A Blessing, Borrowed Books and Budgeting

I know, I know. I am technically three posts behind, I have just barely finished reading my first ever borrowed book as a mommy, and I have added a new, very gruesome resolution to my list of what I had expected to be simple, easy-to-abide-by goals for my 2014. Before I get into things, I cannot forget to mention that Zachary had the honor of blessing our Kannon on the second of this month, and I, along with our (rather large) supportive family, had the privilege of experiencing his sweet, sincere words. I am so proud of my boys and would like to publicly applaud and thank Z for all that he has done for our little family. I one hundred percent do not know where I would be without him -- he has my whole heart. And for those of you who do not follow me on the all-seeing Instagram or Facebook, here is a peek at us on Kannon's blessing day.

Z & K 

Thanks to our family and friends, the happy day turned out perfect, topped with a Seahawks' win and all (not that I am a Seattle fan, I just couldn't bare to witness Denver win a Superbowl after robbing my Tom Brady of a championship).

Before I get too off-topic, let us get down to the nitty-gritty, the nuts and bolts, the meat and potatoes... Let's talk about the B-word. A B-word my husband always likes to bring up most inappropriately during pillow talk. This B-word haunts me, literally, and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand. What new goal should you look forward to reading my complaints about, might you ask? YES, you are right. B u d g e t i n g. Straight from the lips of my dear husband, "Stop spending money, Shayna." And he reminds me all. the. time. Even on days I don't leave the house, thanks to the very convenient internet and "free shipping" codes I find with a simple drum of my fingertips on the keyboard. But, honestly, my mouth tastes sour even thinking about how much money I have the ability to spend in a single shopping trip, real or cyber.

So, naturally, I put the handy search bar to use and came up with some interesting theories on budgeting, the most simple, eye-opening and even comical coming from Philip Brewer. He gave me some perspective on the matter asking me to list all the necessities we pay for each month, as well as all the worldly things I can't help but to want. I'm sure you can imagine how the lists contrasted. Electricity was definitely not the top spot on my wants lists, nor was water, or a place to live, or cable, or food. I didn't even think to put food on my wants list. Like, who am I trying to kid? Myself, apparently, because I obviously didn't realize that all of my needs are just that -- things that I cannot fathom living without. Budgeting around all of those bills with the mentality that I actually really do enjoy eating, and sleeping under a roof, and taking warm showers might change my perspective about the way I spend my husband's/our hard-earned cash.

Those of us who have families need to remember that our spending and saving habits won't only affect ourselves anymore, but will either benefit our loved ones, or somehow hurt them. I want to be able to buy a home with my husband, and I want to be able to give my son a car on his sixteenth birthday, and maybe even pay his way through a two-year mission and college if we are so lucky. And Heaven forbid another recession strike, or any other sort of economical crisis, national or personal... I don't know about you, but I would like to not end up living in a cave tomorrow or ever. And as for our future generation? Take a looksy at ways we can teach our little ones to appreciate and maybe understand the value of a dollar. It seems almost wrong, or maybe far fetched, but only because we don't remember learning compound interest calculations when we were 12. I wish that I had, nonetheless.

I'd like to ramble on, but am officially out of time. The point of my post today is that yes, it is a b-word trying to save money, but with all the insecurities in this world today, budgeting will prove more than worth it at some point or another. So, the next time you can't decide whether you want that new, adorable VS sweater, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, do I really need a fifteenth cozy sweater, or would I rather send my son to college? That ultimatum should make things dramatically easy. You're welcome ;].

Thanks for the view, my lovelies.
Yours truly.