Budgeting

Finances are one of those things that it’s easy to get stressed over - especially if you aren’t on the same page as your spouse.  We were blessed to attend Financial Peace University.  We budgeted before going - and weren’t so bad off - but the tools and concepts we learned there (like spending every dollar ahead of time and how to be on the same page with one another) have helped us to really make our money count.  It’s why they call their university “Financial Peace.”

Our budget has been a bit tight for awhile now, with my husband going to school.  Looking back, though, I realize that I haven’t been stressed over it.  Sure, we haven’t been able to do some things we want to, and have been leery about spending a fortune on my physical issues (which can be a black hole), but we haven’t been stressed about it.  

Budgeting isn’t the only reason for our lack of stress, but it is definitely instrumental.  We have sought to follow God in each major step we’ve taken (school, work, buying a house, etc.), and know that God will care for our needs no matter our circumstances.  He is sovereign over those circumstances, and nothing is outside His jurisdiction.  Knowing this, we plan our finances with one another on a month-to-month basis, and have held onto our emergency fund.  We haven’t been in debt (except for our home) for about four years now, and that, too, is a blessing.

I am thankful for budgeting, that God, in His wisdom, created a way for a husband and wife to not only express their unity in their finances, but also to be good stewards of the resources that He has given us.  I look forward to what God will use our budgeting to accomplish.