Are You a Grasshopper or an Ant?
Posted by Gail | Filed under Uncategorized
Remember the story Aesop wrote about the grasshopper and the ant?
In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “We have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger – while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.
So, are you a grasshopper or an ant?
Grasshoppers don’t save; ants do. Ants know that the bounty of summer is followed by the deprivation of winter, and if you don’t have something stashed away for those cold, barren days, you’re going to have a sore tummy.
Grasshoppers don’t plan; ants do. Grasshoppers are of the opinion that there’s nothing much to worry about, bad things don’t happen to good people, all will be well, and you have to live for today. Ants know that crap happens to everyone, you better make sure your ass is covered just in case, and your larvae aren’t going to get to university if you don’t help them by setting up an education savings plan the minute they hatch.
Grasshoppers get drunk and pass out; ants sleep well. Ultimately, when the caca hits the fan and they have no resources, grasshoppers over-indulge is self-loathing and recriminations and hide in the bottom of a bottle, in a doobie, or some other form of distraction. Ants, who have planned like pessimists, know they’ve taken every precaution and sleep like babies.
Grasshoppers love their toys; ants love their freedom of choice. Sure a big-screen TV is nice. And getting another vehicle before the new-car smell has worn off sounds like fun. But stuff doesn’t replace options when it comes to dealing with changes in the economic weather. If the ant loses his job in a economic downturn, having a stash of corn at the ready means he won’t have to panic. In the meantime, that grasshopper will be wondering how much he can get for his year-old snowmobile.
Grasshoppers compare themselves to others; ants measure how close they are to reaching their goals. All those guys doing the no-money-down, 35-year-mortgage thing so they can get into an even bigger house than their cousin, brother, friend, business partner, next-door neighbour, whomever, are grasshoppers. Ants know that they should only buy as much house as they need, and the goal should be to pay off the mortgage, not simply pay it down so you can borrow against the equity yet again.
I’m an ant. What are you?
January 1, 2010 at 10:46 am
I am an ant! Happy New Year everyone!
January 1, 2010 at 10:47 am
In my youth, I was probably a grasshopper out of sheer ignorance. But I am now firmly planted in the ant hill and that really helped us during some tumultuous times this past year. Our income took a big hit and we were able to manage because of money stored away and used to pay down debt during the more prosperous years we have recently enjoyed.
Happy New Year to all!
January 1, 2010 at 10:50 am
Happy New Year Gail! Seems we two ants are the only ones up and about this a.m.? LOL.
Hubby and I have been ants from the get-go. Both our children talk about how we never sit…we are always jumping up to do something. We both work hard. I’m more anal in that I am super organized about most things.
We, or should I say I, had my grasshopper moments however. That would be why I had to have house renovations before saving for them. That would also be why we started a LOC and things got added to it and paid for over the past 25 or so years.
I’m happy being an ant. It’s hard to keep quiet watching some grasshoppers I know though. Slow and steady wins the race….yes, I’m a turtle too.
January 1, 2010 at 11:38 am
[...] This post was Twitted by payingmyself [...]
January 1, 2010 at 3:24 pm
I think… I’m an ant.
I like to save. I like having money in the bank. It makes me a happy girl.
January 1, 2010 at 3:26 pm
90% ant, 10% grasshopper. A girl’s got to have a little (planned for, paid for) fun.
January 1, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I’m pleased to say I’m an Ant!
January 1, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Happy New Year Gail and Family!
I hope this year is filled with much peace, love and happiness!
January 1, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Used to be a grasshopper, but now we are ants in a big way!
January 1, 2010 at 4:09 pm
I’m with Riann – 90% ant, 10% grasshopper…
January 1, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I’m an ant, the Queen ant of our little anthill. And we set up RESP’s the minute our larvae hatched and got SIN’s. Happy New Year everyone, may you not need to use your emergency fund this year.
January 1, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I am, intellectually, an ant, with grasshopper tendencies. Unfortunately, the school of hard knocks has “knocked” me right into a cesspool of crap after a particularily hard divorce. I’m praying that this new year will be the turnaround point for me.
January 1, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Just yesterday my husband and I were talking about how it would be so nice to get back even half of the money we spent in bars in our younger days…and if we had saved it all instead we’d be set for life. We definately were Grasshoppers, and are now learning to be Ants.
Fortunately we have earning ability that enables us to only regret past foolishness (and value the lesson learned), rather than truly suffer today from the decisions back then.
January 1, 2010 at 7:49 pm
i’m a freaky bug hybrid who can manage to take the best of both qualities and make a super bug. i’m not super myself, but ants don’t have any fun either, work work work. the grasshopper in me likes to enjoy the fruits of my labour and live in the now while the ant in me is satisfied with the safety net and responsible spending that got me to the happy place i’m in now.
a pure ant would burn out to soon without any enjoyment in life.
January 1, 2010 at 8:56 pm
I am an ant. And I have finally realized I would have it no other way.
January 1, 2010 at 10:28 pm
You have made me the Ant I am Gail !! Many many thanks for changing me !!
January 1, 2010 at 10:52 pm
A grasshopper for most of my life (too many years!) now learning to become an ant, thanks to Gail. Before, what was I thinking?
January 1, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Well over a year ago – thanks to our dear Gail – the ant started to prevail. Thank goodness…for those of you thinking of starting an emergency fund – DO IT NOW! Learn from me…December not only brought beautiful Christmas with family, friends and many, many blessings..it brought a reasssessment from Revenue Canada to the tune of $1200 and a vehicle repair bill of $1400. Yup both in Dec – Merry Christmas to me! At least, the ONLY reassuring thing about this is that because I had my emergency fund we could weather this financial storm…last year would’ve been a different story… I’m sickened to see my hard earned fund depleted however at least we had it to begin with…the rebuilding starts again.
I’d also like to add this year’s Christmas extravaganza was fully paid for in cash…last year would’ve seen hundreds on Visa…I was thinking of posting this in the sucesss post area (would’ve loved to make the book draw)…not because we’re completely out of debt…working on it…but to show the little successes…since the ant/grasshopper reappeared perhaps this is the best place afterall…the emergency fund that was my saving grace and no christmas shopping hangover..a first for both.
Happy New Year everyone…I love reading your inpiring stories and to our queen of inpiration Ms Gail…thank you, thank you…here’s to good health and healthy bank accounts in 2010. God Bless
Lisa
January 2, 2010 at 12:50 am
Total Grasshopper with a tinge of Anthood developing.
January 2, 2010 at 8:17 am
@chubby bunny
Your statement contradicts itself.
Don’t hope this year will be better, plan for it. That was the point of the fable.
January 2, 2010 at 4:02 pm
@Chero – thanks, but what I meant was that I am praying that I will finally be coming out of the nastiness of life’s disappointments and that after three years of emotional distress and feeling like the world is caving in around me, the sun might come out. I understand the “point of the fable”, and all the advice that Gail gives here, and I’ve been following it all to the very best of my ability, but sometimes crap happens in life that you don’t have control over (like cheating husbands). I have a solid plan in place for my rebound, and I plan on being better than ever by the end of the year.
January 2, 2010 at 4:50 pm
@chubby bunny
Best wishes for an amazing 2010! Hang in there!
January 2, 2010 at 5:22 pm
My ant and grasshopper personalities are constantly fighting!!
My ant is slowly emerging as the winner, tho’.
And the more $$ I see in my bank account, the stronger my ant gets as I know how hard I have to work to get the money there in the first place.
Good luck, Chubby Bunny. Things will get easier for you and you will realize you are stronger than you ever knew!!
January 2, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Thanks Catherine and Diana – I really do appreciate the well-wishes and support. I AM a tough cookie, I’ll get through it……Just watch me build my ant hill!!!
January 2, 2010 at 11:10 pm
I am a grasshopper. Want to be an ant!
If my husband leaves me, then I might be an ant sooner.
Leslie the grasshopper
January 3, 2010 at 12:13 am
Chubby Bunny…Its been 3 years for me as well…I got the house, the rrsp’s and all the debt, a lot of which was the result of his spending on his girlfriend…well thanks to Gail and all the great people posting here I am a few months away from paying off a $60, 000 debt…being an ant has been very good for me…my first goal after the debt is gone is to treat myself to a few days of being a grasshopper …in cash of course…Hang in there Bunny cause this too shall pass, best wishes for a great New Year!!!
January 3, 2010 at 11:40 am
Chubby Bunny, been there done that! But I have found – the best revenge is living well. I now make more money than the ex, and have a more secure life; that in itself is worth the years of crap. I have become an ant, and probably always was deep down, although sometimes there are grasshopper tendencies. After a year of Gail classes, I now know how to recover from the grasshopper antics, and even prepare ahead of time for the deliberate hops. Good living to all for the New Year, may it be what you want it to be.
January 3, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I am pure ant now, and really enjoying seeing my money grow in the bank. I am a single Mom of three (yes 3!) teenagers, so life is hard trying to keep the expenses down, they are all in adult size stuff and there are no discounts when we go anywhere as all kids are over 13. But with lots of creativity and planning, I’m learning how to budget and make them happy too. I think 2010 will be a good year, and I hope it is for everyone else too. Thanks Gail, you really are wonderful sharing with us all the great tips and advice on ways to improve our lives. x
January 3, 2010 at 2:20 pm
I am a 42 yr old Stupid romantic GRASS HOPPER. I have not been financially happy for a very long long time. Your financial savvy has helped channel my inner SUPER SAVVY ANT I am now in the know in knowing who I owe how much I owe the differrence in wants and needs. I admit I bought my mason jars a shelf to put it in (I did buy fake money and use it as a physical aid representing my money that is safe in the bank) living in a cash world is not easy but in the end of the day i find a comfort in seeing my money jars. Thank you for lighting my darkness. WHY CAN’T Americans view your videos?
January 3, 2010 at 9:54 pm
@Kim and Suzanne – I left everything behind, and I mean EVERYTHING. I walked out with my car (2001) and the clothes on my back. Oh, except I got all the debt because it was my CCs. I even left my children behind because I was making minimum wage and had to go back to school to get a trade to support myself (I knew I couldn’t take care of them at the time). Now that I am done school, and have a decent paying job, albeit 10 grand in debt, I am going to court this month to try and get at least 1/2 custody of my kids. I am sad to admit that I have nothing but bitterness in my heart for him. The bastard is even taking ME to court to try and get $1300/month for child support (after my rent, I only have $1480 left to pay all my bills. If he wins any kind of child support, I will have to file for bankruptcy. I don’t have even one friend that I turn to for support, which is why I am grateful for the ppl that I meet in forums such as this one.
January 4, 2010 at 11:53 am
Chubby Bunny, your ex is blowing smoke. Not sure what your rent is, but child support is based on income/number of kids. When my ex was ordered to pay, he was making$48K+, and for two teenage boys, I got less than $600/month, which he kept whittling down to suit his situations. Towards the end, he was paying $100 month for the last son, ‘because he could get a part time job to help support himself” while in school. It wasn’t worth the stress to me to take him to Maintenance Enforcement to recoup the $$ he owed. I hope all goes well for you, but go into this prepared with information on averages based on income. Good luck…
January 4, 2010 at 1:09 pm
As one of the few men on this forum (it seems predominantly female) I just want to apologize a bit on behalf of my gender and ask that not all readers think that all fathers are negiligent towards their children. – Not that anyone here has suggested that all men are like that at all, just as a dad I hear a lot of first-hand stories like those above, and fail to understand the mindset that could condone behavior like not providing for one’s children.
January 4, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Suzanne – Unfortunately, this time it’s the Child Support Guidelines that are out of whack. I make $46000/year, which brings me $2816/month take home. We have six children (yes, they are all OURS – no his or hers). The Federal Guidelines say that if he has sole custody of all six of them, I have to pay him $1310/month.
2816 take home minus
1310 support minus
1135 rent
means that I would only have $371 to pay all my bills (utilities, transportation, food, clothing…..EVERYTHING). Like I said, I would have to declare bankruptcy on my CCs, and with only $370, I can forget about access to my kids, because I won’t have any $$$$ to do anything with them. I could change my rental situation (I currently have a two bedroom apartment, nothing fancy) and move into a bedroom in someones home, but still, how do I have six children over to visit? I just have to stand strong and hope that the Judge gives us shared custody. The ex is fighting shared custody, because he knows that if I get it, he will have to pay ME. Sad that he’s putting his finance/material wealth ahead of the wellbeing of the children or supporting their relationship with their mother.
January 4, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Geoff – I am absolutely not man-bashing in any way. I know that there are plenty of men out there who would jump through flames for their children. Even my own ex, while he sucked as a husband, loves our children very much, and tries very hard to be a good father. My comments on this site are truly only meant to detail my extreme frustration and (almost) despair at the current financial state that I am in, one which I don’t feel is entirely my fault. Life has kicked me hard in the teeth, but I intend to do the very best I can with the hand I’ve been dealt.
Please don’t think I’m a man-hater. I’m really not. In fact, if you know any good single 40 somethings…send him over, cause I’m getting a little lonely…..jk
January 4, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Geoff…though your “apology” was very gentlemanly it was not necessary, I’m sure even those of us who have been burned by our men still realize that most men are decent and bad behavior isn’t just men’s domain. Still I do appreciate the attitude and thoughtful comments the few men on this sight make…keep up the good work guys!
January 5, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Chubby Bunny – I an in no way meant to imply that you had made some sort of general criticism at all. Not my intention, Kim got my intention
I would however wonder if your husband thinks it’s a good thing for his kids to see their mom, whom they love, put through such hell. Does he need the money, or is he punishing you? If he needs the money, maybe you can work something out. If not, then he should see that what happens to you, affects your kids. I feel for you and your kids and your ex too. Best, -Geoff.
January 5, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Geoff – thank you for the kind words – I appreciate it. My ex is simply bitter and vengeful that I left him. He was a control freak when we were together, and now he knows that the only way he has of hurting me is to use the children and to hurt me financially. He doesn’t need the money. Last year he made 101,000 from his work, plus 12000 in the Child Tax Benefit. He also has subsidized housing because he’s military and lives on Base. After he pays his rent (which is less than mine, and he has a five bedroom home on a double lot), he has over 6000 dollars take home in disposable income. And no, he doesn’t care that the children can see the way he treats me – he actually trashes me on Facebook, and four of the children are his facebook friends, so they can read when he says he can’t wait for our court date and how he’s going to drive a stake through the vampires heart and he’s going to make sure that he keeps residency of them.
I’m trying very hard to believe that the judge will see what’s going on and make a ruling that will be in the best interests of the children. I’m a good person, and I’ve worked very hard to get back on my feet, put myself through school and start anew. I love my children with all my heart, and my very soul cries over what’s become of our family. Thanks for letting me vent, as I’ve send in other posts, I really have nobody to talk to.
January 6, 2010 at 5:16 am
chubby bunny, if your ex is publicly trashing you on Facebook, that can work to your advantage. Government agencies are already using the site for things like WCB fraud – ppl posting pics of waterskiing, for example, when they are off work with a ‘back’ injury. My niece has a whole whack of text messages where her estranged husband is beyond vulgar in his name calling, etc. Also, if your ex is military, make sure that he cannot take your kids out of the country without your permission. IMHO, use his spitefulness to your advantage. Good luck.
January 8, 2010 at 12:18 am
[...] Gail Vaz-Oxlade asks readers if they are grasshoppers or ants. [...]
January 11, 2010 at 1:00 am
I’m both at times… but I strongly believe in taking my profits before diving down to where I began or worse!
April 8, 2010 at 5:39 am
[...] Life, like the markets, seems to have cyclical peaks and valleys. A good rule of thumb is to be the ant. If you’re experiencing a run of good luck, make provisions for when your luck turns. Chances [...]