One of my current frustrations surrounds what I refer to as the "it's only" habit that an organization I volunteer with has a habit of falling into all too often. As in, "it'll only take an extra few minutes" that drags a meeting on for another hour. Or, "it's only $X per person" when each individual person in the group didn't have a say in the cost in the first place and may not have budgeted for said expense.
Many of the women I volunteer with in this organization are in professions that traditionally make good salaries or otherwise are a part of a duel income household where the combined income is at a good rate. These same women forget that some of us live on just our income. An income in middle-management at a non-profit that is anything but "good". An income that pays for the necessities and a few of the "luxuries" but that isn't as expendable as others.
While I'm fortunate to have some savings and am by no means destitute, at the same time, I do have to be mindful of what I spend. Especially since I just bought a new house with the costs that come with moving and setting up a new home. A home that went from a condo to a single family house. And, it is afterall the Christmas season and I'm buying gifts for my family which is where my current extra money is going.
But how do you tell those who are better off that coming up with that extra time and money just isn't always possible? How do we remind them that what may be "only" an extra hour or an extra $25 to them may mean cutting out some of the basics for us?
I guess sometimes going along with what we aren't comfortable doing is really the "only" option available to us.
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