~Frugal Goals~

Today I thought I would do a post and talk about frugality and simple living.  I feel like we are bombarded in our society to spend, spend and spend more money.  It comes from all sides and everywhere it seems. There is always a holiday, or activity or something that arises that tempts us to spend money.  I am learning to say no to myself and others and learning to not waste God's resources.  Money is a gift and a resource and we should be very mindful about how it is used.  I have not always lived in a simple way, so these spending habits take time to develop.    I have had to change my way of thinking to help break the cycle that seems to be taught in our disposable society of mindlessly overspending.  We just celebrated mother's day, and it felt so nice that my husband gave me a gift that was a need.  Our bathroom facet had a leak and had needed to be replaced for sometime.  He put in a new facet as my gift and it truly was a blessing to my heart.  When we become mindful about every dollar we spend, and understand that the little purchases we make, add up very quickly and before we know it we have spent large sums of money that could have been put to better use.  

I truly think the first step in living a simple life style is understanding a need from a want.  As I have practiced looking at needs vs. wants with a more discerning eye, I am truly surprised at how much money is wasted.  I am on a journey of frugality where I am learning each day to be more intentional with how to spend our dollars, and how not to spend them.  I am at a point where I truly do not feel as if I  want anything for myself, other than what I already have.  I look at all the blessing I have and I have a heart of gratitude for my blessings.  There is a saying that goes, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough."  If we can look at the blessings we have as a gift, then we can begin to just be thankful for God's blessings and stop always trying to acquire more and more.  The hardest part of my frugal journey is learning to tell people I love that something is just not in the budget.  My children especially.  We give our children a set amount of money each month, and they may spend it or save it as they please.  When it is gone, they know they must not ask for extra.  I truly think that putting our children on a budget is one of the best gifts we can give to them.  This will help them to learn how to handle money.  I think is is important to teach them how to save for something they want rather than just giving it to them.  This builds a skill that they will need throughout their life and I truly think it builds character.  

Lastly I want to talk about what we allow ourselves to watch or read.  If we watch shows or read books where people are on the quest for worldly items, we start to believe that the purpose in this life is to gain riches alone.  There is nothing wrong with having money, but I truly believe that the more that God gives to us the more he expects from us.  So today I am on my frugal journey to continue to work on being mindful about where to spend our money, and every dollar counts!  When deciding if something is a need or a want, I try to look at the big picture.  We need food and water, shelter, clothing and medical care from time to time, and most things after those needs are met, are simply blessing that we have.  Mindfulness in our fiances is something that I truly feel is important for us all.   As always, thank you for dropping by my little space.  Have a cozy week.  Hugs. ~Juli