Lately I have been really trying to adjust to the jobs that come with being a wife. Anthony works about 60 hours a week therefore I pretty much run the house in every other way. I do the cleaning, cooking, shopping, financial managment etc...and I love it. I really like it because I am a bit more organized than him and it makes me feel like I am helping him out a lot when he gets home and can just relax after a long day at work. Today I took my first shopping trip using coupons. I have used minimal coupons before but today I was thoroughly prepared to shop with coupons. I use some blogs that show deals to help me, get the sunday paper, and clip, clip, clip! This week until tomorrow K-mart has been honoring double coupons up to $2.00. I went there today and literally got $95 of products for $15. I came home and Anthony was astounded. I ended up getting several things for free and stocking our shelves with snacks, cleaning products, and health and beauty items like deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, and shampoo/conditioner. I also did our grocery shopping today and came in under budget which was amazing and I got enough food to last us about a month. I am really proud of myself and also very pleased that this actually works.
While I was out there pounding the pavement and going to a billion different stores to get the tuna for 20 cents less, I realized that there is a lesson to be learned here. Probably more than one, but I thought I would share what God is working on me about. When I decided to take on this task of trying to use coupons and work the system to get our household budget down I began with a good plan, great organization, and several hours of preparation. When I went out today, I allowed myself several hours to get the shopping done so I could adequately use the coupons and pick the products that we could use and get them free. It took about 4 hours for me to finish today.
I find it really sad that I spent the time getting ready to get a good deal on groceries but procrastinate about things that really matter in life more than the grocery budget. Now, I am not saying that the grocery budget doesn't matter because it is essential to running our house but there are FAR more important things that I ignore and do not prepare for at all. Here are a couple of examples:
My health -- I do not prepare for my medications to be out. I end up going a few days without things because I conveniently forget to call in meds or just don't pick them up. I don't plan my workouts in such a way that I won't miss them. I treat them as optional and then they become optional.
Homework -- I do not give myself adequate time to finish assignments to my liking. I rush myself and in turn do not feel good about my performance when I really want to learn.
Spritual disciplines -- I do not give myself enough time with the Lord. I push him to the last thing of the day and then I give him what is left of me when I am tired. I am spending time with him but it isn't quality when I treat it this way.
These things were really brought to my attention today and I feel God leading me in the direction of getting these things together! Thank you Jesus for teaching me lessons through the practical. That is, after all, how I learn!
--Erica Lewis--
No comments:
Post a Comment