Falling Through Spiderwebs | brokeGIRLrich
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about spider webs, which, I totally get, is pretty weird.
It started because I was sure there was some scene in the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings where the hobbits crash through a forest and fall through a ton of spider webs and then get stuck in one.
Turns out – not exactly what happens in the movie and my rattled brain was just remembering the scene wrong, but here’s why I was thinking about spider webs.
If you think of a vertical tunnel with a bunch of giant spider webs going across it and you fall in …
I am now realizing this is literally the stuff of nightmares, but bare with me …
You’ll fall through some of the spider webs. You’ll just shoot right through and destroy them. But assuming they’re moderately strong webs, if there are enough of them, you’d eventually slow down and finally come to a halt.
In a spider web. And probably get eaten by an alarming large spider – but that’s neither here nor there in this analogy.
As a matter of fact, let’s imagine the spider is Charlotte. Charlotte’s Web actually holds a really special place in my heart as my first show ever in theater, so I really don’t think Charlotte would eat any of us. She’d just be happy she stopped our fall and then help us get out of her web, right?
The spider on the left. NOT the spider on the right.
ANYWAYS.
The reason I’ve been thinking about spider webs is that it’s been a rough few months.
In February, a tour fell through. And I went from what should’ve been 2 months of (likely) my highest income for the year to next to nothing.
In March and April, I worked two fun but pretty low paying jobs.
In April, I hurt my shoulder and had to go to the emergency room. $$$$$
In May, the stomach ache and chest pains I’ve been having for months just got to be too much, so I went to a doctor to have them checked. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
In May, I moved to New York and had to start paying rent. I also had to do things like buy groceries and toilet paper and a bazillion other little expenses that all add up. $$$$$$+$$$+$$+$$+$+$$$$
In May, I went to Las Vegas for a bachelorette party. $$$$$
In June, my car insurance payment is due for 2017. $$$$$
I am literally drowning in bills right now. My stress level is way higher than normal, but it’s also because I just like my finances to be a certain way and they’re just not right now.
So – how does this relate to Charlotte or freaking terrifying Shelob?
I feel like the first web I fell through was my checking account. And I shot right though that sad sucker. It’s really a rare day over the last few years that I don’t have between $500-$1,000 just sitting in it, but lately, I’m lucky if it’s $100.
The next web I shot through was my savings accounts for specific things like my cousin’s bridesmaid fund or my car insurance savings that weren’t quite the same amount as my bill for the year because I’m an idiot who speeds and gets speeding tickets. This left me a little rattled because I almost always over save and instead, both of those accounts came up short.
But the point of this post is that the next web actually caught me. I mean, I put a solid dent in my emergency savings web, but it caught me.
And the point of this post is to encourage you to make sure that when you fall, you have multiple webs set up to catch you too.
Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m super privileged to be able to have all those webs, but I also worked my butt off to build each one of them.
Even now that all the money issues are now behind me, I’m back in rebuilding mode. I got a part time job to rebuild each of those webs quicker. I’m more focused on my budget that I’ve been in a long time.
And I’m pretty proud of weathering a season of big storms so well.
So now I have two important questions for you:
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Do you have multiple webs set up to catch you in a season of financial failures?
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Do you think you could escape Shelob (she is freaking terrifying)?
I swear I have seen something like that in some movie too! Or maybe multiple movies…..I think something like that happens in the Trolls movie, but I remember seeing it in another movie but can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, I like how you compare our different levels of money & savings to spiderwebs that eventually catch up to us. I have a savings account for car expenses, one for home expenses and an emergency fund. None of them are where I’d like them to be, but I am working my way up to that point. I would be okay financially if we had a small emergency, but I’m not sure if I would be if we had the snowball (or web-fall) that you have been through this year. But doesn’t it feel so much better that you had that money in place? I hope you can get back on track the rest of the year and build up that cushion (those webs) again.
It absolutely does feel better that I had the money in place. I remind myself of that constantly. But it’s also a little of that two steps forward, one step back exasperation feeling too.
You most certainly have worked hard to have all those safety webs and I’m glad they caught you. I’ve got multiple layers of webs as well, and while I haven’t ever fallen to the bottom web, there have been times when I thought I might. Rebuilding is one of those things not often discussed with emergency funds and other accounts, but it’s a critical part of the process after you inevitably need to use them.
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…Why Senior Citizens Want to Stay in the Workplace
Your frame of mind is very solid. Some people would be comfortable back at zero or $100, but you have learned a different habit. The discomfort and decision to build those spider webs now, will pay off, and you will hit periods where there is string of stuff going right instead of wrong. Hang in there.
I love this analogy! (But thank God the pics are of spiders and not snakes…or I’d have to throw this laptop in the fire…)
I don’t have as many layers of webbing as I’d like due to paying off debt like our hair’s on fire. But once that’s done, the plan is to add in more layers of savings to keep trouble at bay. And I’m pretty out of shape, so I doubt I’d escape that spider. Yikes.
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family recently posted…5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week 82
Sorry you’ve been having a rough 2017, Mel. It can seem so unfair when you get a cascade effect like that, and stress can add so quickly to the overall situation.
That’s a great way of explaining the Emergency fund, why it’s there, and when to use it, though. And also, why it’s so important to start building your webs up again as soon as possible.
Emily @ JohnJaneDoe recently posted…How to Become a Millionaire: Jon’s 10-Minute Speech to New Grads
I have some webs, but not nearly enough. 2017 has been an interesting year for me so far. There has been some ups and downs when it comes to my finances. I should have things going in the right direction now.
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I’d probably freeze in the face of Shelob. My webs have been thinking lately, too. Health insurance and contracts falling through at the last second. Anxiety inducing for sure, but hoping something will work out soon where I can start rebuilding them in a bigger way.
Femme Frugality recently posted…What’s My Best Path to Wedding Savings?
Hope things look up. At the risk of sounding ancient, one tthing you hope happens as you get older is that you have more room in your budget for discretionary spending as well as more back-up funds if something happens. We are in a position to weather a lot of unexpected stuff, but that is because the expected doesn’t take anywhere close to all our income.
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What a great analogy-but I’m sorry that you’ve needed so many webs lately. I think this is something my mom inadvertently subscribed to. She always had stashes of cash, or extra bank accounts or savings bonds, or jewelry to sell just in case she needed the money. The stashes were always out of sight so there was no temptation to spend them, but fairly available should an emergency show up.
I have a couple layers of webs (checking account buffer, savings account, credit cards, beneficiary accounts) but they aren’t as hardy as I would like them to be.
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