Today, I am most thankful for my frugal and money-conscious husband. :) We ended up having to call a plumber this morning to come out and fix the drain. The snake and Drano we tried did not fix it; I actually think it just pushed the clog further back.
The plumber cost us $344!! I think we were robbed by paying that, but we had to have it done. Washing dishes in the bathroom sink and using paper plates and cups was becoming painful! I'm just glad they were able to come out immediately today and clear it up. The plumber even explained some things about drain cleaners to me and recommended a couple brands for us to go try (and didn't push us to buy from them, but informed we can order through the manufacturers website or buy some in stores....which I appreciated).
We have set aside money for emergencies, and I am so glad we do that. $344 is not something we usually just have lying around or leftover from a paycheck, so the emergency fun was wonderful to have. We didn't dip into any money for bills or school at all. Thank the Lord!
My husband and I decided last January that we were going to live by using cash (kind of like Dave Ramsey's whole money system). We paid off the credit card and only used it last month for a few Christmas things and paid it off immediately (no interest paid on it). We paid off our cars and only have our mortgage for debt. It is tough to only use cash for everything - groceries, gas, entertainment, dry cleaning, random unexpected little things. We also have our $1,000 emergency fund/account. It hasn't been at $1,000 for a while but we don't touch it except for emergencies, so that's a nice fall-back plan when clogged drains come up! :) We also send to a credit union account (with no debit card or checks...so we can't easily take the money out! works for us because then we don't blow through it) the money we used to send to pay on our cars. So, we're building a nice little savings there. Granted, we don't always get to send all of that amount to the credit union because of unexpected costs; sometimes we use that amount to pay something like a medical bill or car repair cost or whatever. BUT, we don't take from our monies to pay bills and put food on the table, so I think we do okay with that.
I know it's God that has blessed us with the emergency money; He has shown us over and over that when we're faithful in giving to Him by tithe, He is faithful to bless us with what we need. Ok, so we don't get to eat out all the time or get to buy household or clothing items regularly, but we have what we NEED so I cannot complain (nor do I want to, really) about anything! Besides, going out to eat is now a treat for us and the girls get really excited when they hear we're going to a restaurant. So, that makes it extra special. And when we get to go, we are able to order whatever and as much as we'd like. No skimping on that. So, I definitely appreciate the restaurant meals a whole lot more than I used to!
I am so thankful that the sink is fixed. I am so thankful that we are not strapped for cash. I am so thankful that God has put it on both my and my husband's hearts to be better stewards with our money. I am so glad God has given us the patience and understanding for WHY we need to budget, why we need to pay in cash, and why we can trust Him. He is so amazing. I hope I never lose sight of the purpose to handling our money properly. It's not so we can build some big savings and live luxuriously; it's so we can know that God is pleased with us, will provide for and bless us, and our children will hopefully see our example and the blessings from living as God has asked us to.
Can't wait to run my dishwasher tonight!
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