Money Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about money lately. As a stay at home wife/mom, I don't generate money for the house, so it's my job to preserve my husband's income. I do my best to be frugal and smart about when to spend, and I think I'm pretty good at it. Of course, there's tons to learn, and I look forward to being a miserly mom. So why do I feel like I'm blowing through my husband's income?

I think my problem is that I'm not giving any money away. As a bread-winner, I loved knowing that some of my money was going to the various charities our family supports. Now, however, I don't actually have anything of mine going to them. That makes me feel horrible. I always had the "if I'm not doing anything for missions/charities, at least I'm giving them money" type mindset. But now, I don't even have that. I try to make up for it by volunteering here and there, especially at church, but I want to do so much more! It's kind of frustrating.

Thankfully, my husband, loving man that he is, has agreed with me about the need to do something. Now we're planning a December mission trip that we'll spend with some missionaries we support down there. I'm so psyched. My spirit is so lifted just by the prospect of going and getting the logistics of the trip set up. Amazing. Although it will take money to get there, I know I've definitely contributed to those savings because I stayed within (and sometimes even below!) the budget my husband and I dictated for ourselves.

So, while money is the root of all evil, it is also a very powerful enabler. In our family's case, it's an enabler for outreach. What does money enable you to do? Get higher education? Support your family? Support your habits/hobbies? Money is powerful. Let's make sure we're using it the right way!