Thank God for Payday!

My husband and I have been trying to rein in our spending and actually stick to a budget. We started at the end of October when we realized our once unused "emergency credit cards" were seeing more and more "emergencies" of late. I read a book that was recommended to me by a dear friend that really helped me get excited about budgeting and paying down our debt. It's called The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. He's a financial guru who also happens to be a Christian and keeps a biblical perspective about money and living within your means. Ramsey associates financial freedom with being debt free - makes sense to me!

November was difficult, but awesome. We made a budget and it was tiiiiight! But we stuck to it and we made it to the end of the month with even a little money to spare! We employed the "envelope method," which is another of Dave Ramsey's suggestions, but I'm pretty sure smart people have been living on cash only for decades. Anyway, we took the totals we budgeted for the month for different categories like food, gas, personal care, recreation, and clothing and then filled the envelopes with the cash amounts. And then, when it was gone, it was GONE.

The main philosophy behind this is that spending cash "hurts." So often, I would swipe my debit card for this or that, and it never actually feels like the money is going away. Until a week later when I would look at the bank account online and gasp in shock thinking maybe someone stole our debit card when in reality, those lattes at Starbucks just add up quickly!

Anyway, I was nervous about Christmas because we have so many loved ones to buy for. Thankfully, I worked some extra days and my husband got three paychecks in December (LOVE when that happens!) so we made it work. Or at least I thought we did. Now we are still days away from the first January paycheck and we. are. struggling!

I mean, we'll be fine. I got some groceries today (at the cheapest grocery store around!) and now we have everything we need to make it to Friday. It's just going to be Velveeta Shells and Cheese and scrambled eggs for dinner until then! But you know, there's something oddly gratifying about having to work to make ends meet and think about where the money goes. There's also something extremely gratifying about being able to tithe to God's purposes in recognition of the fact that what we have isn't really ours to begin with. He give and He takes away - and He has blessed us with more than we ever could have hoped for.

So thank God we'll make it to Friday and then...thank God for payday!!!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho

Lately I feel like every time I need a baby-sitter (which isn't that often), I am scrambling to find someone! I mostly just need an occasional baby-sitter for the rare weekday that I work; however, since I work at a hospital, things can get a bit hectic and people call out last minute, etc. I am blessed to have two good friends who love my son on call to baby-sit when I need them to (their schedules allowing). Work is getting so crazy lately, though, that I am starting to feel guilty calling my sitters so often! I do pay them, but it's definitely less than they would make at a "regular" job for 8 hours. I know they are happy to help, but sometimes I can't help but think me working outside the house (during the week) is a big, fat waste of time.

I literally feel like I put in a full day's work sometimes before I even get to work on a weekday. When I work on a weekend, it's so relaxing to get ready in the morning (relatively speaking). I can get up, have some coffee and breakfast, take a leisurely shower and be confident in my ability to be out the door on time. My husband takes care of my son from the moment he wakes on these days, which makes my life about a zillion times easier!

During the week if I get called in to work (and I do always have the option to say no, but the bank account thanks me when I do a little extra here and there), I have to do everything myself. I get up (earlier than usual, I might add!), get showered, dressed, and ready. THEN, I get Josh up (sometimes I have to wake him, making things especially painful), get him breakfast and, depending on the day, deliver him to the sitter's house or try and make my house as presentable as I can for a sitter to come here. UGH! By the time I drive a half hour to work and get to the morning meeting, I am a breathless, sweaty, un-caffeinated mess...not to mention a few minutes late!

I know so many of my friends work full time and do this and so much more every day. To them, I simply say: I salute you! I just know I'm not cut out for it. The days I work during the week are hectic and by the time I get home, I'm completely spent. I long for time with my son and husband, but have no patience or energy to deal with them...let alone get dinner on the table!

That said, a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do. My husband is always so appreciative when I pick up some extra hours at work, and this month we really could use the funds. So, hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go!