Of Courage and Carnivals

Once again, I am awed by the number of bloggers out there who share such fantastic information and insights with the rest of us on our personal finance journey. I've been perusing three carnivals this week and thought I would pick out a few articles that highlight something I've been thinking a lot about lately: courage.

Courage
It takes courage to make changes in your life.
It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone.
It takes courage to look at yourself and admit you've been making mistakes.
It takes courage to keep pushing through even when things are really hard.

Congratulations to all of you who are working courageously towards your goals.


Where I Need Courage

The gaping courage-hole in my life is my resistance to stepping out of my comfort zone. For some reason I have decided that most DIY projects are too much for me. If I could just muster up the courage to learn a few skills and not be so afraid, I could definitely save a few hundred more dollars every year.

At the Carnival of Money Stories, Getting Out Of Debt writes about a simple car repair that I don't yet have the courage to handle. I've Paid For This Twice Already talks about a simple dryer vent repair that I would have spent way too much money on.

At the Festival of Frugality, A Dollar a Day asks what unnecessary expense is worth it to you? I have a few that I could give up if I had the courage to deal with the inconvenience of creating and adjusting to a new routine.

Big Courage
There are some things that require tremendous courage. It is when we tap into this "big courage" that we begin to find out what we're really made of. These posts from the Carnival of Personal Finance might give you some food for thought .

My Two Dollars reminds us that we are not our "stuff". How many of us base our identities on our possessions because we're too afraid to look ourselves squarely in the mirror?

A Dollar a Day is reflecting on some emotional issues surrounding money. As women, many of us have been raised to reject our power and it is going to take a lot of courage to reclaim it.


I've only pulled out a few articles here but I highly recommend that you check out the rest of the great entries at the following sites:

Carnival of Money Stories at College of Cash
Festival of Frugality at Mighty Bargain Hunter
Carnival of Personal Finance at The Financial Blogger