Money Monday: Making sacrafices for a better tomorrow.

America today is a very materialistic nation. We are used to getting what we want and when we want it, which is usually now. We are not used to having to wait for anything. We have lost the experience of delayed gratification. And this is a very sad notion.

I myself am guilty of not wanting to wait. Which usually meant using my credit card to get what I wanted. And while it meant I had for the current time something new!, it also meant I had some debt that would need to be paid off. I never went excessive with my purchases but still, none the less, I charging things like clothes, or house décor. Definitely not "emergency" items. Gasoline, food, medication, or a car part, those should be the only reason I break out a credit card, and that actually is the rule I follow now.

The sad thing is, my husband paid off my credit cards earlier this year. Now the purchases we have incurred since then were not frivolous splurges. Far from it. One was my daughter's medical bill when she had a bacterial infection and our insurance had not kicked in yet. Another was two new tires on my husband car - the old ones were about to pop! We would have preferred to pay cash for both of these items, but we keep having "Life" moments. Did you ever play that game? I did all the time as a child with my siblings and parents. I love the older version, seems more legit to me than the modern one. If only I realized how often "Life" really does happen when you get older.

Here are our "LIFE" moments so far for 2013:

• Husband lost his life insurance and health insurance at work
• Husband's clients have been cutting back their splurge spending which means less income for him.
• New health insurance did not kick in in time for my daughter's sickness
• Car needed 2 new tires
• Car needed a new battery
• Other car needed new radiator hose (same day as battery!)
• I possibly have something wrong with my kidney's

Life has thrown a few curve balls at us this year. We are living pay check to pay check. We are paying our bills. But that is about all we are doing. There are no vacations for us this year. No fun trips for camping or to see family. I have a wedding in November to attend, it will be the first time my best friend will see my daughter. I am planning now financially for it so that I can go. That means going without certain luxuries the next few months in order to create a great memory. Also with all that is going on, the upgrades to our house have to wait: new floors, new kitchen, fixing up the back yard, finish the front yard.

I have been having a hard time with all of this lately. I never wanted to be in the position we are in. My parent's lived this way when I was growing up and I hated it. I hated their frustrations, how they bickered with each other, and the tension it created. I never wanted this for my child, for my marriage, for my household.

But this is temporary. I have changed my outlook on the situation. We are doing what we have to do in order to survive. We are taking side jobs: training, cooking, cleaning, mowing yards. We are still giving to the church, and to others. We are still fellowshipping in our home and loving our fellow believers. We have made sacrifices:

• I am not the full time stay at home mom I want to be
• We no longer have cable tv
• We sold our suv, and my parents gave us their car, which was formerly my grandmothers car. Decent gas mileage, needs front end work, but it works and we don't have a car payment or insurance since my parents put me on their policy.
• We do not eat name brand often or eat out often. I shop at a great discount grocer that thankfully has kept things "no frills" in order to keep prices down.
• I no longer get my hair colored, or my nails done or my eyebrows waxed. Everything is done at home, and at a heavy discount.
• I do not see myself buying any new clothes or shoes anytime soon. I am learning to be creative with what I have and creating new looks.

This is not a pity party, far from it. We are blessed even with the hard times we are having. Our daughter is healthy, we are able to work, and my husband's business has been improving. We are still a few months out from seeing the effects of the new business and changes, but we possibly have  a light at the end of the tunnel.

Also with all that tis going on, our priorities of what is important has shifted. We are spending more time together. More time talking, playing and laughing. We are throwing away junk and finding better uses for items. We are clearing out the clutter and finding ways to live a simpler life.

I do miss the tv, especially a summer show I cannot seem to watch online. But I am reading for pleasure and for study more now. I am reading to my daughter more now.





So yes we have made sacrifices, and life is not as we had planned. But we are trusting Him, we are being obedient to Him, and His plan is always better. We just need to hang in there while our wonderful Abba works out the wrinkles in our lives.