Paige Power

  Back in 2020, we all learned that we would have to live differently, after all the potential for death from breathing Covid-19 contaminated air was real, and many people did die. During that time we stopped going out to eat or find entertainment and started saving our earnings. Now in 2024, we find ourselves saving less, eating out again, and joining friends and family for fun and social pleasure. Take a moment and consider how much better or worse off you are from March 2020. When I first learned of the pandemic I was anxious. I have a lot of people who count on me and getting ill while managing several autoimmune diseases was scary. I take medication to suppress my immune system, and that made Covid-19 worrying. I lost my job for a short while and that was concerning. I worked with a woman who was furloughed at the same time I was and she asked how to apply for unemployment, and I was happy she asked because I didn’t know how to apply either. When considering the ch...

  What did I do? When my kids were in their early teen years I realized they had little appreciation for money. This was not because they were selfish or undisciplined, it was because I was in a two-income home and we didn’t instill an appreciation for money. At one point I became alarmed by the amount of money we were giving our kids. Fifty dollars here for a show, one hundred for something else they wanted. We had no financial discipline ourselves, and we weren’t teaching that skill to them. In my own life I bought anything that tickled my fancy, my husband and I at the time were golfing several rounds each week in the spring, summer, and fall. We went snowboarding often in the winter. I think we spent a couple thousand dollars each month on our entertainment; our kids were also spending close to this amount. Finally, I put my foot down and let everyone know we were in for a change. The benefits of frugal living You may wonder what value there is in helping kids to li...

  I needed to change In 2007 my 24-year marriage ended. Naturally, this was a traumatizing event in my life and I can say I learned a lot about myself. The first thing I learned is that I was not in a financial position to support myself effectively. After a lengthy marriage, I was accustomed to a two-income family. Transitioning to a single income was extremely challenging. I often felt vulnerable about my situation, and decided I needed to make a change in my relationship with the money I was earning. It became clear to me very quickly that my ex-husband would not honor the financial agreement the courts ordered and that if I wanted to have any manner of financial freedom I’d have to figure out how to make do with what I was earning. Debt was the issue Back in 2007, I was deep in debt; I had a mortgage, student loans, a car loan, and credit card debt. I was earning under the median income for the area I was living in and I could see that if I wanted to feel financially ...

  How to be mindful In 2023 I was about as scatter brained as a person could be. It was a great year for me, but, because I’m an over thinker, I took on a lot and accomplished a lot. This year my aim is to be more focused and mindful. What is mindfulness Mindful can mean different things to different people. Many years back I was at a wedding and one of the guests was asking about my relationship with my spouse. I was describing the things we do together and I mentioned that we meditate together most days. He asked about it and I told him we tend to meditate for ten to twenty minutes. He said, “That doesn’t work you have to meditate for sixty minutes.” I thought this was an odd thing to say, after all mediation is akin to prayer. I can’t image telling someone how to pray. But for him and his experience, meditation meant spending an hour being mindful. At the time my spouse and I were new to meditation and using a beginner’s app to guide us. The time we spent seemed perfect for...