Over the last four years, my husband and I are very blessed to have paid off a significant amount of debt.  I don't share our story to boast.  Rather, I share to encourage others.  Less debt brings peace of mind.  It allows us to sleep better at night.  I share so that you will know there is a way out!  Don't be overwhelmed.  Dream big.  Set goals.  Listen to good ol' Dave.  And take a financial snapshot. 

You need to know where you are in order to get where you're going.  Write down all your monthly obligations and principal balances.  It may be hard to face up to it all there before you in black and white but we must face reality in order to change reality.    

Use your financial snapshot as a starting place to change the future.  Keep up with your progress each month.  It will motivate you as you see month by month your dream becoming reality! 

May God guide you and increase your determination!

I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.  Ps 32:8

Our current economy has found families finding new ways to survive financially.  Dave Ramsey's website has a great article, Three Good Reasons To Downsize Your Home.  And check out this video about making the most of Little Houses. 

That is "extreme" downsizing, don't you think?  But even still, there are lessons to be learned in how we can maximize the space we have. 

A trick I've learned and implemented in every house we've lived in, hang double rods in the closets!  A few dollars and a few minutes of time, the closet space is doubled! 

And just for fun, a country song about little houses. 

When we moved into the Elkanah House we had six people in 1100 square feet.  After we converted our garage into additional living space we increased our square footage to 1800 square feet.  Which is still just a modest size house, especially when you consider our family size (soon to be seven). 

When choosing which house to buy in our area, we wanted a bargain.  That meant we had to forgo some wants and settle on what we absolutely needed.  We absolutely needed a house with the potential for extra bedrooms (a bonus room, multiple living rooms, or a garage).  We settled on the Elkanah House with a huge garage.  We were fortunate to buy it at half the median house price in our area. 

This one decision has turbo charged our ability to pay off debt.  ($77,000 in less than four years!)  It has allowed us to manage on my husband's pastoral salary, keeping me at home. 

The amazing part?  The Elkanah House has quickly become our favorite house of all the houses we have lived in!  We have an awesome backyard that the previous owner completely fenced in.  It has beautiful architectural shingles.  It is very well insulated.  Our electric bills are much more manageable than any of our previous homes.  Our water comes from a well, also saving on our monthly utilities.  There are so many little details like sliding shelves in the cabinets, a dishwasher, ceiling fans in every room (remember I'm in the deep South), and an unfinished 2nd bathroom that we hope to finish as soon as our savings allow. 

Not everyone who saw our little house in the beginning shared our feelings.  It was dirty and stinky. Signs of mice everywhere.  The kitchen floor was in terrible condition.  No appliances.  The carpet appeared stained. The light fixtures were dated.  Holes in the wall, lots of holes.  The yard was wild and overgrown.  There was a huge pile of dirt in the backyard just perfect for filling all the huge holes that were also in the backyard.  Enclosing the garage looked like a lot of hard work.

We rolled up our sleeves, started cleaning, and fixing.  The huge pile of dirt turned out to be lots of entertainment for our children.  They rode their bikes over it.  They enjoyed shoveling it into buckets and filling holes.  I'm serious.  It was great fun for them.  The carpet came clean with a good shampooing.  We replaced the kitchen floor, replaced the dated light fixtures with ceiling fans, and installed our new appliances.  The yard - oy.  We mowed and mowed and mowed.  This summer we have enjoyed our tame yard and discovered underneath all that wild and overgrown was some pretty landscaping.  The garage was a lot of work but with the most expensive elements already in place (foundation and roof), we were surprised how little we were able to complete an addition of 600 square feet of living space. 

Everything in life is a choice. Realize that as you live your life, each moment you are either adding to or taking away from the quality of your life. You are either creating and enjoying, or dying and destroying. There is no "standing still", for that is time wasted and therefore takes away from your life. The choice for your life is up to you! - Mrs. Dunwoody

Focus on life's blessings, as this is continuously uplifting, and affects who you are as a person.  - Unknown

That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. - Henry David Thoreau

Coming next Thursday - "Making the Most of Our Little House by Doubling Our Closet Space in a Day"

I had been hearing about SwagBucks off and on for several months. Being the skeptic, I paid it no mind.  And then, the week before Christmas '09, I heard that all these people paid for their gifts with SwagBucks!  Suddenly, I found the time to learn about it.  

What are you waiting for?  Go sign up!

 

UPDATE:  We saved our swagbucks from January - November 2010 and we were able to get a Wii for our family for FREE!  Details here. Can't wait to see what we get this Christmas!

 

One of the best ways to save money is doing the family's hair at home.  I know that can be a little intimidating or even scary, especially when scissors are involved. But I just gotta tell you, there are so many really good tutorials available online for free that learning isn't as hard as you might think. 

Let's start with the easiest and least intimidating first - no scissors involved.  Little girl hairstyles.  Learning to do twists and braids is absolutely the most affordable way to up the cuteness factor for your cutie.  Hair Today is a great place to learn really cute little girl do's.  Some other great hairstyling blogs include Babes in Hairland , Hairstyles for Girls, and Girly do's by Jenn.  Oh. my. goodness.  Couldn't you just die of sweetness when you see a neatly combed and braided little girl?  Seriously.  And that sweetness comes in triple doses at my house. 

(Old pics.  No styled hair at my house today.  Only wet hair from the pool.)

All right, let's talk cuts.  The best resource?  YouTube.  Tons of videos that show step by step how to cut hair.  Every style imaginable.  Just go to YouTube and do a search.  Watch and learn.  Gather your courage and give it a try. 

Save yourself a ton of money and learn to do hair at home.  Not to say that an occasional trip to the salon is not in order.  It's a wonderful treat to be enjoyed.  But with a family our size, home is an absolute budget saver! 

A wise friend shared with me how several years ago her husband lost his job.  They were just devastated.  They didn't know what they were going to do.  They didn't know if he'd be able to find another job as good as the one he lost. 

She shared how she made herself sick with worry and anxiety.  Then she went on to tell me how that her husband found a job he loved.  A few years later he was able to retire and draw pensions from both jobs!  God's hand was in everything if only they could have seen it at the time. 

Her retelling of these events reminded me of 2 Corinthians 4:17:

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

The things happening in the present may be difficult and we may be overcome with panic and fear but if we just have a little faith we'll see that they won't last very long and the rewards of the things we endure are priceless and eternal!  It's important that somebody gets this today.  I don't know what's happening in your life presently but trust that God's working it out for the future. 

This is never more true than in our finances.  So many times people sacrifice the future in favor of enjoying the "good life" today.  If we just suffer a little while, drive that old clunker a little longer, make do with the hand-me-downs, go without that favorite treat, manage that small space more effectively, stretch those groceries a little further... Those investments produce for us a peace of mind and freedom to serve God in ways we've never imagined that vastly outweighs the perks of having it "right now". 

I read this recently, “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey but spiritual beings on a human journey.” Our true home is beyond this world. Let's look to the future.  Let's endure today's troubles with the journey ahead in mind. 

A few years ago, I was part owner of a small business that my sister-in-law and I literally ran for love.  In other words, we didn't make ANY money.  $0.00!  As a matter of fact, there were times we bought supplies from our own pockets and donated to the business.  Many times.  In the words of my friend Charlotte, "what in the honkin' world?"  Why would we do that?  Kids.  Lots of them.  Sixty to ninety kids each week were impacted by this work of love. 

We also employed a handful of teenagers and young adults.  They did get paychecks.  Itty bitty paychecks but paychecks all the same.  Because the payroll was so small, we paid them once a month.  I'll never forget the day one of them approached me about paying them more frequently.  I explained that if we paid them more frequently their total paychecks would be very very small.  It just didn't justify the amount of work it would take to do payroll more often.  The reply, "Well, we're young and we aren't good with our money like you."  (For the record, I'm only six years older than this particular young person. lol)   

It's important that we train our kids to be good with money.  We don't ever want "youth" to be an excuse to be irresponsible stewards.  We want to spare our kids the pain and humiliation of financial distress.  We want them to have the ability to manage their earnings and their spending habits. 

Different methods work for different families but ultimately the same principles apply to all.

Principle 1:  Be an example.  Budget.  Save.  Give.

Principle 2:  Start a system that links household responsibilities with earning money.  Our kids accumulate X's by choosing chores from a chart.  They decide how hard they want to work and which of mom's chores they want to do.  They don't get paid for their own responsibilities (rooms, toys, clothes, etc...).  Only the extra things they do. 

Principle 3:  Teach kids to save up for the things they want.  Teach patience and diligence (aka delayed gratification).  This will pay huge dividends later in life.  Our kids have a wish list for things they want to save money for and eventually purchase.  Our older kids even have long-term goals of saving for a car. 

Your kids will be in charge of their own financial futures whether or not you teach them the right way to do it. Don’t wait until they come back home broke. - Dave Ramsey

It's hot in SC, y'all.  During these summer months, it is difficult to be outside unless water is involved.  The kids and I have been doing some figuring on how we could buy an above ground swimming pool.  According to my calculations we would be able to have a new pool by next summer. 

Next summer is great but I REALLY wanted the kids to have a pool THIS summer. 

CHARGE IT!  Not. 

The Chief, said let's pray about it. (Lesson 1.  Pray about everything.)

So we did.  All of us.  We decided that if we got a pool this summer we'd be thrilled but if we had to save a little each month and get a pool next summer I'd suffer through that'd be great too. 

A few days later, a dear friend of our's came to the Chief and told him that she wanted to give us $200 to be used toward purchasing our kids a swimming pool.  An awesome start to our pool fund?  You bet!

Then we had another thought.  Buy used and save the difference (Lesson 2).  Craig's List!  (Totally better than a credit card.)

Sure enough we learned of someone needing to sell their pool because they were moving.  The Chief asked them if they'd take $200 and they said sure if we picked it up by the next morning.  Even sweeter, they threw in all the extras.  A really nice ladder, extra filters, etc...

So this is our new (to us) pool.  It is filling with ice cold water and the kids are already wading in it. 

But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

God's word says he supplies our needs.  By no means is a swimming pool a need.  It is very much a want.  But if we look at the rest of the scripture we realize that he supplies our needs according to his riches in glory.  I'd say "riches in glory" is pretty extravagant (Lesson 3).  Really, we should never limit God.  

Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, forever. Amen.  Eph. 3:20-21

Lesson Review

1. Pray about everything.

2.  Buy used and save the difference. 

3.  He supplies our needs according to his "riches in glory".

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

When we talk about finances and especially financial independence (debt free living), we have to talk about more than math.  We have to consider biblical principles as well.  So many times when we run into financial difficulties, tithing is the first thing we stop doing.  I have experienced it in my personal life and through others we've counseled.  How can we afford to give when we can't afford to pay our bills?  Trust me.  We can't afford to not give.

When we stop tithing, our finances get worse. In the Book of Malachi, God promises that if you do not rob Him of your tithing, He will rebuke your devourers and protect you.  It seems that when we stop tithing we remove ourselves from that protection or favor that we walk in when we follow God's principles. 

God clearly does not need our money or our generosity, but He wants our obedience and He wants us to experience all the joys of generosity (Matthew 6:21). We give to God not because He needs it, but because we need it (Philippians 4:17).

Commit to giving and see what God does for your finances!