Benchmarks and Tempations

I am beyond thrilled to say that, after a lot of really hard work, I am now $337.00 away from being debt-free except for my mortgage.  I wanted to wait until I was completely there before talking about it (which will be in a few weeks).  But I’m excited now.  I have a fair emergency fund and a decently-funded 401(k), but I have basically been plugging away at the debt very hard the last couple years.  (Having a roommate also helps.)  Now I can start to save in earnest all that money I’m going to need for school.  Yippee!

 

I’m tempted to actually let myself get financially ahead and be comfortable though: to be one of those people with no mortgage in ten years or less by socking all that money at the loan.  I dream of doing a little redecorating, and overseas travel again (one of my great loves, environmental havoc-wreakers, and debt-creators)… but that’s all stuff that will get in the way of my plans for the next five years or so.  It’s not going to prepare me for a student life, and then a missions life.  I’m not really into acquiring “stuff” but there are still things I dream about… and am tempted by.

 

I’m sure some of this line thought has come about since I had to put off school for a year in order to re-take the LSAT in June.  Which I am dreading… I worked so hard preparing for it the first time that I never want to see the damn thing again.  I’ve given myself until Ash Wednesday to continue relaxing from it and then I must start studying again, and find some tutoring.  But a couple more weeks of mental rest will not go amiss – it’s been a stressful four months between that and work and everything else.  Then I’ll still have four months to study, and also organize my mom’s move which is scheduled for two weeks before the test.  Always an adventure!

Tithe

I’ve been doing an awful lot of thinking lately about money.  Not about getting a ton more, but about my relationship to it and using it wisely.  After graduating college I lived for about 6 years on a pauper’s wages (by American standards), and have slowly crept up into the middle class since that time.  As my income rose I let my expenses rise as well, so that even when I was making $15K more than in 1994 I was still in the same financial pickle but with even more debt.  I’d always said, “if I ever get a big, fat raise I will pay all this debt off,” so when I was promoted last year I made up my mind that I would use that raise wisely and not waste it, because you never know what the future holds.  And I began examining my relationship with money.

Since that time I have put myself on a budget.  I have paid off thousands in debt and will be done with that (except mortgage) by February or March.  I am saving aggressively.  My budget is almost Spartan – down to the penny, so that even $20-30 in extra expenses throws me off-budget and I get guilty about it.  For instance, this week I “found” myself with an extra $50 and threw it at the credit card payoff.  I was so proud!  But then I needed the $50 and ended up taking it out of the emergency fund because I hadn’t thought it through.  I want to be done with debt NOW!!!  (I have the big savings account at a separate bank that is hard for me to get at, and a smaller one for emergencies and other budgeted/ foreseeable expenses.)  I need to learn to allow myself a little wiggle-room.

I’ve been examining my need to hold onto money so tightly.  Sure I have goals, and I’m well on my way to them with a definite plan.  I will have the school money I need.  But, I have also been thinking seriously about tithing this year.  I give regularly to various causes, but it’s time for me to tithe a full ten percent (which is what “tithe” means.)

Tithe is a church term about giving ten percent of your income to the church, but it doesn’t have to be a church thing.  Folks who are not religious or have different faiths can think about giving to whatever cause they believe in.  However, regular disciplined giving in any framework has powerful spiritual effects.  Even to start with $5.00 a month, every month to a cause one has committed to, is a major thing.  It changes one’s mindset and relationship to the world.  From a small but regular commitment, it usually tends to grow as years progress.  I found that if I give first and pay bills after that, I don’t miss the money.  If I pay bills first and then look at what’s left, I find it harder to afford.  But even on a shoestring budget, one can usually give $5.00 a month to something immediately after being paid and not miss it.

But I have been richly blessed.  The amount I give has crept up over the years, but not in proportion to my income, and as I walk my spiritual path I find now that I think I need to tithe in the literal sense.  I don’t know that it will all go to my church, though the largest chunk will (they publish the detailed budget so I know where they spend it), but some will go to other causes I believe in.  Right now my thoughts are with three specific organizations.  But I haven’t worked all this out yet.  It’s simply what I’m praying through right now.  Having a roommate, after March I’ll basically live on about half my income and be able to save the rest between my accounts and my 401(k).  And I need to continue saving really aggressively if I am to accomplish my educational goals – when I say I can’t afford something it means it doesn’t fit into my budget and would hurt my goals and plans.  At the same time, it’s time for me to increase my giving.

To put my money where my mouth is.