Moneywise

I recently listened to a CD about learning to avoid materialism, and then today at church I listened to a lesson on becoming financially secure. There were a few ideas that really stuck. I used to think that the amount of money you make determines your financial security and to a certain point your peace of mind. I think I was wrong.

When we moved here, our income rose quite a bit, and we started to live the good life. I bought whatever we wanted from the grocery store, we ate out at all the restaurants in town (of course, that isn't too hard to do). We bought a bunch of nice new furniture, put new carpet in the house, traveled like we never had before, got cable and unlimited long-distance..... We were making more money, and we could do whatever we wanted...I thought.

After two years of this I realized that we were living on the edge of our income and were carrying a balance on our credit card each month. We managed to pay the balance each month, but then we were cash-poor and couldn't pay that months' bills without putting a few expenses on the credit card. The red flags started coming out, and I realized that something drastically needed to change.

I called my sister who has always been good at managing her money and asked how she did her budget. I wish I had learned her plan back when I was in college. I think it would have benefited me and I wouldn't have wasted as much money on frivolous things. I'm just grateful that we learned our lesson earlier than later. We started living on our budget and in three months we got our credit cards paid off. Then we started getting our savings built up. I learned that all the possessions and dinners out don't compensate for the stress that comes from being in debt. It was such a liberating feeling to stop worrying about how we were going to make the next months payments.

I've learned that it's not how much money you make but how you spend it that matters. I think we don't need to feel bad for having "things" but we should enjoy them and appreciate them. Also, we should share what we have with others.

A friend of mind told me a story today about when she was growing up. They lived in a trailer for a while with only one room for 8 kids. The kids all shared one large mattress. She said her mom made her feel special by putting their pictures up on the wall and making them all their own special pillow case. I know plenty of kids who have every toy imaginable and aren't any happier than this girl with her family.

I am trying to simplify our life and our home and decide what is most important and what is of little consequence. When we have too many "things" to preoccupy us, we spend less time with our family. I would rather have less things to clean up and more time to read with my children.

Recently we bought a new car to fit our growing family. It felt really good to pay for it without taking on new debt. I regret some of the purchases I made in the past, and hope that I have learned my lesson. I'm going to really try to enjoy what we have without coveting those around me, give thanks in all things, and be generous with those who have unmet needs.