eXtreme Money Make-Over
I have had a few search engine link-throughs where people have been looking for money make overs. I hadn’t thought about a money make-over before, but after some thought here are some things to consider in comparison and contrast with reality television make-overs:
| Reality Television | Reality Budgeting |
|---|---|
| Someone is ugly or has major needs | Our finances can be ugly and we may have major needs |
| Some team jumps in and ‘fixes’ everything | You’re often alone or working with a small group at best (a couple and a financial counselor?) to fix it yourself |
| Major corporations donate goods or doctors provide services for free as an advertisement on the television show | Major corporations want your money and wouldn’t give you a break if you asked nicely. Creditors want every cent you’re making. |
So you can see that there are a few similarities but also a lot of differences. But when it comes to extreme money make overs we’ve been conditioned to not be so extreme. When I first looked at my budget for areas to trim off expenses I didn’t consider many areas that could be trimmed because they were comforts that I wouldn’t dare part with. They were financial expenses that were draining the life blood of my budget but I couldn’t see them as leaches, but instead I saw them as bandaids to make the pain go away. In the end I had to own up to my pride and discuss with my wife areas that we needed to cut back. Not an easy task but something that had to be done.
Ford isn’t going to donate a car to my family and country super-stars are not going to come sing benefit concerts for my middle-class family that has only mild medical needs and no house being knocked down by mud-bogging vehicles. However, if you look at the very core needs of your household you won’t find cable on the list. You won’t find internet connectivity on the list. You won’t find traveling to the Bahamas on the list either. The list is short. The extreme nature of the extreme money make over is that its not fun, but that its extreme.
Consider your own extreme money make over on a virtual level. How much money could you trim your budget down to right now if you kept the same providers, but cut out all unnecessary expenses? I challenge the readers of this blog to post anonymously if they want to, but post nonetheless, the actual minimal amount of money that they could live on based on their current financial obligations for food, clothing and shelter [plus utilities]. Mine would be roughly $2,500.00 a month. Adding our car to the equation adds $400.00 a month due to our payment on the car and gas.
When you’re talking extreme things start to look rather stark, but the point of this post is to get first world people to think about their affluence and what that means for their lifestyle. How little could you live on a month for your family?
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