money stuff

Hey folks.

Well I did get a new camera and as soon as I figure out how to do the downloads and uploads, etc. I'll post some pics.

I wanted to write about God's provision. The last year and a bit has been quite challenging for us financially. My husband became self employed (by choice) and our income has dwindled away. It has been hard to adjust the way we live to what we are currently earning. Mentally, the thought of living on less is appealing, but practically it is a challenge. I hate having to second guess all of my purchases. And then feeling guilty when I don't. When I decide I need something - or want it, that's it. Not really a great attitude for living frugally.

So, over the last few months, we have been cutting away at our expenses trying to get them as small as possible. We refinanced our mortgage to save $300/month. I just switched gas and electricity companies - in spite of paying a hefty cancellation fee - to save over $8 a Gj on gas. We don't have a lot of tv channels. I reduced our movie subscription from $25 to $6 a month. I get my clothes at a second hand store. We accept all hand me downs gratefully. With my husband's business we actually bought a massive photocopier to save over $1000/mo. We constantly debate whether we should sell our house and buy a townhouse. Our house is not extravagant: It has only one bathroom! But if we sell it and downsize, we could put $75k against our debts.

As a Christian who believes that God will provide for us what we need, it's been hard to reconcile over the past 6 months or so as we continually dip into our line of credit. I ask, "Are we living with too many wants? Are we not good stewards of what we already have? The last month or so has given me glimpses of how God does provide for us. Just when our property tax was due, I received my tax refund. I didn't even know I was getting a refund because someone else does our taxes. In addition, my work tops up my EI payments for the first 4 months while I am on maternity leave. The first payment from work after 6 weeks arrived 5 days before the city tax bill was due. I was able to pay the property taxes and our bill and pay the entire balance on our credit card. (We only have one with a very small limit.) Praise God! I had been wondering how it was going to happen and just assumed that once more, we would use our LOC. But no, God brought money at the right time. And I just paid the bills for July and we had enough money in our account again! With the 3rd child, our child tax benefit and universal child care money has increased! Again, God providing. My husband just had a cash sale this week after a long drought. It should give him enough to pay the business bills for the month. Once again, a welcome relief.

I am getting better at buying less and using what we have. Things like making a salad because I bought lettuce!