Okay enough of the national focus for a while.  I’m going to try not to look at that stuff for the near future and take a more hopeful, optimistic view closer to home.  It strikes me that we need to think about a few other things in our lives, and catch up on responsibilities that may need examined once again. What else should we be thinking about right now?
- Family budget:  A check-up on debt, budgeting, emergency and savings funds is a good idea about now. All this talk about bailouts has me looking harder at paying down some debt. I’m tweaking my debt re-payments by making them a little larger where I can. I don’t like carrying debt, and it’s time to pay off a credit card debt I’ve held too long. I think I’ll also tweak my savings goals and try to increase the amount I’m putting in both the savings and emergency funds after paying down that debt. Never know when we might need that extra cash. Getting the debt paid off will allow more to go to savings right?
- Rainy day money? Do you have any cash sitting around at home? I’ve never advocated saving cash at home since you don’t earn any interest on it, and inflation eats away at the value of that money. But the events of the past few weeks have me rethinking that as well. I’ve decided to keep a months worth of grocery/gas money in cash at home.  It’s sitting in a coffee can on a shelf. I’ve never done that before, and hope I never need it. Am I crazy? But you know what? It feels good having it sit there.
- Winter’s coming: Are you ready for winter? Have you thought about the house, vehicles and energy budget? Around our place it’s time to catch up on vehicle maintenance, and getting the house ready before the freezing weather sets in. That means cleaning out the gutters while the leaves fall off the trees, checking the furnace and other heating equipment, putting away the hoses, making sure windows are secured and sealed, closing off the outdoor water faucets and cleaning up the garage a little. The fall weather is beautiful right now, but that means it’s time to get prepped for the colder months.
- Bill Payments: One of the issues facing consumers these days is that of credit card companies reducing available credit that consumers thought they had. Why are they doing this? Basically to reduce their debt load and the risk they are taking with outstanding debt. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect credit record, you may still find that your available credit has been reduced.Â
         But what is very important is that some banks and credit card companies are also jacking up interest rates very        quickly on outstanding debt that consumers are holding on their credit cards, seemingly for no reason. My point? Make darn sure that all debt payments are paid on time or you’ll find yourself paying exhorbitant interest rates on that debt.  It’s also a good time to remind ourselves to pay all our bills and debt on time right now. And maybe even to get rid of unnecessary expenses. Do you really need all those cell-phone features? Maybe you don’t even need a cell-phone!Â
        One of our relatives’ children had a birthday recently, and it was a very special day. Just watching him smile and ride a new bicycle was a wonderful sight. It served to remind me how our children live in the present, and find joy in the simplest things.  We can learn from that, and we should remember not to burden our children too much with the challenges we take home each day. Instead we can help inspire them, and help them learn about hope, faith and the good things that are always present. One day we’ll be long gone, and our grown children will live and survive through their own challenges based upon what they have experienced and learned in life.  If nothing else, we can help them prepare for the future in many positive ways.
 Here’s hoping for better days, and that you find great joy in life’s simple pleasures. Best regards!
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