Honey, Please Pass The Fork

It's interesting how much you can learn to make do with. . . or should I say, "make do without," when you are truly and utterly broke.

At one point, this household of two had two spoons, three forks and seven butter knives. Two of those forks only had three tines and in my opinion should not be referred to as forks at all. Leaving us with one worthwhile fork.

Be glad you didn't know us then, because invites for dinner included a note to "BYOF" (Bring Your Own Fork).

Once we learned to live with it, though, it didn't seem so weird. You eat, you wash the fork, you pass it off to the next user. You pray that they also wash when THEY are done, otherwise it becomes a little like cleaning the lint vent on the dryer -- somehow I always have to do it before and after use!

If you're living in a mentality of "I have my budgeted spending and savings and every penny is spoken for," you will never have a penny left over to splurge on a second fork. After all, a fork isn't an "emergency." Ever.

Silverware, then, was another "pickle" around our household.

Once the decision was made to buy a fork, we didn't want to just run to Goodwill or a yard sale and buy "a fork." There's nothing wrong with that, and its what I would have done when I was broke.

But living the unbroke, pickle-eating lives that we are now, we could set aside a bit of money here and there, and then, when it was on sale, head out and purchase some actual silverware.

I can now proudly tell you that I own 12 forks, 12 each of tablespoons and teaspoons and salad forks and knives. And a funny little "spreading" knife and a really big spoon and salad fork. . .

It's an exciting world I inhabit.

As you transition from broke, to unbroke, make your self a list of everything you want or need or already have but don't like and want to replace. You don't need to buy it all at once (I don't want anyone to end up back at broke.). Just remember that you can, and you should.

If you're like me, you're coming out of a few years of living only with "the crap no one wants" ~ the stuff that didn't sell at the yard sale, even for a quarter! It's time to slowly, steadily, replace it with items you want. (Just remember to REPLACE..as in, actually get rid of the stuff you don't want.....all our old silverware went to Goodwill.....or else you'll need another house!)

Dave Ramsey, whose words I poured over at my darkest hour, teaches his listeners to "Live like no one else, so that tomorrow, you can live like no one else." Its a great phrase. The key is realizing that tomorrow is here.