Living Below Your Means

I think our society over the last 40 years has been in a practice of living at or above our means. That has finally come to bite us in the behind. What you are seeing now is a return to how people lived in the 50's and 60's. The idea that a person might have to "save up" to purchase something was a concept that was both foreign and repulsive to most people in America. The events of the last couple of years has produced a return to more traditional values. I think this is a good thing.

I guess I was lucky that my father from early on instilled on me these "old fashioned" values. The ideas of working for what you want and that you might have to save up to purchase something or, heaven forbid, sacrifice something. These are now carrying over into my family. I think that I have attempted to move this to a new level in my life and this is what I wish to talk about here.

My walk with Christ has led me on a path to truly examine my priorities and to let Christ guide my purchasing. I think I will start with a little history to explain this. My wife and I got married in 1988. At the time we both made approximately the same salary. As with most newlyweds, we dreamed of having children and buying a house. After about a year of marriage we became pregnant. The time to purchase a house had come. To qualify to buy a house we needed both incomes but because we had talked about it we made sure we purchased a house that we could afford on my income alone. This way we would not be forced into making my wife work to support a house. Having the option for my wife to stay home with our child was an important thing to us and one we were willing to "sacrifice" for.

People would tell me that it was impossible to raise a child on just one income. I would argue that most people were unwilling to raise a child on one income. Again, a difference in our way of thinking and our priorities. Please understand that there is no judgment here on working moms or anything like that. It is just important that you honestly look at your rationale behind your decisions and decide if you are being selfish or selfless.

Several years later, read 12, I had to make another big decision and take another leap of faith. This time it was a decision to put all of my children into private school. Because we had been "practicing" living below our means this was a possibility. We have never regretted the decision. Maybe I complain sometimes about all the stuff I could have but I know that I have made the right decision for my family.

Before anybody decides to get me fitted for a halo, let me tell you the other side of the story. Rarely does a week go by when I don't "want" to be selfish. I want the new car, the HDTV, and all of the other toys that society tells us we need. I often dream of "accidentally" pushing my TV off the shelf so I can get a new one because I can't justify getting a new one that I don't need. So, while my brain know I am doing what God calls me to, I am unable to rid myself of the selfish feelings I have.