Sometimes you have to get a little creative.
If you have ever started any kind of DIY project you have likely come across something that just did not go according to plan. You may have lost a screw.
Maybe all the parts were not included.
Or the instructions were worthless.
You may have found something behind the surface was not what you expected to be there.
There are so many things that can turn your plans into chaos.
The same is true of your finances.
How many times have you created the “perfect” plan to save your $1,000 emergency fund or pay off your credit cards, only to have something unexpected come up that blows your plans right out of the water?
Yesterday I was speaking to someone who was upset because she had saved $10,000 for towards a house down payment. She was actually starting to look, although she knew it would take a little time and a lot of luck to find something in her price range in this market.
Then she had some unexpected bills show up.
She knew she could pay the bills off immediately, but that would take up most of her savings.
She knew she could make monthly payments without dipping into the savings, but that would require her to give up eating out, which she considered a nonnegotiable because she did not feel she had time to meal prep.
Meanwhile, she was spiraling under the stress of trying to figure out what to do. Her comments were becoming more and more unrealistic and fatalistic.
Completely understandable, but not very productive.
After she calmed down she realized she was okay with placing her homebuying plans on hold. And, since she had been able to save $10,000 once, she would be able to do so again.
To save herself even more stress she decided to pay off the bills in full and commit to rebuilding her savings as quickly as she could.
She realized she could spend a little more time on her days off from work cooking her own food and freezing portions so she had the flexibility to “grab and go”. Not only was this cost effective, but healthier.
Now, she could have chosen to make the monthly payments OR she could have created some hybrid where she paid part of the payment out of her paycheck and some out of savings. That is not the point.
The point is that you need to be ready for the unexpected and be able to pivot when things happen.
And, look for recurring patterns.
If she had a history of saving, then unexpected bills, saving, then unexpected bills, we would have been digging deeper into her mindset. In this case, this was an unusual event. Could it have been linked to her thoughts that now is not the best time to buy? Maybe. We will have to wait and see.
Often, it is easier for a third party to see the options, patterns, and opportunities.
That is where someone like me comes in. That trusted expert who can see things from a 50,000 foot viewpoint.
How good are you at being able to get creative when the unexpected happens? Do you get to work or do you panic?