10 Disciplines for Managing Your Money

Since I am actually at home(not by choice maybe God is trying to tell me something??)I decided to dust off a book I have been trying to read all summer: Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George. The chapter the I am actually on is kind of interesting with the state the economy is in right now: 10 Disciplines for Managing Your Money.

1. You shall not be in debt. "the borrower is servant to the lender"(Proverbs 22:7) and "owe no one anything" (Romans 13:8). I thought she gave some interesting ideas about ways to get out of debt.
*Go on a fast. What she means by this is to cease all unnecessary spending. That means NO eating out(that's a hard one for me). Nothing new for the house.
*Pray instead of spending. Make a list financial concerns and pray for them daily.
*Maximize short-term strategies. Do you really need to go grocery shopping or could you find a weeks worth of meals in your pantry or freezer?? Have a garage sale.

2. You shall not spend more than you make. I thought the following list was very interesting because I see this happen everyday. Jeremy and I have tried hard NOT to do these:
*Use a substantial amount(20% or more) of take-home to pay off credit card debts.(better idea don't have credit cards, then you won't have the temptation :)
*Add new debts before paying off old ones
*Have consistent debts with banks or lending companies
*Frequently late on payments
*Are continuing to stretch out your debts for longer periods of time
If you are in this kind of situation, you are spending more money than you are bringing in!!

3. You shall not buy on credit. Two guidelines that her and her husband follow for buying things on credit. Having a mortgage is okay when purchasing a home, since a home is considered an investment. Second, using a credit card is okay ONLY if you pay it off the purchased at the end of each month.

4. You shall not covet what others have.
5. You shall not love money. "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"(1 Timothy 6:10)
6. You shall give regularly to your church.
7. You shall give generously.
8. You shall know your financial condition at all times.
9. You shall have a reserve.
10. You shall practice self-control.

I would say you could borrow the book but seeing that it is already the fall and almost winter, I probably won't be finished for a LONG time!!

Stupid Cold

I was looking foward to spending sometime with the girls at Bear Lake but instead I am at home living on the couch ;( and since I didn't go to class this morning now I get to study all weekend--yippie!!

Gobble Gobble

I went into Walmart yesterday to pick up a few things for supper, I walk into the store and see a Christmas Tree and hear Christmas Music--are you kidding me?!?!?! What happened to Thanksgiving??

Maybe I am just a scrooge.

Thankful Friday #3

I am thankful for my wonderful husband--who surprised me yesterday at work by coming to see me with flowers :) and no he did NOT do something wrong.
I am thankful I got a 98 on my A&P test--especially after I saw the grades around me!!
I am thankful gas is still FALLING--it was 2.19 in Ft Wayne this morning!!!
I am thankful for the pre-made frozen meals that I made with my in-laws last weekend because it makes me feel like a better wife since I don't have the time to cook right now.
I am thankful I haven't had any spasms in my neck/shoulder since Wed--I don't think the thyroid liked having an ultrasound done earlier this week. Maybe I can get a good night of rest :)
I am thankful for the weekend so I can get some rest.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!! I think we might be getting a jump start on Christmas shopping--when you work 34hours a week and take college classes you try to get as much done as you can, especially when your finals are Dec 18 and 19...yuck!!

Mouse Trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this contain?' the mouse wondered - - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning : There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, 'Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!' The pig sympathized, but said, 'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said, 'There is a mousetrap in the house!There is a mousetrap in the house!' The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So remember the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, ---- when one of us is threatened, we are all affected and can help, if only through prayer. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage and help one another.
YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO ME AND I REMEMBER YOU IN MY PRAYERS.

*i received this through an email just thought it had some good points*

Everybody wants my job!!

So I have some pretty interesting conversations with patients over the phone, some are pleasant, some are funny and some are angry!! I thought I would just share one of the conversations I had recently.

Patient: So I was wondering if I could get one of those tag thingys that you know you can hang on your mirror. So when its cold outside I can have a one of those front row parking spots when I go to Walmart.
Me: Ok I will check and we will call you back.
**the patient did have other question, that was one I think she was trying to sneak in**
Callback Conversation:
Me: Hi ----- you will need to call your primary care doctor to see if you can get a handicap tag because we do not authorize for patients to get those.
Patient: Ok, I will!!

defective wife

My poor husband is going to think he has a married a defective wife!! When we first got married I ended up with gallstones and had to my gallbladder out within the first 4 months of our marriage. His question to my parents "Does she come with a warranty?"
Now I have a multi nodular goiter on my thyroid, seriously?!?! Maybe the person that asked me if I was expecting just noticed that my neck is getting bigger??