I love tax time. We always get a lovely little refund back around this time...mainly because we are so poor and have so many dependents. ;-)
And every year that money goes into our account and the same thing happens. I call Matt to the computer and say "Lookie HERE!" and he looks at the nifty money in our account and we admire it for a moment, and then~ with the click of a button... it is gone.
One year I used it all for paying off school loans. One year I paid hospital bills. One year I paid off the credit card. One year it was used for moving. Last year, I used it to pay off our car. So it has always went. SO DEPRESSING, but we knew we had to devote that money to getting FREE.
Not so THIS year! This is the FIRST year, in our HISTORY, that our tax money wasn't spoken for before we even got it! What an AMAZING feeling. !!!!!!
Living with a budget, living with *less*, practicing financial self-discipline and struggling to live financially responsible lives is SO worth it.
Even if it means I get excited about $6.00 red shoes because I only ever BUY shoes that are $10.00 or less, or using an envelope system when really I would love to just have a few good doses of "retail therapy", or strictly sticking with a minimal grocery budget when that money is used up before the cart is even half-full every drop of discipline is so worth it to be out from under the pressure of financial despair or even just financial BURDEN.
I wondered if we would ever get here. I doubted that a one income (and a small one at that) family with scads of children (by today's standards) could ever be "on top". But we are getting there!!! Slow and steady. One "good steward moment" at a time.
Next stop: saving for a house.
*We think we can. We think we can. We think we can.*
By God's Grace...
6 comments:
Hooray!!!!!!
Worthy things to put money towards, but yes, kinda depressing too, to have that money for but a few brief moments.
Still jealous of your shoes. BUT. I remembered a pair I bought 3 babies ago. They were to big then but now they fit. (hold on to your red shoes, they're-gulp- *12's*) And I think they will be much happier being painted red, than bone colored. Who was I kidding when I bought bone colored shoes????
That's wonderful! I've been reading your blog for a while but think this is my first post... I love your blog and find your attitude towards life very refreshing & inspiring! I'm so happy that you're getting a little bonus this year that's "just for you"!
HOping next year we can do what you got to do this yr! Congratulations, that IS a big feat!! :)
Great job, Rebecca! So, does this year's return go to the house fund?
We get a similarly large return as well between having 1 income and 4 kids. This year, that money has to go toward leveling our home's foundation -- total bummer, huh?
Hurrah! I am excited to see what God gives you in days to come!
(And I hear you about the shoes. After I spent 28 Christmas bucks on boots, I realized that it was more than I'd spent on ALL my footwear for at least the last 12 years. Pathetic? Admirable? I'm not sure, probably the former, but it's still comforting to see your red-heeled feet and to know that even gazelles can be beautifully shod.)
19 years ago we started our married life with five children, debt, and no home of our own.
19 years later we are debt free including our home and ten acres of land, and have five grandchildren...
It's lovely.
Yes You CAN do it!
Post a Comment