When I do manage to read the newspaper- most times I just don’t make it passed the doom and gloom.  Some times I come across a story that I think I might share here.  One such I read in my local newspaper.  It’s called Stimulus Logic. It detailed the difference between Bush’s and Obama’s tax credit.  If you’ll remember when Bush was in office we got a check in the mail.  The story said it was $500, but I remembered it being $600.  Regardless, the millions of dollars sent back into the economy did little to boost it.  Why? Because people paid debt that had already falsely boosted the economy.  With Obama in office, it won’t be a single check, but more in weekly checks by reducing withholdings. As a result, you get more in each check, which, if all goes as planned- hopefully you’ll spend instead of saving or paying down already incurred debt.  Those participating in Financial Peace will make educated decisions on where to spend this “found” money.  Since you cash flow, you’ll spend each and every dollar on paper.  You’ll be aware of that extra $20. You might stick it in a blow envelope, or you may use it on your debt snowball.  Whatever you decide, you’ll know it’s there. It won’t seem like free money.  Of course, this plan does nothing to help those on unemployment, but I suppose since we currently have no income, that we’ll have less taxes.  I can see how Obama’s plan helps to stimulate the economy.  My first reaction is to be upset because I want my $500 up front to spend as I would (which would go to pay the last $600 we owe on a medical bill).   But, I get it.  I’m still not convinced that it will be the governments scramble to try to save the “credit industry” will be what saves the economy.  I still believe it’ll be you and me.  We’ll realize that driving $400 a month cars is just silly.  We’ll be more excited about having $5000 in savings instead of $5000 in credit card debt.  We’ll teach our children to be more mature and patient than our parents raised most of us to be.  We’ll teach them to save and pay for things with cash (and get it cheaper!).  Affording things means we have the cash right then and there to pay “for it”- instead of hoping to have the income to pay “on it”.  

In the end, I think the current economy will be better for the environment (Happy Earth Day by the way). We’re being less wasteful, turning off lights, buying cars that don’t eat gas.  Once upon a time the idea of eating leftovers was just something I couldn’t stomach.  I didn’t even bother to take it home from restaurants.  Now I plan weekly menus around it.  I think of what went down my garbage disposale and I’m embarrassed.  

We also learn how important public institutions- such as the public library system дивани are.  In all fairness, I do have a Masters in library science.  But I love that I have to wait in line at the local library because more people are using it. More people are taking their kids to the library to check out books instead of buying books.  Families who once afford monthly gymnastics programs are opting instead to take their children to storytime- which is free.  Since Jason became unemployed, we’ve gone down to bare bones.  Right now we’re keeping our internet access- reasoning that we need it for job searches, and email, and filing for unemployment.  So far, it’s turned out to be accurate.  I’m online all the time- my husband rarely.  I know he’s used the internet more in the last few weeks than he ever does.  His internet usage in the past has been around Fantasy Football.  Now it’s searching for jobs, researching companies, making contacts, setting up interviews.  But I know- for the moment- we’re fortunate that we keep it.  If it comes to the choice of paying for health insurance or our ISP, our ISP will be the first to go- hands down.  So, off to the library we’ll go.  It’ll be inconvenient.  We’ll have to sign up, use our allotted hour, and repeat.  I know there are familes who only get internet access at the library.  I suspect the number doing so has risen with the rate of foreclosures- which has been exceptionally high in our area.  

One last story I’d like to share with you is concerning church attendance during the recession.  Some studies suggest that church attendance is higher, and that people are switching from denomination to evangelical churches.  I attend the latter, and while my return to “religion” was more centered around the death of my daughter, I have noticed a climb in membership, and our church definitely reports that- while the economy is down- the weekly offerning has gone up, sometimes almost doubling the projected operating need for that week.   Our church teaches Financial Peace, and I’m sure that has a barring on the trend, more so than people who have just recently started attending services.   Since J was laid off, I have learned much about total trust in God.  We pray to God to give us our daily bread, but do we mean it?  We want to know about next weeks, next years bread too.  How about my bread when I’m 65 God?  I’ve resigned to the fact that there can’t be certainty in this life.  In relying less on ourselves, and more of God brings more people to him (as the article suggests), then that’s one other plus coming from these tough times.  I’m with Dave, I don’t think things are as bad as the media makes them out to be.  -This comeing from someone whose family is drawaing unemployment.  Things will get better.  They’ll be fine for again.  They’ll get worse again if we don’t make some radical changes, but for those striving for Financial Peace, the bad times won’t be that bad.

When I do get a great deal on meat, I plan our entire week around it.  For example, I got a ham on sale this weekend.  I cooked it tonight.  We’ll snack on it during lunch the next few days and I’ll make a ham and potato casserole later this week.  I’ll freeze the scraps to be used in butter beans at a later and give the hambone to my dogs.  I’m just as frugal with chicken.  I get two whole chickens insteaf of the pre-cut pieces. I roast them at the beginning of the week and make a casserole or maybe two later in the week.  Whatever isn’t used is put in the freezer for use at a later date.  I onlt buy ground beef on sale- cook it all at the same time- usually we have tacos- and freeze the rest.  Last week I got pork roast for .88 a lb. What an incredible deal! I got two.  $17 roasts for $5.  I made BBQ with one and I froze the other.  I’m going to use it Memorial Day weekend and make another roast. We took advantage of Angel Food ministries again this week and will be picking up our food this weekend.  I’m looking forward to having a variety of meat in the freezer.  

It’s amazing the money you can save if you just look at sale papers.  If you don’t get your local paper, try looking up your grocery store on-line, or just pay attention to your store as you passby.  One of my favorite grocery stores has a digital sign that scrolls that weeks deals.  Menu4Moms has a free on-line source of grocery deals.  Just enter in your zip code and get your areas best deals. It’s a pretty comprehsive list, but you can limit it by product- I most often use it to see what meat is on sale.

The Grocery Game is a service that you pay for.  The ladies that run the site have extensive lists on what is on sale each week and will cross reference it with coupons to let you know where you should buy what with what coupon and when.  They’ve figured out the rotation for sales. Have you ever noticed that paper towels were on sale one week- and then again 8 or 9 weeks later.  Use this list faithfully, and they tell you when to stock up.  Although, as a Green Consumer is is penny pinching, I encourage you to give up paper towels all together and get a good pack of cloth towels and use them instead.  They pay for themselves in just one month- and each month for years to come.  Technically, you could save money using this service- so it might be worth the subscription.  I did a $1 4 week trial and found that I didn’t use the service so I cancelled it.  I might be better motivated to save money these days.

If you have other ideas to share on how to feed a family cheaply, but healthily- please feel free to post your comment.

Dave Ramsey is doing a town hall event. Click on the banner to go to the site and look up your nearest venue . Plan to go.  Be prepared to talk about the truth of the economy.  Dave will explain he we got there, and real life, proven to work, God given financial advice on how to get out of it.

 There are also other great resources to be found there. There is a townhallforhope blog which is far more inspirational than anything I can ever write.   If you are a Facebook user, you can friend the event, and even follow on Twitter. Submit a question through Youtube and just maybe Dave will answer it.

Dave is the only media person I’ve seen who is encouraging the American people to stay resolute, and that is predicting an end to our economic woes.  Plan to attend so that you can get a healthy dose of his optimism.  As a Christian, I know that much of his positive outlook comes from his trust in God.  This event may be just the breath of fresh air that you need.  I’ve just sent my RSVP to a local church.  I can’t wait to hear it.  We’ve turned off our cable so I can’t watch his TV show any longer on Fox business.  Even if I could, I expect that this will be an event worth carving out some time for.

This month might be a bit different.  I’ve heard it said that in order to part the Red Sea so that the Isrealites could walk across on dry land, God had to dam up the water source 20 miles downstream.  We have tunnel vision- God has all vision.  What we take for suffering could just be seen as growing pains for God.  One such example in my life is the death of my daughter.  I hope to be fortunate enough to go the rest of my life withouth feeling such a seering pain.  Her death created a hole in my broken heart- a hole that can only be filled by the light of Christ and mended from the love of God.  While I never celebrate her death, I am thankful that the suffering I have endured has brought me closer to God- and in the end- closer to my daughter.  When we started Financial Peace, God knew that 20 mies downstream we would be coming against some financial problems.  He offered to us- through Dave Ramsey- to be prepared.  

J was laid off from his job as a government contractor on Friday.  He’s at the home office filling out paperwork, enruring that our medical insurance doesn’t lapse, filing for unemployment, and all other not-so-fun things he’d rather not be doing.  But, over the past several months we’ve not only become more financially stable, but we’ve also become closer to God.  We’re faithfull- which- if you don’ t know is a Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindess, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness, and self control).  We began titheing (10%) in February.  We’ve always put aside a portion each week, but had never taken the plunge and trusted God to care for us by giving him 10%.  We have- and did yesterday.  As I was writing our weekly check I asked J what to make it for- and he said “the usual”. He’s still got one more paycheck coming- and 10% of that paycheck still belongs to God.  J’s a new Christian, and as a more seasoned Christian I felt shamed that I probably wouldn’t have done the same had it been solely my decision.  But I also felt pride and respect for J that he’s able to remain faithful.  I thanked God for the work he’s been doing in our lives.

We trust that through God’s vision there’s something out there for us.  We trust and hope that God can use our lives as a testimony to our loving and Faithful God to bring those that we love- and those that we may never know closer to His love.  We’ve still got our home. We’ve got a wonderful church family, parents that love us, friends that care about us. We’ve got a funded emergency fund.  We’ve only a small portion left on a loan we took to pay for a medical bill.  I won’t mention the pesky student loans- which will- of course- be deferred for now.  We’ve got our emergency fund, the knowledge to not only sit down and create a cash flow plan, but the motivation and self control to actually live by it. 

One problem we’ve struggled with is using cash.  On the first order of business is to let go of all non-essentials.  The first victim will be the cable.  I went on Friday to cancel our YMCA membership only to find out that they have subsidized programs for this suffering financial difficulties.  We’ve been comped the next month and once our unemployment comes in- we’ll then find out how much- if anything- we’ll be paying.  We’re going to have to start using cash again to make up for the cut we’re going to be taking.  But most importantly- we’ll be turning to prayer.  We’re so thankful that God answered our prayers when we were drowning in debt by leading us to our Church- which is where we learned and participated in Finacial Peace University.

Louis CK on YouTube

In December I received my Masters degree and the 30k bill that goes behind the piece of paper. When I had children, I vowed to be a stay at home mom until they started kindergarten. My youngest just turn one, an awesome job opportunity just opened up locally (although I’ve no guarantee that I’ll get it) but I’m torn on if I should even apply. The salary can more than cover the cost of childcare, and I could pay off those student loans in no time if we follow Dave’s debt snowball and throw everything at it. Another rub- I want one more child. Since starting Financial Peace, I try to always think of want versus need. But these situations are such that you could rationalize any situation.  It all comes down to staying at home. Yes, I realize that children go to daycare every day, and I have a wonderful friend whom I love as a sister that would be willing to shoulder that task for me.  Having had lost one daugther, I don’t want to miss one moment with  my children.  The whineing and crying, endless piles of laundry, and a house is never clean is worth it when I’m there to hear their first words, teach them to walk, or just observe in silence as they figure something out.

Another thing that would keep me from going back into the workforce is that I would like to home school my children. The disclaimer is that my area is brimming over with homeschooling resources. I’m not opposed to public schooling per say, I’d just rather control the influences on my young daughters. I’d like to have more control that what public schooling affords. There are other alternatives in early education- such as Montessori schools, but then we’ve come full circle to my original problem- whether or not preschool is a want or a need in my particular circumstances.

I have a hunch as to what Dave would say about private schooling- because I’ve heard it on his show.  A mom called in asking for advice and a lot of their income outwent to pay for school.  Dave asked if the school was worth it and she answered yes.  I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was clear that it wouldn’t have been a neccessity for him.  When we’re parents it’s often hard to decide between what is a need and what is a want.  We live in a society with constant pressure to give our children the best of everything.  If we don’t, then we aren’t good parents- at least to ourselves and whoever we think may be watching.  The very definition of the term sacrifice is not even clearly defined.  I met a woman once who was working 4 jobs to send her children to Montessori schools.  She used the term sacrifice. Something was being sacrificed, but what wasn’t as clear.  He also has an interesting clip on his blog called the Wussification of America where he admits to being “Old Skool” when asked about why his advice is always for the father to go out and get extra jobs while the wife stays at home with the children.

In order to answer my own questions, I’m going back to the basics of Financial Peace.  J and I have been working on our debt snowball since August, and after we get our taxes, we’ll be debt free- until July when those pesky student loans start back again.  We could have been done much sooner had we’d not been the slowest gazelles in the herd.  There were plenty of stupid taxes to pay along the way.  I won’t even mention the Dave care that we drove about 100 miles before the engine blew.  My point is, Financial Peace doesn’t take forever.  It’ll probably take 2 years to pay off my student loans, less if we live on beans and rice- even part time. Once those are paid, our emeregency fund will be fully funded in just a matter of months- before our oldest starts kindergarten.  Then we’ll be able to seriously consider wether or not we want to homeschool or pay for Montessori school.   Then we’ll be discussing paying off our mortgage instead of spending the money on education.

In Financial Peace, sacrifice is what you’re willing to put on hold for the short term- to gain in the long term.  Stick to the plan- but use strategic long range planning if you’re stuck on deciding what is a want and what is a need.

I think about these things now because I’m determined that I will teach my children to be responsible with money.  I imagine it will be mandatory for many parents with young childrern these days because we don’t want our children to endure the same heartache in their lives and relationships.  I don’t want mine to have the anxiety and stress that money can bring when not treated responsibly.  There’s a commercial on TV right now about how some people are no longer keeping up with the Jonses’, but are making the choice to live more responsibly.  Dave has Financial Peace Junior, and I plan to use it, along with the teachings of the Bible to teach my children to be responsible with money.  I want my children to have a servant’s heart, to think about the needs of others before their own.  I want them to give freely and with a happy heart, while saving, and spending a portion of their money.  A already loves money.  She woke me yesterday morning  and told me first thing that she wanted to go downstairs to get daddy’s money.  When he comes in the door from work in the afternoon- she goes for his pocket to get his change.  I want to teach my children to work, to save, to give, and to spend.  Any instruction I give them will be more than most of my generation has received.  I don’t want to pick on my parents, but if you look at society as a whole you’ll see it.  It’s rude to ask someone their salary.  Why?  It just is you might say.  The only person that benefits from this is the employer because there is no accountability.  If no one talks about what they get paid- there’s no way to know if you’re being underpaid or overpaid.  We’ve made money a taboo subject.  We don’t talk about money- instead we drive cars that prove that we have money.  There are labels on our clothes and shoes to prove that we can “afford” them.  If we’re hush hush about what me make- then we can pull over the lie in the image that we portray of ourselves.

A turns three in May. I’m already unpopular at my children’s birthdady parties because I don’t waste $100 on goody bags, or themed parties.  I’ll start using Dave’s Financial Peace Junior this summer.  I feel that she’s nearly ready for it.  Not quite, because she loves rocks as much as she loves “monies”.  I have to admit that I’ve overindulged her up into this point.  She has more toys that do nothing but clutter my house than I care to confess.  It’s going to be hard for me.  More hard for J I’m sure.  He never learned NO, and his mom still buys him whatever he asks.  In the mall last week for the first time did she want something, and then started crying because she didn’t get it.   It was much like the 20 year old me in the electronics store.  I wanted it, and I wanted it then.  I had to have it, and I was upset that I couldn’t have it.  We survived without those brand new things of course, and A will surive in the short term without having every whim met. What I’m more concerned about is the life long implication and teaching her to be responsible with money so that she is never outside of Financial Peace.

As a nation- we have a skewed view of what one can afford.  I’ve done it when I’ve taken on car loans.  Our financial planning used to be something like this: take the house note and utilities subtract it from our monthly income, and everything left over was what we could “afford”.   We weren’t holding tight to our dollars.  We were buying with money we expected- and as the unemployment rate continues to soar- what we hope we’d have at the end of the month.  We could afford it if the finance company said we could.  There’s talk of a credit crisis in the US, and the need to fix it because our government has the same thought.  We’re counthing chickens before their hatched- cooking the books and lying to ourselves and calling it a financial truth.

J and I are pretty close to dumping our debt- and it will be done when we get our tax return back.  It’ll start all over when I have to start paying off my student loans(I found Dave in my last semester), but now that we’ve admitted to ourselves that we can’t afford something if we can’t pay for it in cash, suddenly we find a positive balance in our checking account.  I’ll admit we’ve been a little lax in paying extra to what we do owe, and in saving.  We’ve got to get back on the ball!  We’re lightyears ahead of where we once were.  I wouldn’t even be brave enough to boast that we’re ahead of where most Americans are in that we no longer lie to ourselves- but I’m fortunate to have found Dave and his Financial Peace program.  I wish I could force people to quit borrowing.  I wish I could force our country to let the “Can’t Fails”… Fail.  It would absolutely hurt- and probably for a little while, but if a building doesn’t have a good foundation- you’re better off knocking it down and getting on with the project. 

J and I are lucky that our proverbial hole isn’t getting any deeper, and we can almost get out.  We’ve still got some matureing to do, and some growing to go before we see Financial Peace.

I receive occasional emails from Dave, and the most recent contained his thoughts on the Obama’s bailout plan.  Dave- like myself- was opposed to the original bailout plan.  He provided readers and listeners with a draft letter to be sent to respective representatives.  I signed it and sent it.  I’m proud to say that my Representative was one of the few Republicans to vote NO for the bailout.  One of the reasons I was opposed to the bail out was because it was done during the Twilight hours of Bush’s administration.   I think it is ludicrous to give these “Can’t Fail” companies millions and millions- and billions of dollars and expect them to do right by it.  Has anyone ever heard the parable of the scorpion and the fox.  It’s just in their nature.  Arguably, they wouldn’ t need a bailout if they could make good financial decisions.  They didn’t get to here they are by making the right decisions, and throwing them money isn’t going to motivate them to do so.  This is evidenced by the stories that continue to flow through the newspapers about misuse of this money.  Now- here we are with another new plan. 

Here is a quote from Dave’s email:

The government wants you to spend, spend, spend—and many Americans are taking this advice while still in debt! No matter what the talking heads say, it is not your patriotic duty to spend money you don’t have. Your duty is to take care of yourself and your household with the money you earn from an honest day’s work.

It isn’t your Patriotic Duty to spend, despite the implication by the Government.  As Dave says in this email, it’s your duty to take care of your family.  This is a sentiment portrayed througout the Bible.  If you’re in debt, you aren’t taking care of your family.  You’re allowing Visa, or Ford Motor Company, or Kohl’s to take care of your family.  If you didn’t pay cash for it, it isn’t yours.  Just because you can get it, doesn’t mean that you should get it.  Dave says, and I agree that the healing of the economy will not be anything that comes out of Washington- it will be a concentrated and purposeful effort by the American people to quit buying into the lies of the Can’t Fails, and the economists who continue to attempt to fix a machine that never worked in the first place- it only seemed to do so.  It was a magic trick that was bright and shiny for a while, and now that the illusion is gone, the damage has been done.

I’ve no doubt that American will eventually make a turn around.  It might not even be in the next 10 years, but the healing will happen.  But it will only happen if we quit swallowing the lies that we need to spend money we don’t have in order to help our failing economy.  The brother in law that I wrote of when I first starting writing for Mona- the one that suggested that Financial Peace was a cult- has now turned over a new leaf.  He’s bought Dave’s books, is listening to his radio show, and is selling so much stuff that his kids fear that they are next.  Let me tell you, if he can see the error in his ways, anyone can.  Dave doesn’t work miracles, only God does this, but using the wisdom in the Bible and the common sense God gave him, Dave does provide, I believe, Spirit driven financial advice.  It isn’t your patriotic duty to be in debt.  It is your Christian duty to get out of debt and to owe nothing to no one but love (Romans 13:8).    Dave’s got a good dose of the truth.  Truths that even our churches don’t address- which, I think, is a big part of the problem.  Our churches want us to come back, so there is no financial instruction.  Christianity shouldn’t be about what makes us feel good.  It should be about Biblical truths.  God has a lot to say about finances, and Dave can help you uncover thost truths. Dave debunks these myths and isnt afraid to tell you the cold hard truth that will help heal your family and get on the path to Financial Peace.

Why is giving so important?  It shows Faith in God.  I’m reading the book of James this week.  It’s a short book, but in chapter 2 it talks about faith and deeds.  Faith without deeds is dead. Faith in Jesus is just the start.  A true Faith should mature and produce.  In the book of James, in chapter 4v7 it says to submit yourselves to God.  I can’t think of a better way for us, at this very moment, to submit to God by trusting him with our finances.  At this point, I’m reminded of one of the first posts I made when my BIL accused us of joining some kind of cult when he heard about Financial Peace.  We’ve recently learned that he is now following Dave’s Total Money Makeover.

There are other reasons we’re called to give.  It makes us cheerful, and joyful.  Think of the stingiest person you know.  Are they joyful?  Absolutely not, and chances are… you’re uncomfortable while you’re in their home, or decline the opportunity to go to their home.   This isn’t the time for a hospitality lesson, but I’ve been on the receiving end of some scolding for having had “wasted” food.   Stingy is what my grandmother would have called it.  Proverbs 28:22 says that “a stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits. ”

Dave illustrates the point with a clinched fist: it holds tightly to what it has, but is also closed to anything coming in.  I believe that God is waiting to pour financial peace on us, yet, some part of me holds back.  The difficult economic times makes the temptation to hold back greater.  Our resolution has been to continue on our trek to financial peace, and as part of that… to do our charitable giving.  We start FPU again at the end of this month.  Hopefully, I’ll come up with some more topics to write about.  I’ve enjoyed my time writing for Mona.  I’m a thinker by writing, so it’s put a lot of things in perspective for me.