We have been in the position where we really needed to intentionally plan when and how our next meal would be funded…and which bills needed to be paid in which priority. We remember looking at a checkbook with an “almost zero balance” and asking, “How WILL we get diapers and formula and survive this week?” And I know that it can be downright frustrating and demoralizing.
We have also been in the position where we needed to consider the blessings God has given us. And we had to think about what priorities we would set for giving, spending, and general living. Of course, not being stifled and frustrated is much better, but it still can be an unsettling decision.
I know I am blessed with a husband who can, and does, handle our finances well. I admit that there are times when he talks about it…and I feel like I am listening to a foreign language. I trust him and I am grateful for his expertise.
Since we’re leading the group, we are participating as well. Part of the requirement is to write down EVERY penny you spend for at least 30 days---and, if possible, for 60 or 90 to get a real picture. So, starting January 1 of this year, we are writing down what we are spending. Everything. To borrow a Simon Cowell phrase, “If I’m being honest…” (and I am)…it has made me hyperaware of each purchase I’ve made. There are some I’ve decided NOT to make because I didn’t want to write it down on the paper. You know…ADMIT it!!
We are living in TOUGH economic times. Almost everyday that I go to work, I hear about another “cut” that is going to be made in our schools. While I am able to say I have a job, there are many who are not so blessed. Jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate. As you may or may not know, my job is being cut…which means I’ll be “back in the classroom” next year. It’s OK. But it’s not what I WANT…and it’s not where I think I’ll be best used for our profession.
And it all revolves around the GREEN stuff.
While I’d like to think I have a healthy perspective on money, there are times it makes me downright GREEN:
Sometimes it’s the green of envy. I see something someone else has and I think, “Gee, I wish I could have that!” It may be something really small like an article of clothing. But it also occasionally represents something large like a different house, a newer car, etc. We live in a society that touts bigger, better, faster, finer, more, more, more! It’s dangerous and it’s unhealthy. Often when I think I have this green “licked”…it creeps back up on me.
Other times it’s the GREEN that just means “sick”. It makes me SICK that we have to worry about it. It makes me SICK that I can’t do MORE to help other people. It makes me SICK when I see it controlling the lives of others. It makes me SICK when it controls ME!
And still other times, it’s the GREEN like the one that deals with our healthy environment. It’s the “green that makes the world go around” in positive motion. When the money monster is in balance, it’s healthy. It can help people and situations in many ways. It is necessary. It is helpful. It is a tool that provides security and freedom to so many. I like that green.
So, I admit it. The green stuff sometimes makes me GREEN…any one of these GREENS at any moment in time.
How about you?
Does the “green stuff” make you GREEN?
