Making The Most of Each Dollar

It's no secret, we have a big family!  It's also no secret that it's not easy to support a family of 7.

So what's the secret?

In a nut shell, it's simple, and yet not so simple in the times we live in.

We live within our means.  That means we don't spend money on things we can't afford.  To put it another way, we do not do things we can pay cash for.  In other words, if there isn't any money honey, then it's a no go.

Many years ago, when we were young and newly married, we got in a little over our heads and used credit, thinking we had it covered.  We decided to make a move, and assumed our current income would continue at our new home.  We were wrong.  There wasn't even half the income we had before we moved, and it wasn't something we had planned on, or could have planned for.  We learned a valuable lesson during that time.  We spent several years paying off our debt, and every single extra dollar that came in, went to pay to relieve that debt.  We also made a budget and wrote down everything we spent, every time we spent, and tracked it. Soon, it became a game of how much could we save. It was hard for us for awhile, but, we knew we could not be in that position if we wanted to live the life we had hoped for.  To owe money to creditors was an overwhelming burden we did not want to bear any longer than necessary.

So, just like most of you, we do still have credit cards, and we use them.  We use credit cards, but we use them like they're cash, and turn around and pay them off every month.  If there is no money to buy what we need, we don't buy it.  The credit card is not there for us to buy things we can't afford, or do not need and just want.  It's not a crutch to live like the Joneses, to be who we are not, but, to earn some points on the money we were already going to spend on things like groceries, and utilities, gas for the car and such.  We don't owe on cars, and we don't owe on credit cards.  It took a lot of years to come to a point where we could do that, and the sacrifices were worth it.

We just took a trip with 4 of our kids, and while we used a card to purchase this trip, we paid it off, before the due date on the card.  There is such freedom in living within your means.  Sometimes, it's painful, but after a while, it will become easier if you chose to not buy things you don't have the cash for.

Credit is pushed as a way to live the dream.  The only dream that thinking will get you is a nightmare, if you don't learn to control your spending.

Make a budget, and don't spend over your budget.  For some of us, learning the hard way is all it takes to get it, for others they just don't want to get it, and then there are those that it's a part of their DNA...

We fall into the DNA category now.  It's been more than worth it!