Investing in Family: Celebrating the Small Things

In today’s hectic world, sometimes it’s easy to overlook life’s little victories. Oftentimes, we go-go-go and forget to enjoy the journey. At other times, we budget ourselves into a corner so that we feel we cannot celebrate the small things.

Unfortunately, skimping on recognition may leave us feeling like the goal we accomplished may not have meant as much as we thought, which could leave us less inspired to tackle new goals. Thankfully, setting aside some time or money can help alleviate these feelings. Let’s take a look.

Celebrate on the Cheap

Not all celebrations must be expensive. We don’t have to throw a mega-bucks party to recognize a promotion or a t-ball victory. Instead, we can celebrate quietly with many items we already own. For example, if Junior’s team won the t-ball tournament, you might not have to take the entire team out for pizza. Why not throw a picnic and invite all of the families to bring a potluck dish? In the same line of thought, if you received a promotion, you and your family could celebrate with a special dinner in rather than an expensive dinner out.

The important thing about celebrating on the cheap is recognizing the efforts that made the victory possible. Showering the guest of honor with praise and congratulations could be just as meaningful as paying for a surf-and-turf dinner in an upscale restaurant.

Budget for Celebrations

Another way to combat the cash flow problem for celebrating life’s little things is to budget for the unexpected victories. You may already budget for the unexpected with an emergency savings account, so great job! However, you probably don’t want to rob your emergency fund to celebrate a track team victory, so setting aside additional money each month for celebrations may be a better option.

Of course, to accomplish this, you may have to find room in the budget for a little celebration slush fund. Cutting something here or there could leave you with a spare $5 per month (or more, depending on your situation) to plug a celebration-specific piggy bank.

Whatever your case in celebration funding, it’s important to enjoy the moment and let the winner shine. The entire reason for recognizing a victory is helping you or your family member stay motivated for the big and small goals to come, so have a little fun (even if your celebration isn’t elaborate!).

Photo Source