“American climber becomes first non-Nepalese to scale Everest 10 times.” I just read this article on MSN.com today and I truly was awed by the thought of scaling Everest that many times. The amount of dedication, and courage, and strength are just amazing to me. Yet because my thoughts tend to continually come back to finances these days, I couldn’t help but think, if debt is a mountain, I wonder how many champion debt climbers there would be? How many people courageously face and climb their mountain of debt, only to circle back around and have to climb the same …
Debt vs. Savings: A Shopping Cart Dilemma
Imagine trying to grocery shop with ten children. They are all different ages with all different needs. Now these are not the nice orderly children that you sometimes see in large families, these kids are whiny, and wild. They are not there for you, they are there for themselves. And it is just you, trying to get something done… and trying to keep them happy. The little ones start to cry, the older ones are complaining, everyone wants something for themselves (that is not on your list!). At the end of the grocery shopping trip you are exhausted, frustrated, and …
A European Adventure
When my husband and I were newly married, we got a sort of crazy dream into our hearts. We dreamed of going to Europe. We knew that it would not be long before we would want to start a family and we knew that having a baby would push the dream back by a lot of years, so we decided that we would start saving and go. At the time, we were not making very much money. We were going to Bible school together and both only working part time… so not exactly wealthy… actually, far from it. But we …
Giving Your Money Purpose
When my husband and I have money in limbo, it always disappears. By money in limbo, I mean money without a purpose that we aren’t sure what to do with. Not that it’s just extra money. There will always be something that is grabbing in urgency at our money, like debt, or repairs, or dentist visits, or groceries. Something always wants that money, and unless we have a plan in place for that money, we rarely accomplish something that we really want to accomplish. It feels more like it just disappears. So in answer to this limbo disappearing act, we …
Small Beginnings
When my Mom first began saving, it was in an envelope beside her bed. She and my Dad had gotten the revelation about God blessing their storehouse, and she just knew that she had to start a storehouse no matter what. At that time, there wasn’t a lot left over each month and it seemed impossible to save. So each time my Dad would give her grocery money, she would take a percentage of that money and put it in her “storehouse” envelope. It was such a small beginning, and many people would have thought, “How is this ever going …
Garage Sale (update)
Just a quick update on the garage sale. It was a huge success, though I am truly amazed at what people will buy! My friend Katie and I had a really good time, and we are so glad we went to all of the trouble.Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. I will be back in the morning with an all new (more interesting than my garage sale) blog. See you tomorrow!
Garage Sale
I am doing such a crazy thing tomorrow. I am having a garage sale. Yes, I know that garage sales and roses don’t go together, but wouldn’t you rather look at a rose, rather than a garage? That’s what I was thinking too. My dear friend Katie and I are doing it together, and I don’t have an ounce of energy left in me for my blog! Considering how much I really love the writing and doing this blog, that is saying a lot. I have been on my feet all day, sorting and pricing and straightening our garage. Anyway, …
The Power of Agreement
So what good is a budget if you are the only one using it? What if you are trying to be budget conscious and your wife keeps handing you piles of receipts from her purse? What if your husband is constantly impulse buying, and even though you would love to be out of debt, you feel like you are powerless to do anything, or you feel like a nag because you try? How do you make a budget work when you have two very different people and personalities trying to come together in their financial life? Marriage is a lot …
Directions for the Journey
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak at a ladies retreat in New York with my Mom. It was such a fun thing to get to do together and we had a lovely time. We flew into Newark airport and were picked up by three very sweet ladies whom we had never met before and the plan was then to drive to Long Island Beach where the retreat would be held. Well, my Mom and I were in the back seat with one of the ladies in between us, and let me just say the conversation from …
Finding Balance
“God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) As we face your budget today and try to determine how to bring balance. I just want to remind you of this verse. This is the time that many people want to get into fear when it comes to their budget. Fear that there isn’t enough, fear of deprivation, fear of knowing… None of this fear is from God. He is not in your fear. Neither is He controlled by your fear. Let go of your fear of the unknown …