Last week, since I've started my new job, our financial outlook is absolutely better than it was, overwhelmingly better. At the end of this month, after we've scraped and squeezed every last penny we could, we will be several hundred dollars ahead in our budget. This is a monumental place for us, but here is the danger. Many times it is easy at this point to say "We did it! We've made it through this challenge, kept our house, paid our bills!" ... not so. The challenge now is to resist the temptation.
Before now, if we found ourselves ahead in any way financially speaking, you better believe we over spent and/or dug ourselves deeper in financial trouble. The challenge has now shifted and become more intense, ironically so now that we have plenty of extra money to pay our bills at the end of the month. The challenge is no longer whether or not we can avoid foreclosure. Rather, now it is this. Can we keep the discipline? Are we going to save money? Are we going to eliminate the risk of our debts? Are we going to keep our momentum? Because I guarantee you, it is inevitable...inevitable for us, inevitable for anyone, that at the end of the month when we see those extra dollars we have floating around in our budget, it will be easy to start getting lazy again. It will tempt us with a false sense of security, when we see something we want to buy, when work stress starts to appeal to the foolish side of us that wants to indulge instead of stay on course.
Pray for us as we move forward.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chipping Away At The Hole In The Dam
I have work. I start tomorrow night, 3rd shift. It's messy, tiring work...but it's work and I'm not afraid of it. The starting pay is good, and it should be 40 hours a week...which means we're about to declare war on our debt.
We're here, arrived at a new challenge. My wife and I must brainstorm about how, logistically speaking, next week will happen. We've initially decided to get her working different hours in her job. She'll be working 12 to 7s most likely, whereas I'll be sleeping until around the time she leaves for work and into the boys' nap time.
It's going to be difficult the first week, I know this. But failure is not an option for me, we will make it, we will persevere through this. I'm hoping and praying a 2nd shift opens up, which will make life a little simpler. Until then, this is what I have.
We are thoroughly excited about this...things are materializing, getting out of debt is in reach. We're fixed on it, we've made a budget, we have a goal.
God is good.
How was your week?
We're here, arrived at a new challenge. My wife and I must brainstorm about how, logistically speaking, next week will happen. We've initially decided to get her working different hours in her job. She'll be working 12 to 7s most likely, whereas I'll be sleeping until around the time she leaves for work and into the boys' nap time.
It's going to be difficult the first week, I know this. But failure is not an option for me, we will make it, we will persevere through this. I'm hoping and praying a 2nd shift opens up, which will make life a little simpler. Until then, this is what I have.
We are thoroughly excited about this...things are materializing, getting out of debt is in reach. We're fixed on it, we've made a budget, we have a goal.
God is good.
How was your week?
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Plan vs. My Plan
It has been a long past week.
Today was the first day in a while that I haven't been running all over the country following up on job leads. Rather, I focused on cleaning the disaster of a mess we've left at our house in our absence and I've been finding more job leads online so that I can have more follow-ups tomorrow.
Sheria and I have a little bit of money coming in tomorrow from side jobs I've been undertaking that will keep the first week of october from being a financial loss for us. As of right now, my top job leads all point to next week for my ever-anticipated definitive answer. Tomorrow I have another job lead which would actually be exactly what we need right now...it won't be pleasant work, much less my ideal work environment, but it pays well and it will be second shift which, in our particular circumstance, would make child care a non-issue. In other words, another answer to prayer and sigh of relief, but I have to make it happen.
It was my plan that I would have something definitive for a job this week, but my plan didn't turn out the way I wanted. I can maintain consistency in my effort and follow-ups, but if there's one thing the debt plus job scarcity will do, it is bring out impatience in me that I didn't know I had. Enter the plan vs. my plan. Proverbs 16:9. At first I thought that getting out of debt was my plan. And I guess it was and still is. But I'm finding more and more that getting out of debt is God's plan for me and everyday I have to tweak my own overtly human version of it to look more like His.
Today I read an article about Sprint. Sprint is my current carrier, so I was interested.
Sprint is about to start offering the iPhone, but they're going over the top with it, they're prepared to invest 20 billion dollars in this endeavor, a gamble for them considering that they are already about 17 billion in the hole and still waiting on some other risky investments to pay off.
This investment decision assumes that they will move just as many iPhones as AT&T or Verizon, the two leading carriers in the nation. I understand now why this is a extremely bad decision for them. Whether or not they are able to pull it off is irrelevant, it's not a smart move. If I play with a rattle snake and avoid getting fatally wounded on the first go-round, that doesn't mean it's a good idea to play with rattle snakes. They could potentially make outstanding profit from this, but is the promise of that profit worth risking the integrity of your entire organization?
Suddenly, all the poor financial decisions we've made don't seem so impossible to fix.
My dad is in ministry. Something he always said when talking to students is "There are two ways you can learn wisdom. 1) Through personal experience or 2) through the mistakes of others."
I feel as though I've gotten a little bit of both. It's not enough to just make a lot of money anymore, not for me. What am I going to do with it? That is the crucial question that is changing the way I look at things. If all you intend to do with money is buy stuff and/or let it sit in the bank, you will most likely end up like me...as soon as you lose a job, you will nearly give yourself an aneurysm trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage. If generosity were a person, I cut his legs out from under him and beat him senseless...not because I was greedy but because I managed my money poorly...which in turn, disabled me from being able to give how I wanted, just as an example. Plus, it also sucks not being able to buy Christmas presents for christmas parties. But I think this is a necessary consequence. This is us learning from our mistakes and gaining wisdom.
Is there a time where the pain you felt was one of the most necessary things for your character? What did it teach you?
Today was the first day in a while that I haven't been running all over the country following up on job leads. Rather, I focused on cleaning the disaster of a mess we've left at our house in our absence and I've been finding more job leads online so that I can have more follow-ups tomorrow.
Sheria and I have a little bit of money coming in tomorrow from side jobs I've been undertaking that will keep the first week of october from being a financial loss for us. As of right now, my top job leads all point to next week for my ever-anticipated definitive answer. Tomorrow I have another job lead which would actually be exactly what we need right now...it won't be pleasant work, much less my ideal work environment, but it pays well and it will be second shift which, in our particular circumstance, would make child care a non-issue. In other words, another answer to prayer and sigh of relief, but I have to make it happen.
It was my plan that I would have something definitive for a job this week, but my plan didn't turn out the way I wanted. I can maintain consistency in my effort and follow-ups, but if there's one thing the debt plus job scarcity will do, it is bring out impatience in me that I didn't know I had. Enter the plan vs. my plan. Proverbs 16:9. At first I thought that getting out of debt was my plan. And I guess it was and still is. But I'm finding more and more that getting out of debt is God's plan for me and everyday I have to tweak my own overtly human version of it to look more like His.
Today I read an article about Sprint. Sprint is my current carrier, so I was interested.
Sprint is about to start offering the iPhone, but they're going over the top with it, they're prepared to invest 20 billion dollars in this endeavor, a gamble for them considering that they are already about 17 billion in the hole and still waiting on some other risky investments to pay off.
This investment decision assumes that they will move just as many iPhones as AT&T or Verizon, the two leading carriers in the nation. I understand now why this is a extremely bad decision for them. Whether or not they are able to pull it off is irrelevant, it's not a smart move. If I play with a rattle snake and avoid getting fatally wounded on the first go-round, that doesn't mean it's a good idea to play with rattle snakes. They could potentially make outstanding profit from this, but is the promise of that profit worth risking the integrity of your entire organization?
Suddenly, all the poor financial decisions we've made don't seem so impossible to fix.
My dad is in ministry. Something he always said when talking to students is "There are two ways you can learn wisdom. 1) Through personal experience or 2) through the mistakes of others."
I feel as though I've gotten a little bit of both. It's not enough to just make a lot of money anymore, not for me. What am I going to do with it? That is the crucial question that is changing the way I look at things. If all you intend to do with money is buy stuff and/or let it sit in the bank, you will most likely end up like me...as soon as you lose a job, you will nearly give yourself an aneurysm trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage. If generosity were a person, I cut his legs out from under him and beat him senseless...not because I was greedy but because I managed my money poorly...which in turn, disabled me from being able to give how I wanted, just as an example. Plus, it also sucks not being able to buy Christmas presents for christmas parties. But I think this is a necessary consequence. This is us learning from our mistakes and gaining wisdom.
Is there a time where the pain you felt was one of the most necessary things for your character? What did it teach you?
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Doing The Hustle
Last week, I pretty much marched into staples and told them to look at my app. Actually, I got very positive response from them. As of now, however, they are also considering someone else. They are supposed to be contacting me shortly to let me know what their final decision was.
I have found that it is difficult to catch fast food managers during the day...they are often very busy, they usually share many of the responsibilities of their crew.
Another month is starting. I need a job this week.
Tomorrow I will be getting more follow up on job opportunities as well as expecting the call from Staples.
Yesterday my wife and I did something we don't normally do, a necessary step in getting out of debt. We made a budget of how much we could afford to spend on groceries, formed a list of affordable, practical meal ideas and then withdrew the cash for the groceries rather than use our debit card. I'm beginning to see how much of a significant moment this was for us, it is a leap in the right direction.
We have also spoken with relatives and opted out of gift exchange for christmas get-togethers. We will only be buying gifts for our sons and possibly our nieces and nephews but none for any adults or siblings and only very minimal gifts to each other as husband and wife.
We're making a lot of changes. I personally have been. For a long time, I have been a push over about many things that I shouldn't have let go. God has gifted me with the ability to make thoughtful, guided decisions and I have to stop hiding from my purpose in this marriage and in my life.
I've had a lot of fear in my life, but no longer.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I have found that it is difficult to catch fast food managers during the day...they are often very busy, they usually share many of the responsibilities of their crew.
Another month is starting. I need a job this week.
Tomorrow I will be getting more follow up on job opportunities as well as expecting the call from Staples.
Yesterday my wife and I did something we don't normally do, a necessary step in getting out of debt. We made a budget of how much we could afford to spend on groceries, formed a list of affordable, practical meal ideas and then withdrew the cash for the groceries rather than use our debit card. I'm beginning to see how much of a significant moment this was for us, it is a leap in the right direction.
We have also spoken with relatives and opted out of gift exchange for christmas get-togethers. We will only be buying gifts for our sons and possibly our nieces and nephews but none for any adults or siblings and only very minimal gifts to each other as husband and wife.
We're making a lot of changes. I personally have been. For a long time, I have been a push over about many things that I shouldn't have let go. God has gifted me with the ability to make thoughtful, guided decisions and I have to stop hiding from my purpose in this marriage and in my life.
I've had a lot of fear in my life, but no longer.
The Lord is my shepherd.
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