Well, Frank and I are participating in a study to Navigate Finances God's Way. This is such a new thing - sort of. A couple years ago we did a finance study together to try to get our finances in order and reduce the ever-present debt we have. And it was good, for a time. We truly did have some great conversations, but after a time, we were right back to our habits which resulted in the mess we were in.
We were blessed to be invited to join a biblical finance study with our friends. I was all for it - what's not to like about talking about spreadsheets and money and hanging with some of our favorite people? Frank: not so much. Talking about money and dealing with spreadsheets are not his favorite things, but hanging with some of our favorite people is! so, we were in.
I have to be honest. Being in debt stinks. And I have a really hard time with it. And I am always looking to figure out how to reduce it - usually by yelling at everyone not to waste anything (at the kiddos) and stop buying things (at Frank). Aaaannnnnndd..... that really doesn't work well. BUT! I can show you my spreadsheets with the calculations on how we can be out of debt, not including the mortgage, in about a year and a half. Of course that time is also the same time frame I have been touting for the past few years! HA! It is just not happening.
Back to this new study.
I was good and did the homework for our first get-together. I read the whole book and I did most of the questions in the study workbook. And my thoughs were: eh. Yep, that's it: eh. The information I was getting wasn't really anything different from the other finance books I have read. The plans are all similar; there really isn't a magic word to say and get rid of the debt. It takes hard work and dedication to becoming debt free.
And then we got together with our friends. And around the kitchen table with cups of coffee, this financial bible study became something else. Wow, What a difference talking with others made in this whole situation. Frank and I talking about this is the same old, same old. We agree what we need to do then go about our regular lives. Talking with others who might have a different point of view on things and what they read, helped us to truly understand the great thing about this study.
For all the other things we have tried, the basic premise was WE had do things. WE were responsible for getting out of the problem we were in. The basic premise of this study is: we cannot do anything without GOD.
I have to be honest. Being in debt stinks. And I have a really hard time with it. And I am always looking to figure out how to reduce it - usually by yelling at everyone not to waste anything (at the kiddos) and stop buying things (at Frank). Aaaannnnnndd..... that really doesn't work well. BUT! I can show you my spreadsheets with the calculations on how we can be out of debt, not including the mortgage, in about a year and a half. Of course that time is also the same time frame I have been touting for the past few years! HA! It is just not happening.
Back to this new study.
I was good and did the homework for our first get-together. I read the whole book and I did most of the questions in the study workbook. And my thoughs were: eh. Yep, that's it: eh. The information I was getting wasn't really anything different from the other finance books I have read. The plans are all similar; there really isn't a magic word to say and get rid of the debt. It takes hard work and dedication to becoming debt free.
And then we got together with our friends. And around the kitchen table with cups of coffee, this financial bible study became something else. Wow, What a difference talking with others made in this whole situation. Frank and I talking about this is the same old, same old. We agree what we need to do then go about our regular lives. Talking with others who might have a different point of view on things and what they read, helped us to truly understand the great thing about this study.
For all the other things we have tried, the basic premise was WE had do things. WE were responsible for getting out of the problem we were in. The basic premise of this study is: we cannot do anything without GOD.
So, here is what we got out of the first couple weeks ....
1. All things belong to God and we get to use them. We need to use them wisely.
2. We really need to make sure we know what is a NEED (God will provide those) and what is a WANT (God might let us have some of those)
3. Discussing this with others who are focusing on the same goals is a lot more fun than trying to do this on our own.
I am sure there are many more lessons to learn - looking forward to seeing what this week brings! We will be focusing on the dreaded D-word: DEBT. Should be interesting.
For more thoughts on this study, head on over to my friend's place and see what she is getting out of this!
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