Be Free of Required Christmas Giving

This year Fabian and I chose to spend A LOT less on Chirstmas this year.

We wanted to pay off our medical bills in December, which we did! (Thanks to our small Christmas budget!) We also want to get closer to paying off our car by January.

I was a bit nervous about talking to my mom about it.  She came to visit in October.  We sat down in my backyard.  I told her I wanted to talk about Christmas. She was unsurprisingly completely fine with not doing a Christmas gift exchange.  Her only comment was, "I can still buy the boys gifts, right?"  Of course I said yes.

This season I cannot help but be so grateful for the people we have around us.  Because we have been so up front with where we are financially, I find that there is no sense of pressure to purchase gifts for each other.  Instead there is a sense of peace and of gratitude that we as friends and family have made it though another year with each other in our lives.

Don't let me fool you.  I had a small Christmas budget and I still went over. Ha! My budget was $100.00.  This included a babysitter for parties, food, gifts for the boys, and a small Christmas Tree. I spent more on the babysitter than anything else.
However, I so enjoyed the time with friends in a kid-free environment.  I love my boys, but I also like having adult conversations without interruptions.

We spent $20 on Benaiah's gifts.  I bought him a train table at a garage sell for $10. I went to Target and purchased some magnet trains to go with it for another $10.
Malachi is opening a gift bag with lots of paper in it. :) I'm sure he'll love it.

We bought that blue train table!
Shhh! Don't tell Benaiah, yet.

Getting into my Christmas wrapping box. 

I am all for giving to friends and family.  If my friends or family have to break their bank to buy me something, it's not worth it! For goodness sake, it's required giving.  Give when you feel you need to not because to have to!

Giving is not just a Christmas thing.  It's a year round thing.  You give because you can.

So don't feel bad for not being able to give every single family member a Christmas present.  Be grateful you get to spend time with them.  If you feel the need to give something, but you don't have money, make something. Rice Krispie treats are the bomb. Just sayin'. ;)

This Christmas I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, eating a delicious pot roast and playing a few card games.

Merry Christmas! 

Needing More Contentment

One of my favorite quotes is the following:  

Let us let that sink in for moment.

This is ardently important for us to understand if we want to win in our financial journey.  Contentment is key.  Comparison keeps us from our contentment. 

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4: 11-12

Last week I caught myself day-dreaming about a new compact SUV.  Currently, I drive a 2001 Honda CRV with 150,000 miles on it.  We were a one car family (our choice) until we purchased the Honda in February of 2013 for less than $4,000.  The driver's side window doesn't roll down. And it has sun damage.  However, it runs. :) It gets me to where I need to go.  It hauls my son and all his gear.  

I was completely content with my vehicle until I saw those new pretty CRV's...  I compared.  Benaiah and I were at a park last week in a nice neighborhood.  Here I was with my lovely paid for CRV and I parked next to a mommy and her new CRV. For a moment, I dreamed of what it would be like having a nicer car. 

Then I stopped.

We are doing something a lot different than other families.  We are doing something crazy.  We are choosing to live like broke people so we can become free from being owned by credit card companies, banks, and government student loan agencies.  We have tried to impress people we didn't like and purchased a car that made us suffer financially.  

Maybe for you it's not a car. Maybe it's a house or future home, clothes, designer bags, shoes, electronics, or vacations. To win financially, we must be content with what we have and can afford.  If you don't like what you can afford, work harder. Ha! Don't dig yourself into debt just so you can lie to your own friends and family about how your life looks.

Not being content is a reason why people get themselves into tough financial situations.  We look at other peoples things and we turn around and choose not to be thankful for what we have. 
I feel like Christians are the worst in this area.  It's that, "let me look like I have it all together, but suffer on the inside," mentality.  It must be broken.  Christ called us to be free not to be slaves.  He's asked us to follow him not follow our stuff.  His grace is sufficient in our weak moments.  

It's okay to want and have nice things, but you have to go about doing it the right way.  Taking out loans on cars to impress people you don't even like is well, dumb. We've done it, but no more. Do I want to drive my 2001 Honda CRV for the next 5 years? Of course not. For now, while we are cleaning up our debts and saving for a new baby, we are content with our cars.  Will we save up and upgrade our cars? Yes, eventually. Though, It won't be an extravagant car purchase.  There won't be any loans taken out on them. We learned our lesson the hard way and won't be doing it again. 

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

I know God is calling us for a greater purpose in this season. He's teaching us contentment. I am excited to look back on these moments 5 years from now and see where He was leading us from.  

Until next time,
Leah 
Xoxo

Look for a Christmas Budgeting Blog soon! 

Image Citations:
http://livelaughrowe.com/one-word-comparison/