Monday, November 05, 2007
Murphy's law
| By Lynn Forgy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: “Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment").” Does this sound familiar? When I was growing up, this was a way of life – and it usually happened in 3s, if not more often. For instance, one day you find out you need a root canal. Bam – there’s a minimum of $1,600. Two days later, your HVAC system conks out. Bam, Bam - $4,000. That evening, you run over a nail and need a new tire. Bam, Bam, Bam - $75. The kids need new shoes because their feet have grown three sizes since last winter, the electrical bill has gone up 10% over last year, the water company is charging more for usage, and the list goes on, and on, and on… How do you deal with the continual punches that you receive? Well, if you follow Dave Ramsey’s plan perhaps you would have the $1,000 Baby Emergency Fund to help with any unforeseeable expenses. Maybe you’re on Baby Step 3 and have the 3-6 months living expenses set aside, all your debt paid off (except for your house), and these are not major catastrophes for you. If so, congratulations! But what if you’re just starting out, or your income is not enough to allow you to progress that quickly through the Baby Steps? If you’ve cut expenses to the bare bones and still aren’t progressing, then increasing your income might be where you need to focus. For me, the obstacle affecting my ability to increase my income is time. I have a full-time job, a part-time job, a house and a family to care for. Finding time to do anything else is somewhat difficult, but the other choice is to continue down the path of debt. Labels: baby steps, increase income, Murphy's law |
posted by Krista at 8:22 AM
