Sunday, June 07, 2026

Gratitude Challenge – Day 7

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 7: Job This summer I'll likely work just one shift/week at the card shop, and that suits me fine. The other girls I work with – and they are all much younger than I am – are scrambling for more hours, but the fact is that between Mother's Day* and Halloween there really aren't many events that drive people into our shop, and without sales, it's hard to support all of us working at the full schedule.  

I am grateful that I can afford to work one shift/week. I've made a lot of financial mistakes over the years, but one thing I did right was treat my retirement savings as sacred. Whether it was the US Savings Bond payroll savings plan at my first job when I was 17, or the 401(k) programs I participated in at subsequent jobs, once I put that money away I pretended it was gone. I didn't make withdrawals or borrow against it. That puts me in the position today where instead of looking at the light summer schedule as a time for belt tightening, I see it as more time to watch baseball.

I'm also grateful that I work with Alejandra, Zoey and Carla. They are twentysomethings of divergent backgrounds and I appreciate the opportunity to hear their perspectives on life.



*Sorry, Dad, but Father's Day just isn't as lucrative.

3 comments:

  1. That was a piece of advice given to me at my high school graduation: pay yourself first (retirement savings).

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  2. Love this...that you put away money. And yeah.....father's day just isn't the same when dealing with cards.

    hubby would highly approve of you watching baseball. :)

    and yay!! can't wait to see which of the Sat9 questions you chose

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think your satisfaction is justified.

    ReplyDelete

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