Spontaneous Thought Explosion - Making ends meet

How are we going to get ourselves out of this mess? I've been watching the news, reading the news, listening to the news, but I'm sure I don't even know half of the story regarding the economy. It's just so horrific to think that intelligent Americans in high ranking positions have made such appallingly greedy and plainly stupid decisions. AIG for instance. What about the automotive industry? And of course there are all of the banks! I'm neither an advocate or an opponent of President Obama, but I don't feel confident about his stimulus and bailout packages. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.
Where does a trillion dollars come from anyway? I can't wrap my mind around that number, A Trillion!

Anyway, here's how my family is dealing with the recession. First of all, we're a one income family and it's a very modest income at that. My husband and I have both had bouts of credit overload before we were married. We vowed to never abuse our credit again. Right now, besides our relatively small mortgage ,we only have 2 other open lines of credit. We never use our credit unless absolutely necessary and only when we can pay it off. We have learned to be patient and save for things we would like to have. Often that means we just don't spend!

I wish I could say that I'm a savvy coupon shopper, but I'm not. I use them when it's convenient, but my main goal recently has been to cut back on waste. I hate to throw food out. If necessary I will put a list on the refrigerator door reminding my family what needs to be eaten. If I don't regulate that, then food ends up going bad before it is eaten. It can be tricky feeding a family of 6. We go through 3 or 4 gallons of milk in a week! Grocery lists are crucial and I'm getting a little better at meal planning.

I always try to consolidate my errands to save gas. I shop at thrift stores and on craigslist. I've sold boxes of baby clothes on ebay. I've trained my kids in these lessons also. We do buy a lot of our clothes new too, but almost strictly from the sale racks at places like JC Penney, Sears and Target. I love showing off my $10 shoes or a $50 outfit complete with accessories. It's a thrill. Many of my youngest son's clothes come from a great little boutique...above my living room. Yep, my attic. He doesn't mind the hand me downs one bit...yet.

One of our biggest frugalities has been not taking any vacations. We haven't taken a real vacation in over 4 years. Summers have come and gone and we've stayed homebound. This is actually a big downer! I recommend that everyone go on a get-away at least once or twice a year. There are so many ways to do that on a budget. Time and scheduling have been our enemies. There is good news on the horizon for our family though. We will be going on an epic vacation this July. My father-in-law is taking the entire extended family to ...drum roll...Maui! (I'll give more details later) Although travel arrangements are being covered, there will be many expenses that we will have to cover ourselves. And I'm happy to say that not one cent will be placed on a credit card. If it were, we wouldn't be going.

As it is, my family, at this moment, is not feeling the recession's pinch. My husband has a good job. We have cell phones, cable tv, internet access and other comforts, but my fears are mounting. Job loss, a serious illness or natural disaster can take everything away in a blink of an eye. Is God telling us something in this recession? Is this a reminder? I think maybe it is. A reminder to start living within our means! God blesses honest work. God commands our tithes. God blesses generosity. And God also blesses our wise spending.

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