managing your household starts with God

Do you remember the Huey Lewis song “Working for a living,” (taking what their giving cause I’m working for a living?) - Well, after oh, I don’t know ummm (cough, cough, cough) 20 plus years I finally figured it out.  I HAD to work and not because I wanted to, but because I HAD to. 

I was living wrong. Instead of following God’s plan (interestingly enough its written in the bible) to live a debt free life. I decided to take a different route and see how much debt I could accumulate (I’m laughing at my own arrogance here.) I even believed that this somehowe made me important because credit card companies kept giving me more. I’d max out the card and they’d up my limit (we truly had a love affair.) Now, don’t get me wrong I had a fantastic time going into debt until (isn’t there always a but or an until somewhere) I figured out that I was working for Debt and I wasn’t enjoying my life. So how much in debt were we? Well, we don’t need to really get into the specifics (okay, okay stop twisting my arm, I was going to tell you anyway.) Our credit card debt alone was over $60,000. Add that with our cars and home and we were just shy of the half million mark. Half a million dollars! Let that sink in for a second. - Half a million dollars. - Uggghh

Well, I woke up - it was slow and I was cranky and groggy and grouchy and stingy and everything else you can think of when I realized I was an idiot (I’m a closet self loather and this was my olymics.) I knew we had to get out of debt and that it wasn’t going to be easy.  But you know what - it is SO worth it. Today we are 4 months away from paying off the last of our credit card debt - Yahoooo!!! (We still have to work on paying off our cars and the house) and we couldn’t have done it w/out God. He laid out the plan for a debt free life and now we are tuned in and listening. I look back and think how much better, easier and more enjoyable our life could have been if we had just followed his plan.    Lesson Learned

I’ve learned a lot during these last few years - how to pay off our debt, manage our money and household and enjoy the life God meant for us. If you are on your own journey to financial freedom or looking to begin your journey, I hope my insights and tips will help you along the way. Just remember when in doubt go to God - He’s never wrong (seriously, never)

Realize that only you can walk the path to being debt free and living the way God wants you to live.

Passages that helped me

(1 Timothy 6:10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (This was me)

(Proverbs 22:7) The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Yep, I believe this says it all)

(Philippians 4:19) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.—(See I told you God was here to help)

(Malachi 3:10) Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Give, give and then give some more. Getting out of debt starts with honoring God )

(Acts 20:35) In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.