Tag Archives: Life

Could You Live on 18% of Your Income?

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Yes…if you had to.

I did the math again last week to see what percentage of our former income we were living on this year. It is down to 63%. I thought that was pretty good until I heard of a man whose income was cut to 18% and he not only survived, but now does what he wanted to do all of his life.

The man was a successful surgeon. His father was a successful preacher. He wanted to go on medical missions trips and help others around the world.

His father died and he felt God telling him to close his practice and go help in his father’s church. No, he did not become the Pastor. He helped, behind the scenes with no glory or recognition.

He lived on 18% of his former income and just helped for six years.Then he was given the opportunity to go on a medical missions trip. He knew he was where he was supposed to be.

Now he spends six months out of the year on medical missions trips and the other six months he helps his brother, Joel Osteen, at his church called Lakewood. His name is Dr. Paul Osteen.

To give you a visual picture of 18%, I decided to post a photo of the leftover shepherd’s pie.

18% of a Shepherd's Pie

 

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Marriage is Not a Car

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Marriage is not a car that you can trade in for a newer model when it breaks down or starts to age.

Marriage is a breast.

Only adults have them.

It starts small and grows so gradually you barely notice.

It needs constant protection and support – sometimes requiring wires.

It needs frequent examination against the cancers that will harm it. Those cancers can kill you.

If properly cared for, it will nurture your children and be a source of comfort and pleasure for the rest of your life.

The alternative will cost you physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially for the rest of your life.

Investing in your marriage does not require expensive gifts, trips or dinners out. It requires time. Time to dream, plan and just touch base.

It’s the best investment you will ever make!

 

Frugality is Not Equivalent to Miserly

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Frugal people are the most generous people I know.

My first encounter with a frugal family was after I married. Shortly before the wedding, my then fiance’ was laid off and money was tight. Between the two of us we worked 10 part-time jobs.

I will never forget our first weekly budget: Rent – $40.00, Food- $10.00, Gas – $7.00. We didn’t eat much and the only place we drove was to work, the grocery store once a week and church.

One day after church we came out and found a ten-dollar bill stuck under our windshield wiper.  It didn’t take long to find out who our benefactor was and it was very humbling. This family was in the same boat we were in and they had two small children.  But I never will forget the joy on that man’s face when he said he was so glad he was able to bless us.

Recently, I shared with you about replacing the motor on our air conditioner. I waited for the bill with fear and trembling. I had less than half of the estimate in my maintenance account, but the motor he actually installed was smaller than the motor he gave in the estimate.

I saw him at church and felt guilty for not telling him I had not received a bill. So last Monday I called him and left a message. Yesterday, at church, my husband asked him for a bill.

He grinned and said, “It has been paid in full!”

What a blessing!

I decided to accept this “Random Act of Kindness” graciously. I will not turn into a detective and try to figure out who it was and I will say “THANK YOU” here. I also intend to look for opportunities to do the same for someone else.

Their “Random Act of Kindness” actually supplied two needs. Not only did they cover the bill for the motor, that amount in the maintenance fund will cover the increase of our property taxes that is due by Friday.

This is my fourth year of not earning a wage. I stepped down from my job due to my health. ( I worked for a (501(c)(3)) organization and did not even receive unemployment.)  God has provided for us over and over. I found I have to take each time my husband’s income is reduced as a challenge. Each time there is a bill that is larger than expected, I have to trust God to provide the funds, one bill at a time.

While I am facing my challenges, I am also deriving great joy from giving to others. There is actually a category in our budget for charity. As I have been blessed today, I will turn around and bless someone else. It may be as simple as getting a box out and looking for items to donate to Good Will.

 I know from experience it is better to give than to receive!

Never Trust a Half Price Plumber

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It was 1988. My son and I had just been diagnosed with asthma. I already suffered from allergies and it was strongly recommended that we get central air to keep the pollen out.

We had a small income tax return, so I went to my favorite plumber, the plumber we used at work and a plumber who attended school with my husband. The third plumber’s bid was half price of the other two.

Now our memory gets fuzzy. I say we chose the last one because my husband wanted to help out a classmate. He says we chose the last one because I was so cheap.

Frugal is being smart. Cheap is taking the cheapest bid.

It was a mistake. A week after the Central air was installed the motor burned up. The classmate installed a different motor and that was the last we heard from him.

Then the nightmare began. It just wouldn’t cool. Our favorite plumber tried every test and every trick, but the house was always 10 degrees warmer than the air outside.

On the plus side, in the fall it could be in the sixties outside and the house would still be holding the heat. Sometimes we didn’t turn on the furnace until November!

We had our electric company do an energy audit twice during those years and still could not figure out why it didn’t work.

My plumber tried to get an expert to come and check it out, but the temperature was hot and demand was high, so we decided not to wait any longer.

Finally, in desperation, we called in a friend who handled the heating and cooling in businesses in the area. He listened to everything we had tried over the years and ripped the thing apart.

What he found was a one speed motor that was wired to a two-speed fan. When you have central air you must have a high-speed on your fan to push the cool air up. In the winter, heat rises, so you can move air with the low-speed.

He put on a two-speed motor and IT WORKS!!!

We had three days of temperatures over 100 degrees and my house stayed consistently at 77 degrees where I set it.

Then we were sick when we realized for the last two decades we had been cooling the bottom two feet of the house and since the cool air never reached the thermostat, the air ran constantly for weeks at a time.

I called my favorite plumber and reported what we found.  I am not going to see him as much now. At least not to work on the air conditioner!

It was a painful lesson to learn. It is better to wait until you can do it right than to try a shortcut.

Two Year Reprieve on the Tax Cut Bill

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The Tax Cut was extended for two more years. I am glad that taxes will not increase, but I am also glad that I had several months believing that it would. It forced me to examine my spending on a deeper level than I had before.

It also made me look at my sources of income. What would I do if this source were suddenly to stop?

It relieves a lot of stress if you have a plan B. My kids ask me what I would do and I told them the steps I would take. I let them know we would not be homeless or run out of food. They have watched as our taxable income has decreased every year since 2007.

They weren’t as thrilled as we were when we paid off our credit card and auto loan in 2009. But the next time we had to tighten our belt it was easier because we did not have those payments.

I look forward to 2011. I plan on growing more of my own food. We are taking steps to make our home even more energy-efficient. (I plan on taking the drawers out of the kitchen cupboards and caulking the space between the molding and the floor behind them.)

There is always room for improvement!