The State of the Whisfam Address

So this is technically a “M.M.A” post… but I am not liking the acronym thing.  I may just discard it.  I think I just did.

Preface

This is not a “poor me” post or a cry for charity.  I promise. I pinky swear.  This post candidly shows how far we’ve let ourselves go, poor choices, our ignorance, and why good financial planning is necessary. It’ll shine the light on the bad but someday when I give another “State of the Whisfam Address” it’ll highlight just how far we’ve come.  That’s the purpose of this post.

On with it.

Anyway as we venture out on the unfamiliar road toward “good steward/budget conscious/debt free” living we find ourselves in a precarious place.  I said it before that if a *thing* goes wrong life could get really interesting really fast.  As I look out on the horizon I see the potential for many things to go wrong.  They might, they might not, but, they might.

Case in point:

Our home.  I pray my way through every winter that the roof won’t leak.  It’s looking pretty shabby.  I sometimes pray a tree will fall on it while we’re not home.  You’re will be done Lord, you’re will be done.  I pray often that the mold in the attic won’t get worse before we can fix it.  And we live in Oregon… nuff said. Our fridge is from the early 90′s.  I know that because this fridge is exactly like the one my parents bought brand new when I was in high school.

Our Truck: It’s a 2002 with new tires (one of those debts we’re paying on) but it’s almost got 200,000 miles on it.  It makes funny sounds…

Our loner car:  It’s not ours, it’s free, but if we break it we have to fix it.  It’s a 92.  Currently, it’s sitting in our drive way.  The window has fallen inside the door for the 4th time.  It’s raining. I can’t get it in the garage because the garage door is broke. (forgot to mention that in the home part).  Jake can lift it but I can’t.  I can’t get ahold of Jake.  I have to leave in 5 minutes to go pick up the kids at the bus stop.  It has a history of breaking down.

Update: This was Friday.  It now has plastic protecting the interior until Jake can fix it.

Misc: RV, RV, RV…

Our needs.  I wear the same jeans every day.  Every day. (I do have 2 other pair but I think the dryer shrunk them–at least that’s what I tell myself. Jake’s clothes are dated, old. People at work give him clothes… They say they just bought the wrong size but sometimes I wonder if they just feel sorry for the guy. The kids are growing and need clothes a lot. Our dog has needs all the time.  Thank goodness for left over medicine with far out expiration dates.

So here’s the deal.  This stuff actually excites me most of the time.  I do have days where it all seems so heavy and it’s a little frightening, but mostly I see it as a challenge.  I see it kind of like hiking up a mountain.  It’s so hard but the view from the top and feeling of accomplishment makes all the sweat and sore legs worth it.  I also see it as an amazing opportunity to watch God work!  I can’t wait to see how He helps us figure this all out.  I can’t wait to see how He provides as we brainstorm ideas and pray for provision.  I can’t wait to see him “restore the years to us the years that the locust has eaten.”  I look forward to our personal growth and to be an example to our kids.  I focus on these things as I stare up at this huge mountain before us.

Update:  With Christmas money I bought two shirts today for $13 bucks.  They were on sale.  :)  I also used part of my designated $15 “blow” money for breakfast today (at Pine State Biscuits).  Our gas and grocery money that we budgeted for last week lasted all week (*just* made it on the gas).  We had about $10 of grocery money to carry over to next week.  We ate our free turkey Jake won for winning a race this week too.  We had somebody ask about our RV… not getting our hopes up but it was a bite.  Hmm… what else… oh yes my dad said he’s sending me a present.  I think it has to do with coffee.  Ha ha.

Looking ahead: With Jake’s overtime this month and not having to pay for the RV till next month we hope to finish our $1000 emergency fund (given no actual emergencies rear their ugly heads).  Jake gets to go on a trip for work in a couple of months and stay at a pretty nice place, and it’s paid for so that will be a blessing for him.  It’s over his birthday, so Happy Birthday to him.