shove it, dave.

saving money really sucks. yep, i said it. when we went through financial peace university, dave ramsey made saving sound like a fun game. you know what's actually a fun game? shopping. and no, window shopping is not the same. shopping brings instant gratification- you want something, you get it. saving money doesn't give quite that same high. joe and i are "saving" for a down payment for a new house right now. i say saving in quotes because our efforts are fairly minimal at this point. we had some debt to pay off from when we had bennett (doctors bills + 8 weeks unpaid maternity leave = ouch). now at least we're at a point where we can start building back some savings, but it's hard to not see it happen fast. it's the same frustrating feeling as weight loss- it's hard not to see the number on the scale move as quickly as i'd like.

[prepare yourself for liz's musings on society...] we live in a culture where everything is about instant gratification. the biggest loser shows morbidly obese people drop 100 lbs in 10 weeks. (meanwhile, the average person watching at home is lucky to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks- probably because we're sitting on the couch watching them workout. but, i digress.) 24 bachelorettes go on a tv show, compete for one bachelor's perfectly chiseled abs, i mean heart, and the newest "it couple" falls in love, meets each others' families, and gets engaged within the show's 8 week film time. also, i'm pretty sure the chump bachelor didn't have to wait to save enough for that 450 karat neil lane rock. we don't wait for a darn thing.

so, things like weight loss, saving money, etc. are that much harder to discipline yourself to do with the "you want it you got it" society we've all become accustomed to. who wants to save $20 when you could buy a new shirt, pair of earrings, whatever is in the target checkout lane, etc. right now?  what is $20 of savings going to get you? well, save $20 100 times and you have $2,000 (totally didn't even need a calculator ;). i think i need to keep that in perspective. while each menial purchase may seem like it's not making a difference in our savings, it adds up quickly.

so, basically, if i stop buying random $20 crap at target, we will be able to buy a new house in approximately... 1,000 target trips. or forever.

dave ramsey can shove it.