$ 80 Storage Unit Rent
$700 Van repairs
$ 50 Servicing James’ car
$100 New microwave
$100 Deductible for new van window
$ ? Clothes dryer repair
Not having to put any of it on a credit card:
PRICELESS
I often joke (or complain) about our 900 square feet of family love, but the truth is that it blesses us tremendously. We could not be where we are financially if it were not for this house and James’ budgeting skills. James has said for a long time, “The more you have, the more you have to maintain”. The last five years has been a down sizing process of examining what we really need before we buy it.
A friend of mine says that Wal-Mart averages about $100 an hour. That would have been true for us as well and we often spend hours at a time there. This month’s expenses on top of what we would spend to maintain our lifestyle would have done us in. Being debt free is definitely a goal worth accomplishing and we are working hard towards it. I can not tell you the piece of mind I have by not racking up the points on our credit cards. It is truly PRICELESS.
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10
24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Matthew 6:24-25
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
Kathy
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5 comments:
Kathy, wanted to say hey, I've been reading your posts for a while, and noticing your comments on other blogs. I finally decided to come out of lurking on this post. :) We recently moved into a new house, which feels huge compared to the house we used to live in, which was about the size of yours. We'd lived in it for about 3 1/2 years. I can relate to needing that privacy & alone time you were talking about on Trey's blog. One thing my husband does really well is managing our family's finances. I'm actually the one that keeps track of what we have and where it all goes, but Dan sets the budget for us (because he's MUCH better at that than I am), and he is easily able to live on very little, which I have trouble with. I have learned so much from him, and it's because of his money managing that we are able to afford a bigger house, and that is our only debt, besides about $7,000 left of student loans. It is such a blessing to not have the burden of credit card debt on our shoulders.
Sorry for the long comment, but just wanted to share that I can commiserate with your small space, and I admire you for your sacrifice, and that of your family, to remain debt-free.
I'll be back. :)
Lisa,
I am glad you will be back. I enjoy your comments. I should have mentioned that we lived in a 3500 sq foot house before this one and before that it was a 1000 square foot apartment, before that they varied from 1500-2500. Our last house drove me crazy because I had learned to live well in less and it became a monstrasity of maintence. This house actually belongs to one of our churches and they were embarrassed to offer for us to live in it when it became available. We shocked them by accepting it and we are so glad we did. We are looking forward to having a third bedroom for my son, a garage, and a fenced backyard. Besides that, we are willing to make small work again.
By the way, did you see Oprah yesterday? It was on making small work. She does a great job occasionally.
Kathy
Isn't it funny, every time I think, 'These new rugs are just what I need,' I get them and 2 days later it is something else that I truly 'need'. It is true, no matter what you have it isn't enough. Figuring out what you 'need' and what you 'want' is a step in the right direction.
I'm very proud that you and James are working together to accomplish being debt free. Keep it up!
Kathy ... you guys are so wise with your money. And you are right ... it's priceless.
Kathy and James, I am so glad I finally figured out how to get into the blog. I enjoyed all that I have read so far. Tears came to my eyes when I read the "Priceless" one. I am so proud of both of you for working so hard to not live above your means. I love seeing the way God has worked in your life.
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