07 pm

It seems like almost every task I get lately is so monumental that is it discouraging. But what I need to do is always the same, slog through it one step at a time. And the obvious key is you can't give up, no matter how tedious or discouraging it gets. OK, this was a pretty simplistic entry, but something that's good to keep in mind. As an example, my wife takes down the Christmas decorations and I have to jam them into storage, and that's definitely better done a little at a time, mainly to avoid overworking the old back.

But another facet of being relentless in pursuit of a task is that you need to take some breaks. I just got done sweating over making the Spring college tuition payment, so I need to take a short break before hitting taxes and FAFSA, but not so much that I lose my momentum and fall behind. This is a major goal I have, to stay the course without losing focus or burning out. So I need to be tenacious, something that comes easily to me only if it's something I am very interested in, so it only makes sense that I HAVE to be very interested in my own and my family's financial well-being.

4 Responses to “Eating the elephant one bite at a time”

  1. Amber Says:
    1200765187

    I agree, things are done one step at a time

  2. Broken Arrow Says:
    1200810499

    I think that captures the frugality nicely. Day in and day out, it isn't very exciting. However, I am also trying to enjoy the process and celebrate every little victory... because, boy it's hard enough as it is. Big Grin I guess now is a good time to break out the old saw, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." But I'm glad that I am in good company.

  3. Ralph Says:
    1200834456

    We made another nice step last night in the direction of weaning ourselves off of take-out. We got back to the house around 6:30, very hungry. Normally we would have ordered take-out, at a cost of ~$20-25. Instead we used frozen chicken breasts to make chicken cheesesteaks, and I went out and bought American cheese and hoagie rolls, so it probably cost us about $7. So it's easy to see how this is just a first step, that if we had bought the cheese and rolls somewhere cheaper than a convenience store by planning ahead, we could have saved even more. And they were every bit as good as take-out, So I like the possibility of leaving the dinong out dollars for the occassional restaurant meal to get us out of the house, and not squandering it on a pizza or Chinese joint. We'll leave those for the true "food emergencies" or just the hopefully very infrequent change of pace.

    This is a big hurdle for us, to realize all it takes is some planning ahead and a little work. My wife usually cooks many dinners through the week but then doesn't on the weekend, so I am in charge of coming up with those, and my downfall is that I have a very limited reportoire, and I just don't think I can do it, plus the lack of planned ahead ingredients on hand. So when I do shopping, I want to concentrate on planning ahead, trying to concentrate on non-perishable items, which will of course tend twoard meatless meals, of which I am much more interested than my wife, so that will work out well, leaving the meat to her, and I'll try to wow them with a little vegetarian cooking.

  4. Amber Says:
    1200839929

    Way to go Ralph, dining out is my biggest obstacle

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