Money Management

The past two Sundays at our church, Pastor Scott has been preaching about Money Management and tithing. The bible says that you should give 10% of your earnings to the church or to charities or religious organizations. Of course, John was in heaven when he started his sermon last Sunday, because John is.all.about.finance..... He loves it. Needless to say, he is definitely the one in the family that is all about stocks, investments, etc, etc. A couple of weeks ago I asked him what he would do if I told him that I had $75,000 in a hidden account that I had been socking money away one day to surprise him. (Note- I wish I had that, but I definitely do not!) I would think that most husband's responses would be: "What? That's awesome!!" No, No, No... Not John! He said, "I would be really angry." When I asked why, he said, "I mean, that's great, but I would much rather have that money to be able to invest and make a lot more money with it, then what a little ol' interest rate at a bank might give you...." Yep, this is pretty typical in the King household.... Never fear, my dear, you definitely don't have to worry about that! ha ha In fact, about 5 minutes into the sermon, John whispered to me of what I thought about moving me to the front row to listen more intently.. (Ha Ha- NOT funny!)

But Pastor Scott's sermon was perfect timing for us. Just 3 weeks ago, I installed Quickbooks on our home computer. I have been entering all of our banking information into it. We love it, because in about 30 seconds you can pull up a report (after you enter stuff in) of where exactly all your money is going. That night at dinner I was telling John the amount of what we average a month in eating out, shopping, gas, bills, etc,etc.... And it's. not. pretty! Well, not even a week after we have this information in front of us, Pastor Scott starts in on finances. John says that he thinks God is speaking directly to us, but I also think that everyone would be stunned to see where their money actually goes every month.

I want two new lamps for our living room. I read in a magazine somewhere that they said that your lamps in your rooms are like earrings. They can make or break an outfit (or room....). Of course, I am looking at our living room lamps ,which were hand me downs from John's parents that I have since spray painted and topped with new shades. After 3 years of them, I told John that it was time that I purchase us some new earrings for our living room.... errr, lamps. Well, I have fallen completely and utterly head over heels in love with a pair of lamps at a local store in Columbia. Only thing is they are about 3xs what I was thinking of paying for a pair of lamps.... So, I waited and waited. I wanted to make sure that I still absolutely loved these lamps 6 months from when I first fell in love, and I do. I really really do! Well, thanks to good ol' Quickbooks, I am aware of how many "lamps" I have hanging in my closet that I've purchased over the last 6 months. Just lovely.

I urge everyone to purchase Quickbooks. It's a little pricey at $200, but I promise you that it will show you how much you can save and how much you are really spending on items. That whole, "$20 here, $40 here, etc,etc"- It really adds up!