Each day this month I will be answering one question from these December Journal Prompts.
Day 30: Next year I’d like to improve my financial health by…
Financial health is not an area where I tend to struggle. Ryan and I are extremely frugal. Before we got married—in fact, before we ever even started dating—we discussed our values about money and how we wanted to navigate this aspect of our lives.
Our goal is to handle our finances with a great deal of intentionality and respect for the fact that they were never truly ours in the first place. We believe that everything we have has been given to us as a gift from God. It is our desire to use our resources wisely and in a way that honors the one who has blessed us beyond our imagining.
Our approach has always been to greatly limit unnecessary spending in order that we can give more. As such, we don’t eat out very often, we try to avoid frivolous purchases, and we maintain total openness and accountability with one another when it comes to our spending. That being said, as is the case in every area of life, if we’re not careful it can become very easy to let things slide over time.
On Day 15 I talked about one of the ways I let things slide this year. I found myself letting some food go to waste because I didn’t get around to cooking it or eating it fast enough. A large part of this was the simple fact that I was navigating the new challenges of motherhood, and whenever life brings on new challenges, other areas naturally take a back burner. I’m okay with that. I’m willing to show myself some grace. But this is just an example of one very small way that I let my financial responsibility slide this year. To me, letting perfectly good food go bad in the refrigerator feels kind of like flushing cash down the toilet!
In 2019, I want to improve my financial health by trying to get back to a more intentional approach to all aspects of my life. When I laser focus my attention on one area, I tend to lose sight of other important values that I hold. I know it’s impossible to get it all right 100% of the time. And that’s not what I’m aiming for here. I would simply like to be a bit more responsible with the choices I make, so that my resources can stretch further and accomplish more!
Braver Than Before 