Financial NEWS and THANKS!

I am so grateful for all the advice and support people have given me in handling our finances! I feel that often people don't like to talk about how they view spending. I am so happy to hear that others have and are having some of the same struggles as we have had. I don't want everyone to be in a financial jam at all I am just happy to know I am not alone. KWIM? I am very happy for all the advice people have shared! Rob and I have stuck to our values and God did bless us in return. I want to thank the person who wrote me telling me that Oprah wasn't my only tool to use to guide us in making our financial decisions (I like the idea of having a Christian based one to look at) so THANKS! I hope to get a free minute to thank her personally but I can't find her message right now in my email.


NOW! This is going to sound CRAZY!!! I am very thankful for the hard times my husband and I have had over this last year!!! I know this sounds nuts but in my next 10-20 post I think you might see why! I am so happy that we didn't turn to credit cards when things got tight this time! I am so happy that I made the choice to "live without" many things I said I would NEVER live without! I feel that I am such a better person now for it! I think living in the US in this time many people don't know what it is like to live without (I was one of them). From living using credit cards and such I never had to "want" for anything. For me I now "see" that I was so use to having I didn't know what it felt like to be "deep down completely grateful the of tears of joy" feeling! I am happy I ran out of needles and thread and had to see that they are things that we buy with hard earned money! I always took them for granted. Make-up ummm.... not a necessity! I once thought it was. $40 a week food budget CAN be done but it is HARD to do! Koolaid to color yarn isn't free. I found that having to plan to get some kool-aid in our tight budget to color my yarn made the experience so much more enjoyable! For me having all the stuff we bought with credit cards made me numb and kept me from appreciating things. Living without has shown me how to truly enjoy stuff when I get it! I hope that I am able to keep this lesson I have learned in my head for the rest of my life!

My hubby got a promotion and a raise around Thanksgiving time. I am so proud of him! That isn't all our news! He wasn't allowed to be promoted again for 6 months (company policy) BUT! They told him to put in for another promotion and HE GOT IT!!! A few days before Christmas!! I am so proud of my husband! I love him so much! I am thankful that the Lord is helping us so much right now! At the same time my heart goes out to people who have had the same financial struggles raising a family and they haven't been blessed with things like 2 promotions in just a few weeks time. If you are in that situation and would like some extra prayers PLEASE just email me and let me know! I will be happy to pray for you and your family!