Managing Our Money
When I was in my 20’s, I was fortunate enough to have a good job. I also started a new side hustle, which has allowed me to earn more income. Although I earned more money, I did not handle my financial blessings wisely. Looking back now, I think I was so uncomfortable with having money in the bank that I thought of any way to spend it. I helped family members with their bills, with new cars, and I went out and had fun a lot. Focus on Your Family Needs Before Others It’s amazing to help your family, but when the timing is right. I was sitting on a house of cards. I had a good income, but no discipline to manage it properly. This is the mistake I am trying to get my kids to avoid when they are young adults. When I look back at all the money I could have saved and how much good I could have done by giving. It makes me regretful. Giving Today, though, is a new day, and every day we can do better. Have you ever heard of the word stewardship? Stewardship is the management of things. In a Christian sense, it is the management of all that belongs to God. In a financial sense, our money belongs to God. If we are blessed to have money in our bank accounts, we need to be good stewards of that money. Money can be a blessing for the good it can do, or a curse if we do not manage it properly. When I was young, I never budgeted my money; I just paid bills, used credit cards for random spending, and I couldn’t even tell you what I spent that money on. I had a ton of fun with my friends and just lived for the present. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying we should not spend money on fun experiences and things. Just spend responsibly by saving, budgeting, and tithing or giving. Growing and Learning Better Ways to Manage Money I have learned so much by reading, practicing, and learning new habits to be better with money. Any of the books by Dave Ramsey have been very helpful in establishing a foundation. I know a lot of people either love Dave Ramsey’s advice or totally disagree and don’t follow it. Personally, it has helped me focus on getting out of debt and saving money. Recently, I have read Simple Money, Rich Life by blogger and podcaster Bob Lotich. Great read with lots of excellent advice and habits to incorporate. The main lesson is to act today to make tomorrow better. Think of one step you can take today to move you in the right direction. Now go do it.
Overwhelming self doubt can be paralyzing to the mind and to our relationships. To me it feels like suffocating in my own thoughts of unworthiness, paranoia and self doubt.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves All of us have a God-given purpose. We must muddle through all the lies, stories, and BS in our heads to truly understand, conclude, and implement our purpose in this world as our best selves. What makes the process so difficult is that we must sit quietly and wholeheartedly with our struggles, weaknesses, and habits and work through them… not cover them up, avoid them, or drown them out with the world’s noise. Today is particularly tough, and I want to run from my thoughts and push them aside instead of asking where these weak thoughts are coming from. Overcoming Doubts We all have vulnerabilities, doubts, and worries that we need to talk to, process, and then give up to God. We are worth so much more than what the anxiety says in our heads. Everyone, but especially moms, deal with a lot of self-doubt around parenting, working, and our relationships with our spouse, co-workers, and friends. There are so many stories out there in social media and heck, even at the PTA meeting that we are not enough, and we can do more and be richer, smarter, craftier, prettier, and just not ourselves..because that is just not good enough. We have to remind ourselves.. We got this! Through the Lord’s Grace, we can do hard things. It’s ok to not be perfect, it’s ok to doubt ourselves, just don’t let it prevent you from taking action on your goals. It’s ok to have a day where you rest and not do anything remotely productive by society’s standards. I’m here reminding myself that it is ok to not have a perfect job, perfect body, and perfect family who does exactly what I say (my family is full of opinionated, smart, witty, beautiful people). It’s ok to sit with my sadness for a day, work through it (ask for help when I need it -Betterhelp is a great tool I have used while dealing with grief), and learn how to be strong in who I am and my purpose. We can, as a society, rise above self-doubt and lift each other up in strength and love. Much love to all of you living, loving, and learning. God bless you.