Nickels and Dimes

When my husband and I decided to take on the humongous goal of paying cash for a home, we were already living on a written budget.  We were already saving money every month.  We were already living lean.  So, when we approached the gigantic task of saving for a home, we had to do it a little unconventionally.

Most folks live with a lot of "fluff" in their monthly expenditures. Going out to eat is a regular occurrence.  So are lattes from Star Bucks.  Weekends may involve water parks, action parks, or amusement parks, but they don't involve free activities at the local park.  I could  feed my family for two months on the monthly food budget of most families.  My point is, when you have a lot of leeway, it's easy to cut.  But, what if you don't have the ability to excise hundreds of dollars of expenses out of your budget in a fairly painless fashion?  That is the exact reality for most families who live under the median.  That was our situation.

Getting the kids "on board" with our plan

Gathering the children into the livingroom, we looked into their eyes.  We said, "We believe that God has called us to do something very difficult.  We are going to move to a new home.  We do not have the money in our monthly budget for a large mortgage payment.  So, we are going to save up and pay cash.  We want you to understand that we love each of you dearly.  But, for a while, we won't be spending any extra money.  This is a great, big, hairy goal.  With God's help, the Ware family team is going to do this together! We don't have dollars to cut out of our budget.  So, we are going to save nickels and dimes."

Saving Nickels and Dimes

That simple phrase, "nickels and dimes" became the mantra of our home.  When we were tempted to spend money on anything extra, one of us would look at the other, smile and say, "Nickels and dimes."  Each month we would pray together as a family, celebrate our savings, and yell, "Nickels and dimes!"   Speaking words of affirmation, I would look at the boys and say, "God is going to help us get out of this neighborhood and He's going to do it on ...." I would wait for them to enthusiastically finish my sentence by shouting in unison "nickels and dimes!" 

I went through our budget with a fine-tooth comb.  I cut every category down to bare bones.  I found more money that I thought I would.  Every extra dollar that came into our home:  freelance, overtime, birthday money, income tax refunds, went straight into the bank.  My husband rode his bicycle to work.  We filled our gas tanks once per month.  I used cloth diapers. After I read an article that estimated it cost $.50 to dry a load of laundry, each week I hung ten loads of laundry outside on the clothesline until the first of December, when it got so cold that I could no longer do so.   I detailed how we saved for our home in this post.''

What we learned

Today I simply want to encourage you:  Here are some really important things that I learned about facing a great, big, hairy goal:

 - Don't run from it.  
- Look it in the face.  
- Break it down into smaller increments.  
- Save every penny.  
- Celebrate small victories.  
- Surround yourself with a great team.  
- Give thanks for God for every blessing.  
- Nickels and dimes DO add up to dollars!

Your Turn!

Have you made difficult decisions in order to attain financial goals?  Was it worth the sacrifice?  I'd love to hear about your victories and your challenges.  We learn from one another!

Remember,

Do all to the glory of God,

Hope