DO YOU CHANGE YOUR OWN OIL TOO?

While searching for a husband, one of my "requirements" was someone who could fix my car.  I drove a 1981 Toyota Celica that my dad bought new when I was 3 years old.  That car went forever.  My husband did meet the "fix my car" qualification, and I snatched him up quick.  My father-in-law drove an 18-wheeler for over 40 years and his boys were his mechanics. He loves to tell the story about the time he had to rebuild the engine in his Kenworth.  The oldest 4 boys (my husband included) took a week off of school to help.  After the third day, the school superintendent came by to see what was going on at the Stoddard house and why none of the boys were in school.  He took one look at what they were doing and told them all to keep going, that "they were receiving a better education at home" that week.  Early in our marriage, we moved to the DC Metro area and took the old Toyota Celica with us.  One day, Jeff had to work at Bolling Air Force Base and somewhere between the  guard station and the parking lot, the muffler fell off.  Jeff got out and threw it in the back seat.  He discovered that the entire exhaust pipe had rusted through and he needed to replace it.  And replace it he did, right in front of our townhouse.  Our neighbor came home and really had no idea what he was doing, but noticed it was a big project.  She asked, "Wow, do you change your own oil too?"  We wondered what she would have thought had she known he was replacing the whole exhaust pipe.  

I have (almost) always been grateful that my husband is so handy.  He keeps our cars running and is continually doing something around the house--I guess I should include that he built the said house from the ground up.  His skills have saved us a lot of money over the years, helping us to meet our financial goals.

Not all these skills need to be home or auto related.  Learning to sew, bake bread, or gaining other homemaking abilities can also help to keep money in the family coffers.

Section 8 and 9 in One for the Money by Marvin J. Ashton talk specifically about learning skills, getting an education, and investing in home ownership.  I really like the way he talked about education as not only a degree, but skills to learn--making education a continuing process.  And, when in doubt, there's You Tube.  He also covers beautifying and continually improving our homes, and using our home as an investment instead of a consumption.

I challenge you to read sections 8 and 9 of One for the Money and set a goal to do something mentioned in these sections.  Then, follow through!  

For previous posts about One for the Money, go here, here, here, and here. 

RESULT: HAPPINESS OR MISERY?

Charles Dickens has a way of making his characters come to life.  He was often paid for his books by the word count (hence the reason why most of them are very long).   But he had a knack of putting so much of the timeless every-day-ness of human character into his books, that everyone who reads or watches a Dickens work seems to relate to something or someone and is changed as a result!  One of these "human moments" is when Mr. Micawber gives a young David Copperfield his famous, and oft-quoted, recipe for happiness: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

In a few more words than Mr. Micawber,  Marvin J. Ashton explains the need for a budget in section 4 of One for the Money.  I encourage you to read section 4 and have a Family Home Evening, sharing your budget with the whole family.    

Making a budget is an important step to financial independence.  Knowing where each dollar is spent and tracking these expenditures gives each family member appreciation to what things cost and how they can help the family to stay in monetary well-being.  The second part to budgeting is a little harder, but even more important: Keeping in the budget.  Every family member should be honest with each other and commit to spend only what is allotted each month.  Arrange time to review your budget with your spouse regularly and make changes as needed.  As we follow this recipe, we can expect the same result Mr. Micawber promises: happiness.