Pinching Pennies

Kevin makes the money, and Mary tells it where to go

This statement is how Kevin and I have always dealt with our finances. And now with the economy looking scary, we take our jobs even more seriously.

In the very beginning I took over paying the bills and managing the budget, because someone had a bad bachelor habit of not always opening his mail... I won't name names, but that lead to me being in charge of watching our money. Truthfully, I love the job. I have never been very good at bringing in a lot of money, but I love to manage it. I love working through our budget and determining where our money is spent. Looking at a finished budget every month is like looking at a newly reorganized and cleaned room. You just can't help but be proud of it, even when there are still imperfections showing.

In a little over two months, Kevin and I are going to make a big switch from a two income household to a one income household. To say it will not be a big deal is a lie, but we have been trying to prepare for this since we first joined lives (or checking accounts!). We always tried to budget and live off of his paycheck alone, and used mine as a way to eliminate our debt and get a nest egg. We try to live cheaply and money wise; shopping at Wal-mart, buying a house in our lower price range, never owning a credit card, buying only used cars, and splurging on extra trips to McDonald's instead of extra trips to Hawaii.

I sometimes think about how different the life of our future family could be if I would not be a stay at home mom. Not that we would be rich, but at least have a little more luxuries in life. Cable, flat screen t.v., private school, eating out more than once a week. But Father John reminded me this weekend on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi that we are called to "live simply and distinguish our needs from our wants".

I need to fulfill God's call in my life to be a stay at home mom.
I want to be able live in a plush 2 story house with a neighborhood pool.
I need to ensure that our family is using our money in the best way possible.
I want to eat out every meal over the weekend and not cook.
I need to see the beauty is living simply.
I want to get wrapped up in the material world.

It's time to focus on the real needs of our lives, and learn to get over our wants. I am definitely going to need some divine assistance with this one!