Originally posted on Facebook - 2018-08-020-001 Thinking your way through challenges or challenging times

I know that mentally I tend to go back to the concept of at some point in time I will be relying on retirement income from National Insurance Board of $3,000 as my "ease my breath" in the midst of panic times.

However, many times the better side of me tends to look at my times of panic as "do I need to redo my budget?" or what am I preoccupying myself with as need versus want?

I would get back to the point, however I thought that I would mention that a "young friend" of mine is looking at his start to retirement planning as

"Do I need to save TT$120.00 to fund TT$10. extra per month for a year in my retirement life in one Money Market Fund Account and

Then I open another Money Market Fund account and fund $10.00 extra per month for another year.

So what is the point of all of the $10.00 extra per month? Well if the person saves consistently for 10 years without touching any of the 12 accounts at $120 per half year and

After making the rounds of opening 12 accounts, over time as he adds to them, then with the interest he earns, his initial goal may be to be at $30 per month for 10 years in his retirement which may not be met however he may be at $20+ per month for 10 years.

Of course those savings may be on top of his $25 per week saving habit.

However back to "do I need to re do my budget?", currently I am trying to rethink what I think are my needs, so that

a) I can practice skills which I may have left behind as time passed and

b) Be open to other ways of doing things.

With respect to being open to other ways of doing things,

I am adapting to " letting go of some of the house work", so that instead of making sure that there is enough "powdered soap" so that I can wash certain items a certain way,

I am making sure that I use the bars of soap which have been accumulating so that I can justify my spending at the end of the month.

I am working on my guilty feelings of not contributing as I should as I have not been buying peas and such and

Instead, I am reminding myself as I put 2 packs of Grace Coconut milk in the container almost fortnightly so that there are savings for others that:

a) I got the 12 packs at the wholesale price almost a month ago and have not been using them as I should and they are adding value to callaloo and possibly peas and rice "cookup" or pelau without meat, leave the pieces of meat in the pot for someone else.

b) Someone else would have purchased the individual packs of coconut milk at a higher price and I am contributing in another way.

So on a closing note; my priorities should be:

Buy another dasheen so that I can get another one sprouted to contribute callaloo bush which is currently selling at $8.50 or $9.00 per bunch.

Yes, I know that at $5.75 or thereabouts for one, I may not be saving much at first , however the skill which I am learning and the number of persons who may be eating may balance out over time...

At harvest time, either someone eats the dasheen or there is another plant on its way.