Let Blessings Remain Blessings
I opened the mail yesterday to two unexpected blessings: two checks I never saw coming. I'm not talking about massive amounts of money here—$250 and $100.
What do you typically do if you receive unexpected extra money? If you're a human (and I suspect you are), there are two typical outcomes:
The most common outcome is to simply blow it. It's extra, and most of the time, we don't respect those extra blocks of money. It will likely be impulsively spent before the check even clears.
The second most common outcome is to dump it into a general savings account, which will be hoarded in the near term and probably impulsively spent at some point in the future.
I prefer to let blessings remain blessings. First, I don't actually care what you do with it. Whether you spend it, save it, or give it is not what's important in this conversation. Here's what I do personally, and it's how I coach it every single time:
Add this as income to your budget. If it's money coming in, whether it's a $100 reimbursement check or a $10,000 bonus, it's income. Add it to the budget as such.
Once it's in the budget, you have $x more in the budget than you did before. Let's pretend it's $200. You add the $200 as income to your budget, giving you $200 more to allocate somewhere in the realm of spending, saving, or giving. Treat it as you would any other $200 in your budget. $200 is $200.
As such, allocate this money in accordance with your current plan. If you're in the midst of paying off debt, pay off more debt. If you're saving for a big trip, save more for your trip. If you've been working on a financial gift to your favorite organization, give it.
Execute the plan. If you say you're going to do something, do it. After all, you promised yourself in your budget. Own that. If you plan to buy a new espresso machine, buy the machine! If you plan to pay off that credit card, pay it off! Don't break your promise to yourself.....or your spouse.
That's the thing about money, it's fungible. All there is is money in, and money out. The moment we try to say this is for that, and that is for this, we've lost the plot. Instead, look at everything as one big puzzle. When we do that, we develop a much healthier and more productive relationship with our money. No guilt, no emotional strings, no sense of obligation. Just wisdom and discernment.
As for us, August has been a kid-expense-heavy month. Activity fees, school supplies, new shoes, and end-of-summer fun have drained that category quickly. I suspect Sarah and I will pad that category with this unexpected windfall. That's our current reality, and we'll live into that.
Meet your money where you are. Don't waste these little (or huge!) opportunities. Let your blessings remain blessings.
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