Balance The Budgeting

Stingy. It's an ugly word.I know that you, nor I, nor anyone we would ever know anywhere in the world would ever fall prey to this word. No. Never. I know no one like that.

If we aren't careful, after we start budgeting, that ugly little word can pop into our lives leaving us as a shadow of our former selves.

According to Merriam-Webster,  'Definition of STINGY. 1: not generous or liberal : sparing or scant in using, giving, or spending'.

We want to be sparing or scant in spending, we call that wisdom. But what we don't want, is to become sparing or scant in giving. I'm certain you've heard the many scriptures on giving and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and ruuuuuunning over. Right now, I am not talking about the spiritual aspect of giving. I am talking about the mental aspect of it.

Sometimes without us knowing, we can start eliminating the giving out of our life through justification. 'This month we can barely pay the electric so I won't be giving to my church' or maybe 'I can barely afford groceries, let alone a present for a baby shower'. These have run through my head at times. Over the course of 10 years of budgeting, I have been on both ends of the spectrum, ranging from giving everything to giving nothing monetarily. I think my mom was relieved when I quit giving away all the furniture that was given to me. But it was a gift that I could do what I chose with.

It's a balancing act that we have to learn. An art, to be able to give when we feel like we have to cling to every penny that we come in contact with. One way to avoid this nasty shift, is to give. Yep, you read me right. Give! Give of your time to a local food bank or nonprofit organization. Organize a week's worth of food for a new mom that's coming home from the hospital. Make a double batch of a meal that is inexpensive but tasty for the friend who's going through a difficult time. Be the ear that listens to the one that needs to talk.

Giving is not only money. In fact, the most important giving is not money. It is of yourself.

So budget with balance. If you have a little extra that you can give, then do. But never budget the giving out of your life.

Three Little Kittens Project

So I took the day off yesterday, though I had millions of topics swimming in my head, to bounce my project idea off my hubby.

This would be us at an Elton John concert.



I won the tickets.

10 years of marriage...

Anywho. He is my best sounding board.

I had an idea for a project that I kind of perfected yesterday with his help. I've decided to call it 'Three Little Kittens'. Here are my 3 kittens



They like to be goofy.

But the break down is simple, I'd like to collect mittens and gloves to donate to children in need. Not used, but new. They don't last long, so used isn't really the best. Believe me, I've tried passing gloves down with my girls.

I'll be collecting them all year long, and my kittens and I will be making a tree out of chicken wire throughout the year. Set by set, we'll build the tree. Then at Thanksgiving we'll give the gloves and mittens to children in need! I'm toying with the idea of having the children give back by helping their teacher with a task...perfection takes time.

If you'd like to help, that would be amazing. Winter gear is getting ready to be super cheap, making the cost pretty minimal. Shoot me a message and I'll tell you where to mail them. May your new year be filled with blessings!!!


Thank you Wikipedia for this first verse:

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear
That we have lost our mittens.

What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
You shall have no pie.