Financial Freedom....ahhhh....

Okay so it wasn't so great how we GOT to the financial freedom that we are about to enjoy here pretty soon, but its all the same thing right? We've been trying hard (maybe not hard ENOUGH but really, who are you to judge!? ;) ) to get rid of some nagging little bills that we have acquired over our 5 1/2 years of marriage. Not really a lot of credit card debt though one bill was a Visa bill (less than $200 mind you!) but just doctor bills, some home improvements we did, and well our vehicle. We weren't really pushing the vehicle loan but were more tenacious about the little ones that just didn't seem to be getting any smaller and deffinitely not disappearing anytime soon! Enter Tax Refund Stage Right: Thank you Uncle Sam! Well, technically he should be thanking us right??? Even though we have our witholdings set higher than most people, we still got a nice chunk 'o' change back. Dave Ramsey would scold us for such a thing but really, we had no idea we would get that much back! ANYWAY, it was enough to take care of all the little bills! Praise the Lord! No more Visa! No more doctors! No more AmEx (we had moved our home improvement bill over to an extremely low interest credit card)!!!! However, we knew the vehicle loan on the Expedition would still be in play. Well, God took care of that for us on January 31st as most of you have already found out. :) It couldn't have come at a better time really. Steve's job is slowing down a bit and we never know if he will or will not be working from day to day which has always been the case but now not working is getting more and more frequent. HOWEVER, we will be getting another vehicle soon but right now I am just enjoying basking in the brighter light of the Financial Freedom Spotlight. I did say that we were ABOUT to enjoy it because we're still waiting for the GAP to finish our loan off. I must say the grass is a little greener...the sun is a little brighter...and though shakey the economy may be, the future looks a little bit better. :) I will be more than happy to bask in this beautiful place for as long as I can because soon we have to have another vehicle and there is no way to pay completely for it in cash. Its a necessity that we must have so therefore it calls for immediate attention. I wish we could pay cash... that would be so AWESOME to hand someone several thousand dollars and drive away in a vehicle we would actually OWN. This is our goal... to be finincially free permanently. No more loans....no more bills with balances seeming to stagnate. No more worrying about gas going up a few cents...I believe in being good stewards with what God gives you, but sometimes it would be nice to just pay for something and not have to go for the cheapest thing because your budget is so tight you can't blink without asking the the Budget for permission first. :) We have told our money what to do but yet the shortage of it has always dictated what exactly we can demand from it. We hope to be in a position someday that no matter the amount, we can tell our money what to do and it will do what we WANT it to do. Not what it HAS to do.... :) We praise God for meeting all of our needs and we have never had to miss a bill or forgone giving our tithes because of a shortage on a paycheck. He amazes us every week when we go to fill in the budget and He has sufficiently met our needs and then some. So for our Financial Freedom (though slightly temporary!) we give God all the glory and praise for it and also for our spiritual freedom we enjoy so much. Not really sure what possessed me to write this entry but maybe it was boredom or maybe it was just to brag on what God has done for us or maybe it was just to encourage you and your family to keep plugging along because God will never leave you high and dry and take care of His work and He'll take care of your's. Maybe it was just to share something with you that has been on my mind lately (and boy has it ever been on the ol' noggin!) and maybe it was just to tell you that we are changing our family tree - i.e. changing how we treat our finances and how we train our children to treat their finances. At any rate, I feel much better that is all off my chest now. :) Thanks for sharing with me. :)