One snow cost me money, the last snow saved me money.
We live in a really windy area. The last snow storm, although only a few inches, came with high winds that caused drifting. I had left one vehicle in the garage – the garage door was drifted shut. I left the other vehicle at the top of the hill predicting that my garage doors would drift shut – unfortunately the way the wind came it drifted that vehicle in also. We were stuck.
We had been planning on going to a restaurant that was having a special. They have a smorgasbord and they were only charging $5 per person because of a “grand reopening.” So my family and I were going to take advantage of that special (more than 1/2 off per person) and we had invited my parents to come along. It would have cost us $35 (7 people), plus tip and taxes – probably about $50. Not bad for 7 people. However we had already spent our restaurant budget for the month of February.
Well, being snowed in canceled our plans. We were bummed. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was probably a good thing. We had gotten caught up in the promotion, and even though I didn’t have the money we were going to find a way. It’s not that $50 would have been the end of the world, but we are really trying not to overspend right now, and are trying to save our pennies as much as we can.
This was a good reminder to me how hard it is to save and resist temptation. That special was tempting. Yes it would have been fun, but it would have set us back. And right now we really can’t afford setbacks. And again, although it was only $50, sometimes temptation is bigger – that furniture store deal, or the car deal, or the vacation deal.
I’m glad we didn’t get to go – in fact my wife and I are both actually really happy that it didn’t work out. I guess a snow storm can be a blessing and a teacher!
