My DH and I both retired early to take care of parents, quitting before we were eligible for Social Security. I had a great retirement package as a public school teacher, but my hubby really just quit. Mind you, we're not wealthy people. But I had been working toward retirement for many years, always saving any pay raises I got, and purposefully living below our means, paying off credit cards in full each month and limiting our debt as much as possible. Now, we have DH's SS, and this next year I will be eligible for it, too. I've since inherited my Daddy's estate, part of which we gave to our daughters, so we could enjoy seeing them make good use of it. But there's a good bit in the bank right now, waiting for us to decide how to best invest it for future growth.
Am I bragging? Well, maybe, but really I'm just stating the facts, Ma'am, just the facts.
So, it's been really interesting to listen to the Dave Ramsey show on the radio every morning, as we were living the debt free lifestyle long before we ever heard of his Financial Peace ideas. I can testify that it does pay off.
We both owe our frugal ways to the upbringing of our parents, products of the Great Depression. Fortunately, unlike so many couples, who have succumbed to easily obtained credit cards, payday loans, car title loans, and sub prime mortgages, we always strove to stay out of debt. When we did find it necessary to use credit, we were careful to get the best interest rates and pay everything off just as quickly as possible. We also tithed through almost all our married years, although there were a few times when we didn't - something I'm not the least proud of. That good stewardship of our money left us financially able to quit our jobs and take care of our loved ones. We are both very grateful for that, and wouldn't have had it any other way.
So, if you are one of the many who is carrying a load of credit debt, I would urge you to spend some time listening to the Dave Ramsey show, reading his books, or exploring his website. If you weren't fortunate enough to have had prudent teaching from your parents about how to live within your means, or you just didn't follow their good example, then he may be able to help you live better than you deserve, too.
Showing posts with label tithing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tithing. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Living Below Our Means
I'm not saying we were always able to do it, what with two growing children, but our intent all through our married lives has always been to live below our means. This general attitude toward money has stood us in good stead through some pretty tough times financially over the years.
We lived in a trailer for a total of 11 years on the property we bought when we moved to this lovely rural area we live in, before we built a house on the land next to it. We were the only people in our church who lived in a trailer, even though DH had an executive job at the time. When he lost that job after several years, we were glad we had been frugal, as we paid off the trailer and lived there without payments or interest. That made a big difference in surviving that time of unemployment.
Our children grew up with everything they needed, but not with everything they wanted. Knowing how present giving tends to escalate over a period of time, we started out with very limited Christmas presents when the girls were little. Grandparents were more than willing to be the ones that did the gift showering, anyway. The girls always ended up with more than enough toys, so I usually boxed up some of them and put them away for a few months. Then, when the novelty had worn off of the others, out could come this box of brand new things to be enjoyed. We did the same thing with Birthdays, too. So they never lacked for nice clothes or toys, but they weren't overwhelmed with them, the way so many children seem to be today.
We rarely drove new cars, usually driving used ones for well over 100,000 miles. In fact, now that we're retired, we've bought our first new car since we were carefree young marrieds - a bright blue PT Cruiser!
My DH never liked to travel, so our vacations involved splurging locally on going to movies, buying furniture, shopping for nicer clothing than usual, eating out and just generally being nice to ourselves and enjoying each other's company.
We weren't penny pinchers, or at least I never felt like we were, but thanks to our efforts, we managed to send both girls to college and pay off the mortgage on our home by the time we retired, plus reward ourselves with that PT! I wish I could say we had tithed all that time. We did through most of those years. In fact, we tithed through some of the roughest years. But there were some, for one reason or another, where we slacked and did not. I'm not at all proud of that. But I do credit the fact that we tithed as being the reason we were able to make the 90% we had left go as far as it did.
I'm not telling all this as a way to brag on us, but as a way to make a point. I don't think people even consider the idea of living below their means anymore. In fact, it seems that quite the opposite is the norm. Everybody wants the best NOW. No waiting, no saving, no doing without. Instant this ... instant that. I'm relieved to see that both of our girls have grown to see the advantage to living at least within their means, if not below it, as we did. That, in this day in time, is an accomplishment!!
We lived in a trailer for a total of 11 years on the property we bought when we moved to this lovely rural area we live in, before we built a house on the land next to it. We were the only people in our church who lived in a trailer, even though DH had an executive job at the time. When he lost that job after several years, we were glad we had been frugal, as we paid off the trailer and lived there without payments or interest. That made a big difference in surviving that time of unemployment.
Our children grew up with everything they needed, but not with everything they wanted. Knowing how present giving tends to escalate over a period of time, we started out with very limited Christmas presents when the girls were little. Grandparents were more than willing to be the ones that did the gift showering, anyway. The girls always ended up with more than enough toys, so I usually boxed up some of them and put them away for a few months. Then, when the novelty had worn off of the others, out could come this box of brand new things to be enjoyed. We did the same thing with Birthdays, too. So they never lacked for nice clothes or toys, but they weren't overwhelmed with them, the way so many children seem to be today.
We rarely drove new cars, usually driving used ones for well over 100,000 miles. In fact, now that we're retired, we've bought our first new car since we were carefree young marrieds - a bright blue PT Cruiser!
My DH never liked to travel, so our vacations involved splurging locally on going to movies, buying furniture, shopping for nicer clothing than usual, eating out and just generally being nice to ourselves and enjoying each other's company.
We weren't penny pinchers, or at least I never felt like we were, but thanks to our efforts, we managed to send both girls to college and pay off the mortgage on our home by the time we retired, plus reward ourselves with that PT! I wish I could say we had tithed all that time. We did through most of those years. In fact, we tithed through some of the roughest years. But there were some, for one reason or another, where we slacked and did not. I'm not at all proud of that. But I do credit the fact that we tithed as being the reason we were able to make the 90% we had left go as far as it did.
I'm not telling all this as a way to brag on us, but as a way to make a point. I don't think people even consider the idea of living below their means anymore. In fact, it seems that quite the opposite is the norm. Everybody wants the best NOW. No waiting, no saving, no doing without. Instant this ... instant that. I'm relieved to see that both of our girls have grown to see the advantage to living at least within their means, if not below it, as we did. That, in this day in time, is an accomplishment!!
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