This week I tackled my monthly job of preparing the budget for the next month. Since I am not a fan of numbers in general this is never my favorite task. However I am a fan of money so I endure.
But this week I was burned out. We have been on the Dave Ramsey plan since last fall. We have everything paid off except for our house and Mark's car which we are trying to sell since he has a company car. No more car payments or student loans! Yippee! Right?
The goal of all this hard work was to have more of our income available for wealth building and fun stuff instead of paying off dept. Mark and I were even considering booking a trip to Hawaii (which is now 1/2 the price it normally is due to the economy). I was actually looking forward to preparing this month's budget because there should be so much extra money to play with...or so I thought.
As I looked at the numbers I had to add them twice. There were several things that came up that needed our surplus income. It was all eaten up. Add to that the fact that the orthodontist said I needed braces! Braces? Me? I barely survived that the first time around (Kathy, you are so much braver than me!). Now I have to pay for such embarrassment? How much did you say they cost? Wow!
I felt defeated. All my budgeting and hard work seemed to be getting me no where.
Mark and I discussed the budget I had prepared and he said, "looks good." That's it? Are you not more disappointed? He reminded me that the plan is working. All these things that came up we were able to pay cash for because we had the money available since we are no longer paying things off.
My reply, "Yeah but, I want to go to Hawaii not get braces!" which is the equivilent of a three year old stomping her foot and pouting. Yes, I had returned to adolescence. Not because of the braces but because the definition of maturity is knowing what you want and refraining from throwing your body on the floor in a tantrum until you get it!
I prayed about it (as I have several times) asking God to be in our finances. Wanting to be a good steward of our resources I prayed for wisdom, patience, and for God to make ends meet and provide the rest.
I kept the appointment with the orthodontist (we are doing the invisiline trays instead of the lovely metal wires) and I kissed my Hawaii trip good-bye for now. After all that I went to the mailbox and low and behold, there was a check! A refund from Savannah's eye surgery almost 2 years ago! I called to be sure it was not a mistake.
Did God rewarded my obedience (why am I not obedient more often?)? I believe so. Although it was a large check, it did not cover the cost of Hawaii. But is was capable of covering the one thing that needed to be done that we could not fit into the budget. This check is paying for a journey that I plan to document here on my blog in the near future.
Stay tuned...
1 comment:
From someone who has lived through Dave Ramsey, and survived and conquered...it is worth it. It does not mean that things will never come up and that you will never owe on something again, it is a plan to get you in the right mindset. You are there, my friend. Right there. I redo our budget every month...sometimes just for "fun" to see where I can find an extra dollar. God is always faithful and I pray those same prayers as you often. Keep working towards it! Love ya!
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