Saving

First Posted May 11th, 2009

A few days ago, I went out to the shed in search of my bike. While I dug through the piles of lawn tools, toys and other bicycles, I noticed a pile of walnuts, very carefully and conscientiously stacked on a shelf near the back of the shed. Squirrels.

At first, I was a bit bugged that a squirrel was hanging out in my shed and using it for his food storage. But, I was also amazed at how resourceful and diligent he was by already getting started on next year’s needs. His example has led me to thinking more about the subject of storage: storage of food and storage of money. This is clearly a little feller that could teach me a thing or two about saving for a rainy day.

I’ve recently mentioned a few friends who are out of work right now. These are hard working, disciplined, intelligent people who would be an asset to any organization. They should have been snatched up within a few days of being on the hunt. But now, months later, they tell me it’s tough to even get an interview, let alone a second interview, or a job.

In addition to being talented, these are also people with mortgages to pay and mouths to feed. Many of them got a severance check when they were let go. In most cases, I’m sure that was spent ten different ways before the end of the month. Some of them had some savings they have fallen back on. But, with no income for a month, or two, or six, I don’t know how long their savings could hold out.

Saving is something I have never been very good at. It seems every time I build up a pile of cash, it quickly gets eaten up by unexpected expenses. Last month it was a car in the shop and about 3 million cavities that needed to be repaired. We do have some investments and other long term or emergency savings but I hope I don’t have to touch that until I retire.

Probably the biggest reason I don’t have much savings is because I have debt: debt from bad investments, debt from our house and car, and some debt on a credit card. But, because it has been our goal for several years to wipe it out as completely and as quickly as we possibly can, we are actually in pretty good control of our debt right now.

The problem with saving is that it takes money to do it. Right now there is very little check remaining at the end of the month. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m so thankful to not be in the opposite position, that I’m almost giddy.) So right now, while saving is less of an option, we are working on spending less and getting rid of things we don’t need or can’t justify the payment on right now. Hopefully that will free up some money to spend on food storage, savings in the bank, and paying down our debt.

I think the best way to get this done is to start small and chip away at it as much and as often as possible. That reminds me of a quote my neighbor across the street uses once in a while, “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast.” He retired from his job while in his early forties. Something tells me I should be listening carefully to his financial advice.

My backyard neighbor, the squirrel, also clearly understands this strategy. He knows he wants that pile of walnuts to be as big as possible. He’s proven that he is willing to work hard at it and take the time he needs to carry walnuts, one at a time, from who knows where, to build up his pile in my shed. And he does it at a crazy-fast pace all day long.

It’s amazing to me, that when he puts his mind to it, such a little critter can build up such a nice pile in such a short amount of time. “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast.” Yes, thank you, I think I will.