Interesting Timing

First I want to apologize for not having cute pictures to post, maybe I'll tag one on at the end of this.

Recently, Brien and I met a financial goal. It feels good, but really you've only met the goal if you don't backslide. We want this "met goal" to be permanent, and it shows progress. We have a general budget, but it's not down to the penny, and sometimes it's more flexible than it should be.

This morning I pulled out my scriptures to read for a few minutes. Zarina was already awake, I was letting her happily play in her crib, waiting until she demanded to be rescued to get her. After a chapter in the Book of Mormon I randomly opened the Bible. It happened to be Psalms, so I read a few pages. In (KJV) Psalms 4:2 it says in part". . . How long will you love vanity, and seek after leasing?" It's talking about seeking after the things of men; things that are of this world and therefore don't have an eternal aspect. The physical things of this life are just on lease until we die.

When I read that verse it struck me how it can be simplified and related to finances. You can't afford the super swanky car; so, because of your vanity, you lease with low payments instead of making the same low payments on a car you can afford to purchase. Anytime you put a purchase on a credit card because you don't have the cash you are possibly putting your love of vanity first and seeking after "things" that won't make you eternally happy, or even happy 10 days from now. (I think there are things that we can go into "smart" debt over. There are emergencies when you don't have the money and have to put a car repair on a credit card.) I mentioned to Brien the other day that it's not large purchases that created our debt. We have lots of little purchases that add up and make it hard to save for the big purchases. So our large purchases and home improvement projects wait until we can afford them. We are happy with the progress we've made in reducing our debt over the 3.5 years of our marriage. I wish that I had made smarter financial decisions before our marriage. My student loans will be paid off in 2014, Brien's sometime after that. Hopefully, before those 5 short years pass I will be able to happily report that we are debt free, except for the student loans. At least we are learning early in our relationship how to handle our money, even though there is still much more to figure out.

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At the Hogle Zoo in July Zarina and her cousin Spencer both had their noses painted (for free).


Last week we went into the toy area at Economy Drug. Z was so excited when she saw the tube and just dove right in. Luckily she wasn't quick to exit, so I could snap a cute shot.