How Has God Given You Greater Self-Control?

I would love to hear how the Lord has moved in your life to give you victory over those small areas that used to give you great trouble in the areas of finances? Share your story!

I Got the Part-Time Job I Wanted

A position at my daughter's ballet studio opened up. They needed a person to work in the new store, and the hours were at the same time as my daughter's dance lessons, so it is perfect for me! It pays only $8.00 an hour, and I will only work about 12 hours a week, but every little bit will help us with our goals to give and to save and to pay off debt! God is good! He knows what we need before we ask.

How Much Debt Do We Need to Pay Off?

A lot. Let's just says it is in the tens of thousands on plastic. Then there is the car loan, the home equity loan, and the mortgage. Do I feel discouraged when we think about how much we owe? Yes, but I actively choose to dwell not on the "Giant" but on God's power through obedience, which takes the fear away. We are little "Davids" with a small bag of stones but I believe that God will honor our efforts to get out of debt and stay out of debt, and to give cheerfully. Sometimes you have to really develop a hatred of a certain sin before you are willing to change. I am willing to change. Repentance from the heart means that I need to rely on the Holy Spirit for self-control when I feel weak, for wisdom when I am confused, for humility when I want to take the reins myself instead of submitting to my husband and to God.

Do You Know About Groupon?

We have Groupon here in the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area, where area businesses will offer a huge discount off of their services or dining on a particular day. There are some amazing deals to be had this way. Check them out!

Great Deals at Target!

I was browsing through the children's department today at our local Target, and found a whole section of clothes, shorts and tanks, slashed to $1.75 each! These were not on the normal sale racks, but were where regularly priced clothing would be found. I bought some for next summer. You may want to see if your local Target is doing the same thing!

How Not to Shop

In general, I need to leave the kids at home when I shop. I am too much of a softie when it comes to, "Mom can I have some gum?" or "Mom can I get (insert some junk food I don't normally buy)?" Yesterday I took my two youngest to get haircuts, and I forgot the cardinal rule before going anywhere: inform them ahead of time that you are not buying hair products. I thought of it, and then I didn't do it. So guess what? I return to pick them up and the 10 year old asks for the hair products that made her long, thick, sometimes frizzy hair become super-smooth. She wanted both of them, so I told her, only to stop the whining (bad move) that she could pick one. Well, that one was $26.00!!! I was using points I had earned for their haircuts, so I said yes, and I earned points toward future purchases by buying the little bottle of goo. If it weren't for that, I would have said no for sure. Still, I spent $26.00 I didn't need to spend because I was afraid to say no. Why? That is the question. I am learning to say no and being a planner not an impulsive spender. Sigh. I did tell her that from now on she has to spend her own allowance on any hair products! Thank you God for your grace when I mess up!

Hooked on Saving Money

I am officially hooked on saving money, on everything! This includes using online coupon codes, online printable coupons, Groupon, Swagbucks, and everything else I can find to slash our grocery and clothing budgets. Now I need to work on saving money on haircuts! With four girls and I, the salon expenses are growing. I used Great Clips and Supercuts when they were little, but after some bad experiences, I decided to pay a little more and get better cuts. I do ask for Level 1 or 2 stylists who are cheaper than the Level 3 and 4s. Also, my salon has a family rewards program where each service gains points you can use toward future services.

When I think of our utility and cable bills, and cell phones too, I have a harder time cutting back on those costs. We get the minimum cable package, and our gas bill is pretty steady, as is our water bill. Our cell phone bill has grown quite a bit since we added three girls to the mix, and added unlimited texting to avoid a huge surprise. I can get rid of my extra $30 a month for my blackberry if I just got a regular phone. Just might do that! Verizon's packages are kind of limited as far as the price levels go, in that we only use so many minutes, far under our allowance, but if we drop down to the next level, our minutes are more than that maximum. Ugh! The phone companies know how to play the customer!

Our electricity use seems to keep growing as well, we think because of our large TV, our many recessed lights, and other electronics like computers. We use the energy saving bulbs in all of our lamps and bathroom fixtures, but it seems to make a small difference compared with simply turning things off.

I am reading Isaiah and Hosea a lot these days. So many good reminders of God's faithful love for his wayward children! He rewards repentance with restoration, not because we have earned it, but because, though we don't deserve it, He showers us with his grace through His son Jesus, who obeyed perfectly and purchased our redemption!