Newlyweds are notoriously poor, with hand me down furniture, second hand books, and a huge flat screen TV that was an unexpected and welcomed wedding gift, despite the fact that it sits on a small TV stand from some sweet Craigslist deal.
Chris and I started with very little. He had just finished school and was working full time at the church only 5 months before we got married, and I was still in school, not starting work until Sept of 08. We found a small 2 bedroom apartment in central Durham to rent, drove old, somewhat rickety cars, shopped at Target for clothes, and tried to not eat at expensive places (thankfully Tokyo Express is pretty cheap b/c we're addicted). We have no debt, unless you count the 2 years of work I owe to UNC for paying for school, but that's not monetary and I love my job.
Currently, we both bring home a pay check, and we're saving some and trying to spend wisely. Sometimes we go a little over our budget, like at Christmas, but not very often. We actually have more money now than either of us has had as adults. What recession?
Our pastor, J.D. challenged the congregation a few weeks ago to live two steps behind our income bracket in order to be able to give more for the sake of people in need and ultimately for the sake of the gospel. Dang...two steps behind?
When I compare two steps behind to the girls that I work with (who I consider in my income bracket), that means no new car, no buying a house, not much going out to eat, not a lot of new clothes, definitely not new clothes from the mall unless they are on huge sale, no needless trips...just not much at all.
Chris and I already live pretty simply and sparsely...what more can we give up?
That is our prayer right now. What more can we give up? There has to be more. We still have plenty to eat and to wear and a house that works, most of the time. We're not struggling.
Its part of the challenge to believe...to believe that God wants to do great things in this world...to believe that money is not where our security lies...to believe that He will provide in the future as we give in the present...to believe that I don't need designer jeans to be a normal girl.
Through this whole process I've seen how much I count on money for comfort. Not material comforts but emotional comfort...knowing that whatever comes up, we can handle it financially. Where is faith in thinking like this? Where is trust? What am I really believing in?
This story is not over...not even close.
Posts
Going Going Gone
8 years ago
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI am thinking and praying on how much I can commit to the Believe campaign right now as well, and I will include you and Chris in my prayers. I think some of the same things - aren't I living as sparingly as possible? when will I ever get to own property? If it would be helpful for you at all to know the budget that this single graduate student lives on, please check out my blog post from 2/8. (And when I look back on other posts I've made on budgets since I graduated from college, I can see how God has been training me to be a good steward of His money and has freed up some funds for additional giving.) I think the "two steps behind your peers" guideline is for people a bit further up the career ladder than we are now - I find it more helpful to just compare with myself at earlier times to see what more I can do. Please email me if you want to discuss this further, and best of luck.
Emily Hogan