Last week, I was out of town with my parents helping them organize the belongings at my recently passed grandmother’s home. I will say up front that it wasn’t easy going back to her home, and know that I wouldn’t see her waiting for me at the top of the stairs to give me a big hug. I know that this sadness will pass as time goes on, and I am so grateful for all of the wonderful memories that we had shared together.
At first I found it difficult to decide what items needed to stay or go, because everything that I touched reminded me of my grandparents. I think that that I got over this feeling quickly when I started to pull out past bills that my grandmother had stored in a buffet in the dining room. Now, I always knew that my grandmother saved EVERYTHING, but I had no idea how much, because I was sorting through bills that she had kept for over 50 years! 🙂 Every utility bill, car payment, or whatever else was due that month was in that buffet! It made me chuckle a little bit, but it also reminded me of how much she valued being fiscally responsible and organized.
In the midst of all those bills, was an old, dis-colored, savings deposit booklet from the 1970’s. When I saw this, I instantly thought about the numerous times my Grams would tell me to, “put a little money away each week, $5, $10, $2o, whatever you got, because it adds up one day”! And sure enough, here it was in all it’s glory, her simple money savings advice to me. It was unbelievable how much she had saved with those tiny, weekly, deposits! I realize that this savings tip isn’t anything new, but the reality is that most people I know don’t have this type of commitment to save. Most importantly for me, is that I get to show my teenage kids and nieces, what it looks like if they follow their great-grandmother’s money saving advice and commit to put a little bit away each week and watch it grow!
(Below is just a sweet memory that I have of my Grandmother, some of her military pins)
