Giving 100%

TJ and I recently began the hunt for a new family vehicle. In effort to keep my post short (we shall see), I will spare you the details and just say that we love our current car; it’s been good to us. However, there are a few features that would certainly make life a little easier on me if our big, red boat had them. And, she’s getting up there in miles and we are in our car a lot and and and…. I had convinced myself, and TJ, that it was time to trade up. There was a problem, though. Despite paying extra every month, and placing a decent down payment on the ole Expedition, we were still upside down on it. So aggravating!! Well, I continued to look anyways and I finally came across the perfect vehicle for us. A 2010 Suburban. It was nice! More features than I needed but it had the features I so badly wanted to make my life easier. Lets face it. We are in our car a lot. I NEED this car. TJ WANTS this car. Lets do it.

Despite our negative equity on the Expedition, TJ and I decided we would just add to the good size down payment we already had saved up and set aside in order to negate that negative equity and we would go through with the deal. The dealer had the paperwork drawn up and he was going to deliver our new ride last week. But, I just couldn’t deny this tug I was feeling on my heartstrings.

See, TJ and I are big on good financial management and living a life where we control our money rather than feeling controlled by our money. As a college student and when I was first out on my own, I lived a life of debt and always felt like I was drowning. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t as bad as it felt like it was at the time. But, it was a stressful part of life for me. When I met TJ, he was the complete opposite. He was a money hoarder and saved diligently. So, because of his discipline, and the encouragement of a friend who lives a life of financial freedom, I changed my ways and I learned a lot!

Because I have spent the past years living a more disciplined life, I had this lingering, frustrating feeling deep in my heart about buying this Suburban. As badly as I WANTED this car, I couldn’t deny this hesitation I was feeling. I called TJ to talk it over with him and I quickly realized that that lingering feeling in my heart was the Lord’s way of revealing to me an area of my life that I needed to complete the reformation on. Our finances. We talk the talk and really believe in becoming debt free and we practice good financial management in most areas of our life but the one place we have not fully committed our beliefs is in our vehicles! Every two years, I have gotten a different vehicle. Which is perfectly fine…I am absolutely not criticizing those who do the same, because many do, and are accepting of having a car payment. And, I’m not completely against having a car payment, a very, very low one, for a very short amount of time. But I want to be debt free! We want to OWN our car!

We save up and pay cash for things we want (except for vehicles!). We wait until something is broken before we replace it and when we have to replace, we pay cash for it because we have a great safety net that we have saved up and set aside to be able to do that. We try hard to budget. We have paid off most of our debt, including my student loans, just leaving our mortgage and vehicle. I have really changed my ways and I am grateful. However, I believe that when we adopt a set of beliefs, whether it’s a reformation on our spending habits, a decision to live a healthier life, or accepting Christ, you really can’t do any of them half way. Yes, you can indulge on dessert at dinner every now and then but deciding to be healthier means you change multiple aspects of your life. Otherwise, don’t expect results. Same with our finances. Same with your walk with Christ. As a Christian, I have to apply my renewed spirit to my entire life. Every relationship, the words we say, the actions we do, the thoughts we think, the love we give….we are suppose to reflect the heart of Jesus. And yes, we fail. We all fail in many ways. And by His grace, we are forgiven and still saved. But our effort to apply our Godly hearts to every piece of our lives must be evident.

“The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws –that you will listen to him.” –Deuteronomy 26:16-17

We cannot buy that car. We believe in living a debt free life and while we are still working towards our goal, if we buy that Suburban, then we are not applying our financial beliefs and values to every part of our lives. We would be completely working against ourselves. We know better!! So, I have fallen back in love with my Expedition and have convinced myself that I will drive it for a little while longer, until it’s paid off, and we can feel the freedom that we know to exist with every debt you lose.