Be Grateful And More Will Follow

I'm always amazed and excited when I have an "Aha" moment in my life and it just makes me want to share it with everyone I know. Guess what. I had one just the other day, so here goes.

Let me set the stage first... Now that I'm retired, I'm living on a budget for what seems to be the very first time in my life. Before retirement, I had enough money to cover my spending habits - never tracking my spending closely but always living within our means and setting something aside for those rainy days. We were quite successful at applying these guidelines - but now that the equity markets are down and the interest rates are low - I have limited means of replenishing any monies that I spend. Naturally, not wanting to go through my savings too quickly, I'm constantly evaluating my spending based on necessity and the elusive "fun" factor associated with my spending (am I getting enough pleasure from what I buy).

Okay, with the stage now set, here's the story.

I like to meditate on topics that I want an inspired solution for. Recently, I've been meditating on how I can bring in more money. My "Aha" came when I recognize that the universe had already been providing me with what I wanted - in small ways. Looking over the things on my desk, I noticed that I had all kinds of money just waiting to be received by me. To start, I had a $50 manufacturer's rebate to mail in; next, there were a bunch of health care receipts to submit to my group health provider for refund; and lastly, I already had a Group Health Care cheque to deposit for dental care already received and paid for. These items had been sitting around for awhile - going unnoticed and therefore their value being under appreciated by me.

It's like a light came on for me. I immediately dealt with these things and guess what ... more followed.

The first was an offer to stay for free in Mexico with an old friend and his wife at their timeshare. As you can recognize, free is always good when you're retired - it equates to saving money. This was particularly neat since we had been talking about some sort of vacation down south in either January or February earlier.

Next, I wanted to acknowledge the loss of my friend's mother by gifting her Rona Maynard's book about Mothers and Daughters. I had a particularly hectic day planned and as I was about to walk out the door got the notion to jump online and arm myself with some price checking before I left to get my actual shopping done. I couldn't believe it - 83% off. I picked up the book for $5.99 plus $10.00 to cover shipping costs. Later that day, I thought the price was so good, I should pick up another copy - no such luck - sold out. I couldn't believe that just an impulse to go online at just the right time saved me about $35 - very exciting.

My last little tale is about saving $200 at Canadian Tire. It's Saturday and my husband tells me that we missed a great sale. When I asked him to explain, he says a tool he has wanted to pick up is on sale - the sale started yesterday, however, and he figures they'll be sold out by now. Needing to return a couple of items, I told him that I would check for him. I won't go into all the details, but it was like one had been put away for me and was just waiting for pick-up. My shopping experience kept leading me to helpful store clerks who first located a store that hadn't yet run out of the tool, and then, once at the store, helped me locate the item - a small supply still left undiscovered in the storage area. It felt like a tag team effect going from one store clerk to the next ending with me getting the tool handed to me.

For most of my life, I have believed in a friendly and generous universe that is here to support us. I have recognized for myself that I often take things for granted - especially if they are routine or small. I sometimes forget that an attitude of gratefulness keeps the energies of abundance flowing my way. I sense that this was a nudge to remind me.