Well I'm sure the title has grabbed your attention and it was meant to. I probably should have posted this a year ago when my family's story was featured on national tv. Better late than never but I would still like to clear up any misguided judgements about my family This post will probably not take the blogging world or facebook world by storm. I'm not expecting thousands of people to share this as I know, talking about money is not cool.
Over the last year it has been bought to my attention that many people who know us think we are poor. Just because we live a little differently to what society now thinks is normal does not make us weird or poor. I'm writing this article to clear the air.
* We are not poor because we live in a 15 square home. We love our home and yes, it is a home not a large house with unused rooms. We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living areas and it's clean and tidy. What more could we want ? I've been told we should build a new big home and move to a new estate because " new is better ". Why would we do that ? To move to a new home would mean another mortgage. We own our own home and have done so for the last five years. We are debt free. We also have one of Australia's largest shopping centres a stone's throw away from our home.
* We are not poor because we buy some of our clothes from an op shop. We know the value of a dollar and our dollar goes so much further at an op shop. Why would we always pay retail when we can buy new or almost new for a fraction of the price ? Our wardrobes have never looked better. We are always neat, tidy and well presented.
* We are not poor because we grow some of our own fruit and veggies. We do so because it's the closest we can get to organic without paying organic prices. Yes it does save us some money but more importantly, it's healthier for us. You can't get any fresher than home grown.
* We are not poor because we don't have a double income. My husband has always worked long hours in hard jobs to support us and for that, the girls and I are very grateful. I do not need a career or full time job to feel worthy in society. My real job is to look after my family and home. My second job helps other people keep their homes clean. My third job helps other people live the best life they can. My life is full, rich and abundant.
* We are not poor because we don't have the latest iphone and tech products. In fact, only one family member has an older iphone she bougth secondhand. So many people tell me I need to " get with the times " and get a smart phone. A smart phone will not make me smarter but it will chew up my hard earned dollars and valuable time. My Nokia phone works fantastically and does what mobile phones are meant to do - MAKE CALLS AND ANSWER THEM. My life is too precious to spend it looking at my phone.
* We are not poor because I cook and bake everything from scratch. My family's health is more important to me than brand name processed foods. Yes, cooking from scratch does save us a lot of money but that's a bonus. My food is tasty, healthy and I know exactly what's in each meal. My family loves my food and that puts a smile on my face.
* We are not poor because we mostly buy no name groceries. If it does the job, I don't care what colors are on the packaging. The food I cook and bake still tastes the same .
* We are not poor because we rarely eat out or go to the movies.. As I said above, my food is tasty and there's little that we long for from a restaurant. Yes, it's costs too much to eat out but that's a side matter. Movies always come on tv at some point and we much prefer our own version of " Gold Class " at home with our recliners and yummy food.
* We are not tight because a tv show put that in a story title. It was JUST a title - nothing more. Just because we are wise with what we have does not make us tight. Someone told us we needed to use that title to prove that we ARE generous to others. Yes we are generous when we can be, but we are not going to broadcast it. We are not boastful people, not in the slightest.
* We are not poor because we receive family benefits from the government. We only get what any other Australian family can receive. Nothing more. We work, we pay taxes and we are very grateful
* We are not poor because we save for things. We will not go into debt because society says you must have everything NOW. The saying " Good things come to those who wait " rings true in our family. When we save, we look forward to the day we can buy that wanted / needed item Guilt free !!!
* We do not eat poorly because my tinned food stockpile was featured on tv and in local newspapers. It's just one small part of my stockpile and those tins will take a few years to use up.
Our lifestyle might not be for everyone. That's ok. We never said it was.
If you really really know us, you'll see the wonderfully abundant life we live.
