Charles Henry is my youngest son. He loves soccer, his mommy, and his new red bicycle. And what he learned in one hour last week will serve him well for the rest of his life – particularly in the area of personal finance. He just doesn’t know it yet. We approached his first bike-riding lesson with some amount of trepidation. Him, because he’d never fallen before and was certain that he would. And me, because I’ve fallen before and I knew he was right.
Let’s get back to our alphabetized list of money-saving ideas. None of these are groundbreaking revelations, as you likely deduced from the first 13, but they should all be considered with the exception of 1 or 2 that I threw in there for flavor. Hope some of these speak to you and move you to act.
(A – M can be found in the April 8 blog post saving is easy. sacrifice is hard.)
In a previous post, thoughts while sitting on a couch, I waxed poetic about financial planning – a component of which is financial margin. And I stated,
“Know where you’re starting
And know where you’re going,
Give, save and then spend
And let margin start growing.”
It’s a decent poem, actually. I also do kids’ birthday parties. I don’t, really. But if they afforded me more financial margin, I might think about it. And there was a time, many moons ago, where a weekend gig as the red Power Ranger for a group of 6 year olds might have been considered as the solution to my income problem. But here’s what I’ve learned. It’s not always a matter of income. For some of us, it may be more a matter of discipline. And some of us may cling to the belief that our standard of living is inextricably linked with our quality of life. And who could blame you if you felt this way? It just might be one of our culture’s greatest bait and switches. But there’s hope. There’s always hope.
In this 45 minute video, North Point Community Church Pastor, Andy Stanley, will further define financial margin and show you how to have more breathing room in your life. Regardless of what your feelings are on the local church, Christianity, or the Power Rangers, the financial counsel is solid. Watch the video. Warning: It might hurt a little. But I can assure you it’s less painful than financial slavery – and even less so than a four-year old, likely never washed, and one-size fits all Power Ranger costume. From what I’ve heard, of course.
Breathing Room – Dollars and Sense
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