Spend out...

The tendency when faced with a financially restrictive lifestyle is to "reel it all in" . ...we feel a sense of scarcity, we save all we try to save all we can. (We feel responsibly frugal.) It gives us a sense of control. I can see how hoarding happens (I've watched that t.v. show lately!) We save things "just in case". Sometimes it gets out of hand, like it did with my great grandma... She grew up in the great depression and hoarded toilet paper. (Probably other things as well but I remember the toilet paper she kept on hand in the garage "just in case".)

Over the past year we have made the choice to cut our personal income drastically so that we are able to keep all of our employees. Going from our former income to our present income has required us to make HUGE changes in the way we live our lives, we lived so GENEROUSLY when we had money and entertaining was wonderfully fulfilling. The first half of 2009 I spent dreading all social functions at my house because I was counting every penny it cost to entertain. This feeling of dread spilled over into all areas of my life; bill paying, clothing purchases, grocery shopping. (Things I never felt dread about prior to this year!)

I don't remember where I first heard the phrase "spend out". But it springs from a feeling of abundance vs. scarcity and it feels SO MUCH BETTER! Somewhere along the way (maybe because we had so many people come and stay at our house this year? ) the dread was so painful and so frequent it was unbearable. Scarcity and the feeling of hoarding is truly the opposite of who I am and what I believe. SO I had to learn how to 'spend out' in a new, responsible way....