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There’s this funny thing that happens to me when the sun comes out. I just HAVE to be outside! We have been waiting for this for what seems like FOREVER! I got my hands in the dirt!!!! We’ve done laps around the block!!!! Sometimes I just sit on the porch and BE!!!! So this is how it has been nearly a month and a half since my last blog entry. That and I’ve also been loving facebook. People actually talk to me more over there and I LOVE talking to people.
Lots of craziness has been going on in our life. We were on the verge of thinking about investing in rental property when the Lord decided it was time for both our over ten year old vehicles to blow transmissions in one week. SHEEEEESH!!!!! So after about a week and a half of car borrowing and living in denial that this was happening we headed over to Crazy Cheap Cars and bought us two sets of some nice used but reliable wheels. I can hear the gasps in the audience. Trust me, we are by no means interested in keeping up with the Joneses but it had to be done. Yes, we prayed about it and proceeded with caution. I am mortified at the thought of transitioning from no car payments to two, but nonetheless cars were not raining from heaven that week so there you have it.
I must take this opportunity to brag on my husband. We have had our fair share of keeping those two old vehicles operative on a budget. The man blows my mind away! Just as soon as as I thought “surely this would be too much for him to fix in the driveway”, he’d be disassembling and going on line to order parts and getting all black handed and…. well maybe a little cursing, but really who could blame the poor guy. BUT he would emerge victorious squeezing another month or two out of the rust bucket until the next thing. That’s why I call him my big strong handy man. So let’s just say THE MAN HAS DONE HIS TIME! When you get to the point where you’re taking days off of work to perform contortions under the car all day and the boss is telling you “you need a more reliable vehicle” and the transmission blows….enough is enough!
So how will we be making those payments? God only knows. I have cried many tears wondering if this will be the straw that breaks the homemaker’s back. I want to be in the Lord’s will everyday of my life. For some mothers that means being at home and for others that means going to work. I would 1000% rather be at home. And I don’t say that to be lazy because this momma is by no means lazy. If there is some way that God could bless me with a job that could use my skill set but tolerate my priorities then I would be obliged. If I could work from home that would be even better. Of course my human eyes can not see that as a possibility, but I serve an almighty God who is not limited by any impossibility.
So for now I am banking on God’s promises. “And my God will supply all your needs according to his glorius riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
A few other things consuming my time lately have been my boys extra curricular activities. It was inconcievable when my troopers were preschoolers how our evenings would be utterly consumed once they are all in school. I recently filled in all of Jon’s games and practices, all of Anthony’s and Nathan’s (on the same team THANK GOD) games and practices, all of Kenny’s concerts, practices, and marching dates. There are maybe two or three week nights in May that are NOT taken by one of these. Now I know it is not socially acceptable by some to complain about things like this, but I just can’t help myself! Don’t get me wrong. I am glad for these opportunities to be an active part of our community and I know the boys will cherish these memories forever. And it is a season. But there is NO FREAKIN WAY I would want to live like this all year round!!!!!!
I can hear all the mothers of preschoolers saying “I’m not going to do all that…NO WAY!” Oh you just wait! Your kids will drive you absolutely batty if they don’t have at least ONE of these little extra activities on their calendar. I know, you want to lock them in a box and throw away the key so they will never find out these inticing social events exsist….kinda the same way you tried to keep them from finding out about candy, but sooner or later they WILL find out. And when that time comes, get out your calendar and your check book because it’s self sacrifice time baby!!! LOL!
I was preparing to do a talk at the women’s conference at Northgate later this month, but it has been canceled so I’ve decided to post some of the content of the presentation here instead. Saving money was the topic I was asked to address. With the economy as chaotic as it’s been, most people have been frantic to cut costs.
To open, I planned to read a story. There is a children’s book by Max Lucado that I love to read to the children. It’s called You Are Mine. Punchinello is a small wooden character who lives in Wemmicksville with other Wemmicks who are made of wood as well. All were carved by Eli, the Wemmick-maker. This book describes how the Wemmicks got caught up in a crazy competition to see who could accumulate the best and the biggest and the most and the highest collection of boxes and balls until finally Punchinello stumbled into Eli’s workshop. Eli gently corrected Punchinello and reassured him that all those things did not make him important. He is special simply because he belongs to Eli. It’s a precious story that challenges us to realize the core of our self worth is in Jesus, not in the materialistic race that our world lures us into.
The very first step we need to make towards saving money is to ground our self worth in eternal matters. Sometimes saving money isn’t necessarily getting a good deal, it’s choosing not to spend the money at all. This is VERY hard to remember because often it’s so easy to go with the flow of what everyone else is doing and you’re afraid of what others will think of you if you’re the only who says “no.” Surrendering our reputation and image to the carvings of the creator has the potential to impact our world far beyond the exhausting efforts we attempt to put in on our own. It’s a humbling journey, but far worth the eternal reward.
How about you? Are you exhausted by materialism? What are you saying “no” to?
During the months following Christmas and looking forward to tax returns and tax relief everyone is on the search for ways to save money. This past week our MOPS group had an excellent penny pincher speak to us. Her name is Jen Berry. She owns Jen’s Berry Patch (a consignment boutique) here in Batavia and coordinates the Mother Time Marketplace. You can check her out at jenberry@organizethislife.com or www.mothertimemarketplace.com
After she shared some resources with us, our mothers shared their favorite money saving tips. There was a massive sea of .com tips that everyone shared. Below is a list of the ones I managed to catch. Hope this helps you in your journey to financial stability.
money management tools:
www.budgettracker.com
www.simpleplanning.com
www.budgetorganizer.com
www.mint.com
www.crown.org (one woman shared that she worked with an advisor named Paul Burdick for FREE from this organization)
college savings:
www.AIMInvestments.com
www.SavingforCollege.com
www.Upromise.com
Others:
www.grocerygame.com has coupon tips
www.gasbuddy.com helps you find the cheapest gas in your zip code
www.paperbackswap.com shares how to exchange books with others
www.half.com find stuff cheap
www.freecycle.com find stuff for free
View your credit report:
www.CreditReport.com
www.FreeCreditReportsInstantly.com
If you were at the meeting and caught some others that I missed, please feel free to leave them in a comment. What are some of your money saving tips?
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