September should be the new year.
New activities.
New routines.
An almost new school year.
New lessons while cooking dinner.
And talk about money!
Sexy Neck and I have embarked on an intensive look at our budget.
Spreadsheets.
Bills.
Bank statements.
Daily conversations.
We have lived in our home for over a year. Our boys are in the activities they would like to be in. We have found our places to grocery shop and realized how our spending has changed. We miss our backyard rental suite that we had in our old home, but we have ideas. STAY TUNED!
I have been working on our budgeting spreadsheet as well as listening to Youtube videos about budgeting. I have come across a very interesting man, who was once bankrupt, who believes in God and now teaches others about finance. His name is Dave Ramsey. Youtube him and you will find out some interesting things. I listened last night to a short eight minute video and here are some of the highlights:
- God owns money, stuff, time and talents.
- We are the managers.
- These things (money, stuff, time and talents) are not ours, stop worrying about them.
- God made us to be givers.
He also spoke about giving money to others or tithing. He basically said that to tithe means one tenth. We could give away one tenth of our income right at the beginning of the month.
Today, I was cooking dinner and thought about this concept of giving away one tenth of our income right away.
When I was cooking dinner, I was stretching our leftovers from last night to feed us all dinner as well as make sure that I had leftovers for Sexy Neck’s lunch for tomorrow. I decided to first put the food in Sexy Neck’s lunch and then serve the rest of us dinner.
Guess what? When I served the lunch first there was enough for dinner, but I know if I served dinner first there wouldn’t have been any leftovers.
I wonder if we gave away ten percent of our income right at the beginning of the month… I bet there would be enough for everything else too!
"Be" ENOUGH 
Interesting idea. Wonder if it would work. I usually write how much we need to give in my planner, and keep a running tally of it (including what each addition is for – makes it easier to keep track).
Like – carryover from previous week – 1000ILS. +300 from salary X, +20 from Y. = 1320. I do the same when I minus it.
Every once in a while we give a huge chunk away at once.
And seriously? We sometimes joke that money falls from the sky. Rather, we joke that money used to fall from the sky but doesn’t so often anymore. It did today, though . . .
I love that money is falling from the sky for you over there. What a beautiful visual and a connection for me writing this blog. My husband and I are really pondering tithing and this dinner was a profound moment for us. Interesting how the little moments can be so profound. Thanks for your comments, as always.
We love it, too. I hope it continues. 🙂
I think the little moments are always the most profound.