I was in the shower on Sunday morning when it dawned on me that Monday (today) was the last day of August???? Where has the summer gone too? Now technically for us, Summer can last until mid-October as September can be really nice.
I find that now hubby has retired one day passes into another, as we don't have "work" days and day's of leisure/weekend. So unless I actually look at the calendar I never know what the date is. I generally still remember what day it is....so I guess that's helpful....LOL
I had an "experience" the other day at Shopper's Drug Mart that made me truly realize how lucky hubby and I are. It was "senior's day" at Shopper's where everyone over the age of 55 could get a 20% discount on regular priced items. I went in to pick up some stuff and cash in some points as it was bonus redemption as well. In my case I cashed in 50k in points and got $70 worth of products free.
Anyhow, I was cashing out and it was a small counter. Up marched this guy with a cart and proceeded to plop all his stuff on the counter and walked off. A woman quickly came to the counter (his wife) and handed the cashier her card. At this point I hadn't even paid; something she didn't know. The cashier told her she hadn't finished with me, and of course the lady apologized as she didn't realize what had happened.
I said no worries, but feel free to pay for my order. We all laughed and she said, "luckily it's pay day for us all and we can afford to pay for all our things."
I had to think for a minute what she was on about and then I realized it was the day seniors (including us) got their pensions paid by the Government. Shopper's Drug Mart does this promotion every month to coincide with when the Government pays the State pensions; again it hadn't dawned on me why they did it.
It made me realize that we are so lucky to not have to rely on the State pensions to make ends meet. That must be so frightening to know you can't go out and buy the basic needs until your pension comes in.
I was telling my daughter in law the story and she was telling me she is part of a mum's group on Facebook and some mothers post that they need certain items because their monthly baby/child allowance hasn't come in, or asking others if their baby/child allowance has hit the bank yet as they need it to buy basics.
So feeling very grateful today to be able to pay the bills and have a roof over our head and food on the table............
11 comments:
That's an interesting story. I can well remember surviving from pay cheque to pay cheque. Balancing the pennies to make them stretch to the end of the week. I have always been paid weekly and I opted to get my pension weekly when we had a choice. My buffer is mounting up nicely now so I have no money worries now.
Years ago, I was one of those people waiting for my pay cheque to arrive, every other week. Now, I have no worries about my finances.
No on line banking for me, so on occasion I need to go to the bank. Never going at the end of the month, as it is so crowded with seniors waiting for their OAS cheque.
I hear you. I am so fortunate that I can manage and not be terribly worried.
I can't believe August is already over either.
The days really do seem to fly by.
Hopefully September brings some of that nice weather you're talking about.
Liuving pay cheque to pay cheque is really hard - we've done it when our boys were still at home. We are still really careful but it's a lot better than it used to be.
This whole year has gone so quickly! Can't believe it's the start of September tomorrow!
How are we almost in September already? It feels like just yesterday I opened the doors to my Chiropractic office. Time flies.
There are many who struggle and the use of food banks has grown in recent years.
Have a good September ... the year is flying by!
All the best Jan
I know so many people living pay check to pay check. And they don’t worry because next week they get another paycheque which is all well while you’re young and working. But when you have to rely on a measly government pension it’s going to get tuff.
Which is why I went without for so many years. To get all my loans paid off. Now if I had to live on a pension i probably could. As I don’t have any loans anymore
I remember SO many times when we were raising a family on one small paycheck that I'd go grocery shopping on Friday afternoon and write a check, knowing that I could get the check deposited later and not have the one I was writing bounce. We usually had too much month at the end of the money. Not a fun way to live.
This really makes you stop and think about how fortunate we are, and how easy it is to take that security for granted. It must be incredibly stressful to have to wait for a pension or benefit payment before you can afford the basics. I’m feeling very grateful today for the fact that we have enough to pay our bills and put food on the table without that worry.
Post a Comment