I have excerpted a paragraph from a well written and well thought post at Frugal Confessions.com.  I recommend reading the full article as it is very relevant to being an economic survivor. 

I have a friend who, without a tangible goal immediately in front of him, will blow all of his money. He will work for years and spend the money, think that he is doing well because he is paying the minimum on his private student loans (his only debt—though they are quite hefty at over $50,000), and fail to put anything away for the future. Guess what? Every time an opportunity arises, he is not financially prepared to take advantage of it.  He met the girl of his dreams and proposed to her, but after two years she realized that he still did not have enough saved for a wedding or to move out of his grandmother’s home, so she gave him back his ring and said that she needs a man who can financially provide for her. He was offered a fantastic job in his line of work in another state, but sadly did not have enough savings to make the move, such as the transportation and rent deposits (neither did his family). All of these situations have led him to brand himself as unlucky. But this is not luck at all. It may seem to him that for a $400 a week check, taking $50 of that and putting it in savings is ludicrous. But what he has failed to understand—thus continuing to find himself in this same pattern—is the act of putting away $50 a week into a savings account is preparation for something in the future. It will strengthen his core, thus giving him the ability to jump on an opportunity, and make luck happen.