Why I'm Selling My Possessions

If you’ve been to our house, you know we don’t have a lot of “stuff”. Our house is clutter free, pretty clean, not a lot knick-knacks, etc.

We’re secret minimalists. If I could have it my way, our fridge would always be empty, the closets clean, and we would not have one item in our house we don’t need or use. I love the philosophy of simple living, and have been trying to convince Santino that we should sell all of our stuff and move into the trailer park near our church to REALLY simplify. You can imagine how that conversation went!

Last year around this time, I learned that Americans waste about 40% of their food. Meaning we throw out leftovers, we buy produce that rots before we use it and then throw it away, etc. That statistic frustrated me! I started examining our grocery bills and food waste, and saw that we were part of the problem. I stopped buying food we didn’t need, started making our own granola bars for breakfast, wouldn’t cook a new dinner until all the leftovers were gone, etc. (We even have survival week in our house sometimes- I don’t go grocery shopping and we have to make dinners based on the food we already have in our house! I could write another blog on some of our very weird (and creative) dinners!).

And most people I talk to have said “oh I could never do that. We don’t really like leftovers. I like variety. Don’t you get sick of eating the same dinner 3 nights in a row? Well sometimes, yes! But I started thinking about every time I threw food away, it was like throwing $$ in my trash can. It was wasteful and bad stewardship.

Needless to say . . . I hate wasting food. And I hate having things in my house that I don’t use, that others might need or use. So, recently a friend added me to a local Facebook resale page (thanks Layla for starting this!) where you can post items and sell them to friends or friends of friends, and it’s my new obsession!

I absolutely love cleaning and purging things in my house! I have sold left over wedding favors, baking utensils I never used, home decor I was using but didn’t need, bedding, books, clothes, etc. Really if it’s something I haven’t used or worn in the past year, or something I didn’t need, I listed it for sale.

And in just 2 1/2 weeks, I’ve made over $700! My finance/budget minded husband is loving my new hobby! You see, I took a huge pay cut when I stopped teaching full-time, and started to work as volunteer staff at our church 20 hours a week. Not only did I take a pay cut, but my spending went up because I meet people for lunch/coffee nearly every day of the week. So each time I sold an item for $5 I thought, I just made $$ for another coffee date!

(*Bonus side note: we've racked up medical bills through doctor visits/surgeries in trying to find answers for our infertility, and God has provided and covered our bills this month and more!)

All of that to say, we are selling our possessions most of all to simplify. We just don’t need 8 cocktail glasses that I registered for when we got married that have been sitting in our cabinets for almost 7 years, never used. We don’t need to keep that hand mixer around “just in case I need it” in the future. We certainly don’t need 3 vacuums, or 5 table runners, or 22 pairs of earrings, or 10 purses, or 5 dresses I haven’t worn in 2 years . . . see what I mean?

So I’m selling because it’s stuff we don’t need. We like it, we may even be using it, but we don’t need it. I'm not selling because we're hard up for cash, or we want to buy a boat, but because we can do with a lot less.

I’m selling because I want to be consumed with treasures in heaven.

I’m selling to live in simplicity.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

“She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.” (Proverbs 31:18)

PS I do have a small investment idea that I’m thinking about based on Luke 19, but I’ll share that with you guys on another day . . . stay tuned. {The Mina Project}

Serving the Poor #2: What's Best?

Yesterday, I posted about Matthew 6:1-4. Serving not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify God. Serving for an audience of One.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

It is clear throughout scripture that God cares about the poor,the needy, the helpless, and the oppressed. And He wants us to care about them too. I've been wrestling through The Sermon on the Mount and Isaiah 58 and seeking the LORD on how He wants me to serve.

I've been asking:
LORD, who are the poor?
LORD, how would have me serve them?
LORD, where I can live off of less to give away more?

We often think of the poor as materially poor. Thanks to these books, my thinking has been reframed, renewed, and challenged as to "who are the poor" and how we can best help them be reconciled to God and live the life He wants for them.

"Compassion, Justice, and The Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor" by Robert D. Lupton



"When Helping Hurts" by Brian Fikkert & Steve Corebett



What the "needy" need most is Christ. What we should be giving to them along with "stuff" is dignity. We should be offering relationship before we offer money. Though some literally have physical need, many need opportunity ... to work, to be loved, to hear the hope of Christ, and respond.

These books have helped me see that sometimes our "good" intentions actually get in the way of helping and doing what's "best". Robert Lupton says something along the lines of "sometimes doing good gets in the way of doing what's best."

I'm learning that the poor don't need stuff, they need dignity.
They don't need programs, they need relationships.
They don't need hand outs, they need a hand up (thank you No Name Fellowship for this phrase).
They don't need charity, they need opportunity.

Bag Sale {Update #1}

WOW! I am overwhelmed at your responses to the post from last week about our Bag Sale at Aynesworth Elementary {Read about it here}

We've decided to collect donations of things and discount them waaaaaay down to offer a giant yard sale to the families of Aynesworth Elementary.

Just an update since many of you have asked "What do you NEED?" My thought was that this sale would be based around necessities . . . food, clothing, and hygiene products (not home decor-the last thing I want to do is further push the lie of materialism that the more you have, the "better" you are.)

So here's a list of things we could use:

Clothes (all sizes, baby-adult, men/woman, boys/girls)
Socks
Shoes
Towels
Underwear (new only)

Groceries (perishable/non-perishable)
Fresh fruit/veggies
canned goods
(no meat or dairy since we won't have a refrigerator)

Hygiene Products
Soap
Shampoo
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Hairbrush
Lotion
Laundry Soap
Dish soap
Cleaning products
Toilet paper
Diapers
Baby wipes

Books
All reading levels
Spanish/English

Bibles (Spanish, English, Bilingual)

The original date didn't work out for most of the girls, so our bag sale will be on Tuesday 6/12 from 5-8pm at Aynesworth Elementary. If you'd like to help in any way, please let me know! A small donation will go a long way!

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

$1 Bag Sale {Why I Need Your Kids' Old Shoes}

{Spring Cleaning & Spring Giving: Update #1}
About a month ago, I posted about Spring Cleaning. Read here

My hope was that we'd encourage each other in cleaning one area/room of our house and collecting what we could to give away! Originally, my plan was to do a garage sale with some neighbors, but the LORD has put something even better on my heart!

This week, one of the students I was working with in 4th grade was wearing soccer cleats. I asked "Charlie, why are you wearing soccer cleats to school?" and as the words were coming out of my mouth, I realized why. His head dropped down and he said "Oh because I don't really have anything else". Teacher fail. Of course that's why. Why did I even ask? Why did I embarass him? I tried to save myself and respond with "Those are so cool! You must be a really fast runner!". Too late, damage was done.



Which leads me back to spring cleaning, spring giving, and why I need your kids' old shoes. Majority of the kids I work with in South East Fresno live in poverty. Most speak Spanish or Hmong at home and are learning English as a second language. And as you know, when you live in poverty, when you are undeducated, illiterate, and speak limited English, it's hard to get a good paying job in this world. So it's hard to provide adequate clothing, hygeine, and food for your family.

Which is why I need your help.

As a life group, we're going to be collecting things from our home, donations from others, groceries, household products, etc and we're going to have a giant yard sale at my school, Aynesworth, on Saturday June 16th! Our hope is to get lots of Aynesworth families to come and shop and be able to buy new/used items at a discounted price.

Our plan instead of "giving" everything away is to provide the families with dignity and allow them to purchase what they'd like. So we're calling it the $1 Bag Sale. You buy a bag for $1 and whatever you can fit in the bag, you take home!



Here are some items we'll need for the sale:
-Bags (paper/plastic)
-Kids clothing/shoes
-Adult clothing/shoes
-Books/Toys
-Groceries (perishable & non-perishable)
-Hygeine products (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc)
-Cleaning products (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc)
-Bibles (in Spanish/English)

I'm praying that it's a success. If you have anything you'd like to give (from your closet, your pantry, whatever) please let me know! We'll make sure to put them out at our $1 sale to bless others.

So there ya' go! Spring cleaning . . . spring giving . . . spring serving . . . spring blessing . . . all wrapped up in one. Please contact me if you'd like to help.

"Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:37-41)

Stewardship: The Treasure Principle

Another great book that is challenging me in the area of stewardship and caring for others.

Stewardship: Managing your time, talent, and treasure.

As you know by now, the LORD has been stirring in my heart A LOT on the issue of stewardship. We've gotten so used to consuming more than we need in almost every area of our life, we don't even see where our materialism and spending are out of control anymore. We're so used to using our time unwisely, that we don't even stop to sit with the LORD and seek Him. We are so busy using our talents for our own kingdom, that we don't offer them for His kingdom.

So when will all of the madness stop? How can we reject materialism & consumerism to give more? Start living on only what we truly need, to be able to provide for the truly needy? To hurt a little, to help those hurting a lot?

God's economy is all about giving. Generosity, stewardship, loving others as yourself. This quick little book tells us that true joy is not found in consuming more, but in giving away!

It's based on Matthew 6:19-21 " “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

He says (because Jesus said) there is joy in "surrendering lesser treasures to find greater ones" (p.8) and "there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives & how we think about and handle money" (p.9)

Some other great quotes from the book:
If we give instead of keep, if we invest in the eternal instead of in the temporal, we store up treasures in heaven that will never stop paying dividends. (p.18)

A steward manages assets for the owner's benefit. The steward carries no sense of entitlement to the assets he manages. It's his job to find out what the owner wants done with his assets, then carry out his will. (p.25) Whenever we think like owners, it's a red flag. We should be thinking like stewards, investment managers. (p.27)

One of our central spiritual decisions is determining what is a reasonable amount to live on. Whatever that amount is, we shouldn't hoard or spend the excess. (p.27)

Cheerful giving, doesn't mean we always feel cheerful when giving. Cheerfulness often comes during & after the act of obedience, not before it. (p.28)

Giving isn't a luxury of the rich. It's a privilege of the poor. Gaze upon Christ long enough and you'll become more like Christ. Tthe same Greek word is used for Christian giving as for Gods grace. Our giving is a reflexive response to the grace of God in our lives. It doesn't come out of our altruism or philanthropy, it comes out of the transforming work of Christ. (p.31)

God wants your heart. He isn't looking just for 'donors' for His kingdom, those who stand outside the cause and dispassionately consider acts of philanthropy. He's looking for disciples immersed in the causes they give to. He wants people so filled with a vision for eternity that they wouldn't dream of not investing their money, time, and prayers where they will matter most. (p.45)

The time I devote to my TV and its accessories means less time for communicating with my family, reading the Word, praying, opening our home, or ministering to the needy. (p.54)

He asks . . .
What are your roadblocks to giving?

When you leave this world, will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth that you couldn't keep? Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasures in heaven that you couldn't lose? (p.81)

What are we doing with the wealth He's entrusted to us to reach the lost and help the suffering? (p.83)

How can we start being better stewards of our time, talent, and treasure?

How can we live on less to be able to give away more?

Good Stewardship & "7"

I've been trying to devote Tuesdays on this blog to stewardhsip and practical tips for using our time, talent, and treasures wisely. Last month, I examined how much money we spend on food. I read recently that Americans waste about 40% of the food that's produced, which led me to waste less and save more. We were able to save $150on groceries just by eating all of our left overs and buying only what we need at the grocerty store (no junk, no goodies, etc.)

So in May, I thought I'd pick a new focus. I'm excited to tell you that our Book Club will be reading this:

"7 : An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker




"7" is the true story of how Jen took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.



I'm excited to evaluate what is excessive or unnecessary in my life, and what I can do live on less, to be able to give more! Want to read along with us??

My First Garden!

I've been trying to keep Tuesday's posts focused on two things: practical tips and stewardship.

If you've noticed, the LORD has been working on my heart in the area of stewardship (how I manage my time, talent, and treasure). I've been trying to find where we can live on less, to be able to give away more. In March/April, I really focused on the amount of money we spend on food along with the amount of food we waste. I read a statistic that Americans waste about 40% of food that's produced in a year. We've been able to save and average of about $150 on our grocery bill each month simply by eating what we have, eating ALL our leftovers, and buying only what we need.

This week, I'm so excited to share what I hope is another great way to save $$$$ on groceries . . . my own garden! My friend Layla loves to garden, so she went with me to this nursery and helped me plant. Our backyard is already completely landscaped so I had to plant everything in pots.

I thought I'd start out small, planting things we love.

A little herb garden, mostly for homemade sauces.

Basil & Thyme (or as Italians say "pepperino")

Italian Parsley

Cherry Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes

Zucchini

Oh I hope they grow! I never grown anything before but I'm excited to have some yummy organic fruit & veggies and save a few $$ too!

Spring Cleaning & Spring Giving

If you've been to my house, you know us Danisi's like to keep a tidy home. But, actually, I rarely do a deep clean. I mop 1-2 times a month, dust/vacuum once a month, and try to get to bathrooms monthly as well.

So over these next few weeks, I'm taking my cleaning seriously. I mean I'm talking about organizing cabinets, drawers, cleaning baseboards, and everything! I don't have an official plan but I have found so many spring cleaning blogs that I'm going to visit for good ideas/check lists. Here are a few you may like (click title):

Spring Cleaning Check List

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Melissa on Pinterest

7 Day Cleaning Plan

Source: bhg.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Spring Cleaning the Toxins

Source: keeperofthehome.org via Melissa on Pinterest

My goal is to cover one room/living space a week.

Week 1: Kitchen
Week 2: Living Room
Week 3: Garage
Week 4: Bedrooms
Week 5: Study/Laundry Room
Week 6: Bathrooms

I figure in about 6 weeks, I'll be done with all of my spring cleaning. My hope is that as I clean, I'll collect the "stuff" that I don't use and have a big garage sale. I have really been examining the area of stewardship in my life and I realize that I consume much more than I need. I also realize that I have much more "stuff" than I really need. How did we fill up a 3 bedroom home with so much stuff? We used to live in an 800 square foot apartment!

So yes, I want my house to be spic and span. But much of this spring cleaning project will be to purge my excess and sell it/ give it away to someone who needs it.

How about you?

Want to join the spring cleaning/spring giving challenge?

We can all have garage sales at the end of the 6 weeks and report how much we purged and how much we gave!

What do you do to help with spring cleaning? Please share!

Happy cleaning :-)

Saving More by Wasting Less

So last Month, I decided to do a "March Money Experiment" to see how much we could save on food and challenge us to be better stewards.

The Experiment: Buying only what you need and eating what you have to waste & spend less, to be able to save & give more.

The Plan: Whatever we saved under our budget, we would put half into savings and the other half into local missions.

(*For example: If we budget $500 for food, and we only spend $400 then we'd put $50 into our savings and $50 into a local non-profit.)

Unfortunately, even with all my hard work in trying to spend less at the grocery store, we went way over budget on dining out. So we sort of came out even, which meant no money in savings or into local missions. :-(

Tear.
No seriously, I really did almost cry. I worked so hard!

So I am determined this month to spend less in order to save and give more.

Here's how:

1. Meal planning
Shopping only for food for our meals-no extras, no junk, no impulse buys (as in cheese-its and desserts).

2. Not wasting!
I have been doing a lot of reading/research into how much food we waste as a country. I read that Americans waste about 40% of food that's produced. That means what's produced on farms, never makes it to the stores. Or restaurants wasting tons of food. Or in our homes, throwing out produce that went rotten before we ate it, or throwing out leftovers. So, we'll be eating what we have in the pantry/refrigerator instead of going to the store and eating lots of leftovers.

3. Limiting our dining out.
For us, it's the little things that add up. Picking up a jamba juice here, sandwich there, etc. No more!

I just can't get these statistics out of my mind:
Americans waste 40% of the food that's produced each year.
1 in 8 children will go to bed hungry tonight.

We throw away more food than others get to eat. How can we begin to live differently to spend and waste less? Save and give more? I asked people to share tips on how they save money on groceries and would love to hear if you have any!

Update #2: March Money Experiment

{Getting rid of excess, extravagance, and overspending. Buying only what you NEED}


Well many of you have affectionately called this "March Money Madness" hahahaha! Excuse me?! I never added the madness. But it kind of is madness when you think about it.

It's also kind of ridiculous to see how hard it is to buy only what you need at the grocery store. Friends, I ate peanut butter and jelly 4 times last week for the sake of eating what is in my home (and not going to buy a sandwich or jamba juice, though I really wanted to.) It probably saved me $20 this week alone!

Last month our total grocery bill was $534.



Righ now our total grocery spending for March is $230.

A whopping heap of $304 in savings!!

I also heard that Americans waste something like 40% of the food we buy in a year. In other words, we buy fresh produce and throw it out because it rots before we eat it. Or we make dinner and put left overs in the refrigerator and throw them out a week later because we don't eat them.



Now, I must say . . . we ate left overs (from the same meal) last week Weds, Thurs, & Fri. If the thought of eating leftovers for 3 nights in a row terrifies you, that's okay. It was kind of scary for us too! But, in reality, people all over this world eat the same thing day after day because they have to. I think of the people who have so little to eat, they dig through garbage cans to find food. They would find a feast on our block on garbage day I'm sure!

And I'm not okay with that. Anymore. I would rather donate the extra $20 worth of food to someone in need, than cook it for myself and then throw it away.

So here are some tips that have helped us:
1. Clean your refrigerator every week. Move stuff around, dig through those bins and discover what you have. Sometimes we buy things we already have simply because we couldn't see it! So before I go grocery shopping I clear out my refrigerator and for stuff I didn't use from last week. Also, you'll avoid finding that funky smelling stuff a few weeks later and having to do this:



2. Try meatless Mondays!

I swear it's not as bad as it seems. It doesn't' have to be Monday, but being a vegetarian saves A LOT of money because we don't buy meat for every meal. Perhaps just one meal a week as a vegetarian could save you some $$$ too! I mean how good does this look? Click on the title and it will take you straight to the recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest for more vegetarian ideas!

Roasted Broccoli & Sundried Tomato Pasta


3. No dessert. I know, big fat bummer. But this is an obvious one. Cut out the extra calories and cash. Keep it for special occasions! If your kids love dessert, give them a choice. Either we can play a game with mom and dad, or we can have dessert. (I promise they'll choose a game w/mom and dad over an ice cream!) Then you don't have to put up a fight and everyone wins because you'll get time with your kiddos!


4. Find some positive reinforcement. Use something to motivate you. Perhaps for every $10 you save each week, put $1 in a jar. Then use that money to treat yourself to something! Or like us, half of what we save this month we'll give away to support local missions.



What are some ideas you have for cutting spending? Or motivation for getting rid of excess and waste?? Please share!

P.S. Dining out is still a huge area we need to grow in. Even with trying to dine out less, we've still spent a ton. It didn't help that we spent a weekend away and dined out for every meal. :-( So help me here please!

Practical Tip Tuesday: Saving $$ & Time

I mentioned last Tuesday that the issue of stewardship has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. Which led us as a family to participate in the March Money Experiment. Which is really no experiment except cutting our spending and dining out less (okay fine and also no unnecessary trips to Target :-)

But the issue of stewardship isn't just money or finances. Though that's part of it.

Stewardship has to do with how you manage your time, talent, and treasure.

So upon more reflection, I thought about my time a lot this past week.

My husband got me a new phone in January. I have the world at my fingertips! I downloaded some of my favorite apps (Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest) and couldn't believe the quick access! It was so fun!

Until I realized how much time I spent on these apps. Every free second I'd have at a stop light, in line at the grocery store, at home during commercials, etc. I'd check Facebook or Pinterest. I realized that I have spent so much more time pinning/looking for new crafts than actually crafting or cooking!

So what was meant to be good and fun is now addictive and a huge source of wasted time.

I thought about these few minutes here and there throughout the day and how they can be better spent. So I deleted my Facebook and Pinterest app and decided "What if every few free minutes I have instead of checking these websites, I opened my bible app? Or my kindle app and read some of my book?

What a better way to fill my mind with thoughts about the LORD, rather than lust after a cute new outfit that I can't afford! (Dang, that rhymes!)

So, in an effort to be a better steward of my time, I've said no to Pinterest and yes to Proverbs! Hee hee

Oh and an update on the finance side of my stewardship issue: March Money Experiment.

{Just a few savings tips I've tried this past week.}

Tip #1) Homemade instead of store bought. We eat cliff bars every morning for breakfast. We buy them at Costco and with both of us eating them it averages out to about $60 a month on just cliff bars. A friend showed me this recipe (off of Pinterest hee hee) and we love it! (Click on the title and it will link you to the recipe.)

Total savings: About $40 a month. All supplies cost less than $20. I make a new batch on Sunday evenings to last throughout the week.

Granola Bars


It's got me thinking . . . what else do I "buy" that I could make at home instead??? Hmmm . . .

Tip #2) Don't buy junk, extras, goodies, non-essentials. No couponing tips here for how to buy 2 packs of ____ (insert an item you don't need) for $5. Just don't buy things you don't need!! Ha! What's better than getting 2 things for $5? Not spending $5! For us, this means no Moosetracks Ice Cream, no cheese-its, no pretzel mixes. Just bought what we need for this week (breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner) and this was our grocery bill!


(Yes, we will eat lots of left overs! And remember this is just to feed a family of 2, one of whom is a vegetarian-which automatically saves you a bunch of $$$).

Total Savings: About $50 from last week's grocery bill.

So what do you think? You want to experiment with me?? Can you go a month buying only what you need? Spending less? Do you have any money saving tips to share??

March Money Experiment

I am the absolute worst when it comes to a budget. So I think it's funny that God would have me marry the budget director of the valley's largest employer, Fresno Unified. Goodness, He truly does want us to conform to His image, right?

Lately the issue of stewardship has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. Especially in the area of spending/finances. I don't know why?

Perhaps it's because of this book: Radical

OR that I saw a friend post a picture as he was about to leave for Thailand (to relocate his family of 4) with all of his worldly possessions packed into just a few suitcases.

OR because I sat and listened to a few of my students tell me about how their family members "shoot squirrel to eat" and find "birds in the street to cook".

OR that I just I'm just appalled at how much I spend at Costco!! We've only had a membership there for a year and I can't figure out if I'm actually saving money or buying more?

I dont' know, but something just isn't sitting right with me.

But it go me thinking . . . how much of what I buy do I actually "need"? Do I really need 2 cans of Lysol? 3 different floor cleaners? What about clothes? My jeans were cheap and they're fading, but do I really "need" another pair? Shoes, they're cute, but do I "need" them?

OR what about food? How much of the food do I buy that goes to waste? What if we just ate what we had for the week instead of going out or ordering in? What about having a PBJ for lunch instead of Deli Delicious?

How much of the money I spend each month goes to what I want, instead of just what I need?

So I started to ask Santino about our budget and how we could be better at spending less, saving more, and being more generous.

We've looked through our budget and realized the place where we can cut out a lot of spending is dining out. We go out on a date every week, pick up sandwiches for lunch here and there, and it all adds up!

So in order to motivate ourselves and have a fun incentive for cutting our spending he came up with a great idea. I'm calling it the "March Money Experiment". Whatever we save this month from our "normal" spending, we're going to donate half to local or global missions.

For example: Let's say our average monthly household expenses were $1,000 (groceries, dining out, gifts for others, entertainment, household items, etc.). So if we only spend $800 this month, we'll save $100 and give $100 away! Doesn't that sound fun??!?

For me, I need something to motivate me to spend less and usually thinking of others is much more of a motivator than building a savings account. For my husband, the planner, the savings account is much more of a motivator! So we both win!

And we're being better stewards, not spending frivolously, and being able to give more away at the end of the month!

So I'm hoping on Tuesdays I can update you about how this little experiment is going and what I'm doing to spend less and save more! Can't wait to see how it all turns out at the end of the month!

Let me know if you'd like to try the March Money Experiment too!