NaBloPoMo '10 - What a difference a year makes - #25

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What a difference a year makes - #25

2009: Any spare change was far from "spare." Last year, we wouldn't think of taking a pocketful of change for granted. Every last cent was carefully counted out so that we could scrape together enough to buy a gallon of milk or a few gallons of gas. It was strictly down to the last penny for everything.

Our financial crunch happened so suddenly that before we knew it, we had no reserves, no backup and no Plan B. We went from having some money to having no money. Frankly, it was a difficult adjustment to make - but one that we had to live with until we could dig our way out.

2010: Scott was so happy to put a handful of change into the piggy bank last week. Imagine, we thought, how nice it was to have 68 cents to consider "spare" again. It is such a small thing but one that really made an impact on us - reminding us not only how bad times were but how far we've come since.

The lessons we learned from 2009 will not easily be forgotten. They changed us forever. We'll never fail to take notice of even the small victories - because, under different circumstances, they might not be so small.