Budget Smarts

I am back to e-blogger! The thing I liked about Xanga is no longer available- so here I am.


Saving Money #1

I've decided to write about budgets and saving money for a while. I find the topic very important. It's very near to my heart. I'm not sure quite yet WHY it is, but it is. I see so many people hurting financially. I hurt with them. I see so many moms that want to stay home but can't. My heart breaks with them. Of course there are plenty of moms that DON'T want to and I can see why. Believe me. I can see why someone wouldn't want to do that, hehe. But for some reason, I do. And many other women do, too. Yes, there are moms who are the sole provider or are single, etc. But there is a small part of me that thinks that more moms (that want to) could stay home if they made some changes in how they used their money.

For me it isn't that hard b/c I've always been a saver. When my sister and I were kids, we would get Christmas money from Grandma. I would save mine. She would spend hers. I don't know why, but part of me is naturally frugal and a saver. I'm being honest when I think that's just how God designed me.

When Aaron and I got married, we set up a computerized budget not long after. It was good and really interesting to see where we were spending our money. You can categorize your budget however you want and there are a lot of options. Some of our categories are groceries, gas,savings, eating out, utilities, toiletries, rent (then mortgage), etc. Some new categories we've added recently are a BABYSITTING fund b/c it really is nice to get out of the house just the two of us a couple times a month and since we don't have family in town, we have to pay a sitter. We also added a hospitality fund for hosting things or bringing food to events so it didn't seem like a burden and was more of a privilege. I got that idea at a women's conference recently.

Regardless of what categories one chooses, the important thing is to know how you're spending your money. Look at your income, then allocate money to bills and different areas accordingly. If you do this, you aren't spending money you don't have. It can keep you from falling into the trap of our country and going into DEBT!! I hate that word. Debt really is restrictive. If you want to be a SAHM (Stay at home mom) or just want to stop being mastered by your finances, get out of debt ASAP! Start a budget!

Take into consideration that I am ultra conservative with money at times. Not always, but in some sense, yes. Which is good b/c Aaron works hard to bring home a paycheck every month and I work hard to spend it wisely! And when I was working and we lived in our apartment, we tried to live off of just one income in preparation for having a baby and save as much as possible. God has really blessed us us.
That said, If I had a debt to pay off (college, car, credit card, etc.), I think I'd rather go without certain things (like cable, smart phones, nice clothes, new danskos, a trip to Japan, etc.) and put that money towards the debt. I know, I'm WEIRD!! A very low percentage of people would actually do this. But what if....... people really did this??

What if we lived within our means?!?! Imagine what could happen. Interesting concept. More to come. This is one of my favorite verses in regards to how God would have us use our money:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth. With the first fruits of all your crops; then your bars will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9-10

What does honoring the Lord with your money mean? Could be different for each person. Not something I can tell you. But I think I know what it looks like for us right now and we continue to pray to be wise stewards of our resources and money.