It’s that time again . . .
Budgets and the start of a new school year are all the buzz. And you knew this was coming because I am a rules person. If you have a job that you’ve had for any length of time, you should be living within your budget. You should be banking (saving) money for emergency situations. We all have them come up and none are predictable or they would not be an emergency. Chances are if your appliances are 10-plus years old, they are going to need to be replaced sooner than later. Put money aside to replace them sooner rather than later. Watch for sales and if one comes up that you know is a good deal, tighten the belt and make the purchase. I am very proud to say I was raised by two awesome parents but money was always tight.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a hoarder. I had a professor at Chipola College way back in the day named Mr. Sydney Mordes. If he said it one night in class, he said it every night, “Buy when you don’t have to buy!” Those words stuck like glue with me. I am an economizer from way down yonder. There are certain things I will NOT pay full price for because it is just plain foolish. If you live in Marianna, you have three places to shop for groceries. Everyone knows sales start on Wednesday and all you have to do is follow the sales flyers and you know up front what is on sale and when. Every other week Pepsi products are on sale at Winn Dixie and on the alternate weeks, Coke products are on sale. It never failed when I shopped for myself, I would be in the store and see someone purchase two 12 packs of a drink that was not on sale. This drove me nuts when it was on a Wednesday and the brand they were buying had just gone off sale on Tuesday night. You know that sometime within the month, mayonnaise (as well as other condiments are going to be on sale buy one get one). Why in the world would you not think ahead and purchase them at half price? Never will I understand that. On holidays, Winn Dixie runs them buy two get two free – an even better deal than the buy two get one. Dollar General has some awesome deals if you have their app and everybody that is reading this certainly knows how to download apps for the best deals.
On to the next rant of the day – cell phones! I have heard nothing but fussing since it hit the news that Governor Ron DeSantis had banned cell phone use during the school day except when directed to use by a teacher. Let me see, I went through 12 years of public schools (no, they didn’t have kindergarten back when Prissie started school. Cell phones were not even thought about then – remember I’m from the Jetson’s era where I thought there would never be what we called phonovision. Now it’s called Facetime but heavens I certainly never envisioned that either.
Back at the ranch, the complaint from parents seems to be they want to be able to be in touch with their child! Really? I’m pretty sure that was the last thing my mom and certainly my dad had on their minds was keeping up with me during the school day – that’s why they paid school taxes. They wanted us to have an education and them to have a break from us!
Along that line of thinking, that is about as silly as checking your kid out to get a haircut! REALLY? I am not even kidding about that one. I promise you there are hair salons and barber shops open enough hours for you to make an appointment for a haircut. It may not be the one your little prince or princess wants but someone can cut their hair and I’m pretty sure they won’t be traumatized for life.
Remember, children mimic what they see in their parents, grandparents and adults they come into contact with on a regular basis. I won’t harp about all the PTSD from Hurricane Michael because you’ll stop reading – BUT, I will say one more time – it wasn’t that bad! It wasn’t 100+ degrees and although it was life changing in many ways, we all survived and for me, I had no life-altering changes. I still woke up every day, went to work, did my job and returned home in the evening. I thank my parents for that because we didn’t have the option of acting like the end of the world was coming over every little displacement we may have been dealt. So, send your little darlings off to school, ensure that their phones are turned off when they exit your vehicle or encourage them to do so if they are drivers. Let them know the consequences and above all blame NO ONE but the child if they are ‘busted’ with a visible or turned on cell phone. Remember you are the parent, they are the child and that’s the best from Prissie this week.