Joel and I had a great talk last night. One we needed to have for a while.
a BUDGET talk.
We have had those a zillion times before - probably 5-10 too few back in the early days. We laughed over how crazy we were early in our marriage. We would spend and spend and spend as if there were no consequences. The credit card seemed like our reliable old pal.
Then the statement came.
The fear.
The regret.
I got all Suze Orman-esque and started educating myself. THEN - I found out I was pregnant with Jude. Joel and I were attending a great church in the inner city of Grand Rapids. The Sunday after I found out we were pregnant, I remember sitting there discouraged about our future and what type of future this child might have.
One of the musicians came up after the worship time to share a story. He told a story of the $100K+ debt he accrued by the time he was 21. He was charging recording equiptment, instruments, computers. He met his to-be wife and the credit card was too maxed to buy her a ring. After a humbling time of cutting those cards apart, educating himself on his mistakes, and putting a plan in place to rid himself of the debt, he told us that 7 yrs later, they are debt-free and their mortgage is PAID OFF!
I was stunned.
Was he lying?
He mentioned a course he was going to teach and I knew we had to be a part of it.
We went faithfully. We put plans in place. (By the way we were age 22 & 23 at this point)
By the time my 12 weeks came off from work with my new son, we had saved enough money so I wouldn't have to go back to work early. It was a miracle.
We sold our house - paid off the card - paid for our first car in cash - and paid all Joel's student loans. We were free.
It's an amazing feeling but I wonder where we'd be had we not had that training. that aha moment.
Last night's talk was beautiful as we dreamed. Together.
We are considering putting our house up and moving nearer to downtown.
The thing that must remain true, however, is that when it comes to money. It's JUST money. Patience is what we must covet more than the money itself. Desire without the patience is just stress.
a BUDGET talk.
We have had those a zillion times before - probably 5-10 too few back in the early days. We laughed over how crazy we were early in our marriage. We would spend and spend and spend as if there were no consequences. The credit card seemed like our reliable old pal.
Then the statement came.
The fear.
The regret.
I got all Suze Orman-esque and started educating myself. THEN - I found out I was pregnant with Jude. Joel and I were attending a great church in the inner city of Grand Rapids. The Sunday after I found out we were pregnant, I remember sitting there discouraged about our future and what type of future this child might have.
One of the musicians came up after the worship time to share a story. He told a story of the $100K+ debt he accrued by the time he was 21. He was charging recording equiptment, instruments, computers. He met his to-be wife and the credit card was too maxed to buy her a ring. After a humbling time of cutting those cards apart, educating himself on his mistakes, and putting a plan in place to rid himself of the debt, he told us that 7 yrs later, they are debt-free and their mortgage is PAID OFF!
I was stunned.
Was he lying?
He mentioned a course he was going to teach and I knew we had to be a part of it.
We went faithfully. We put plans in place. (By the way we were age 22 & 23 at this point)
By the time my 12 weeks came off from work with my new son, we had saved enough money so I wouldn't have to go back to work early. It was a miracle.
We sold our house - paid off the card - paid for our first car in cash - and paid all Joel's student loans. We were free.
It's an amazing feeling but I wonder where we'd be had we not had that training. that aha moment.
Last night's talk was beautiful as we dreamed. Together.
We are considering putting our house up and moving nearer to downtown.
The thing that must remain true, however, is that when it comes to money. It's JUST money. Patience is what we must covet more than the money itself. Desire without the patience is just stress.
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| always on the same team. always. |
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