Saturday, May 17, 2014

Laine's Letters And Paying Off Debt, Part 6


Since typing all of these posts out that Laine wrote, I truly see what an amazing woman of God she was and how much she depended upon His strength for wisdom and joy. I love learning from wise woman and she certainly qualifies. 

As I recall, the last letter I got from her, both of her sons were married and both of their wives were pregnant. Her sons were away in the military so they both lived in trailers on her property. (I may have some of the details wrong but this is what I recall.) One daughter-in-law was so sick that she had to go back home with her family. Laine and her husband did adopt a baby girl from China. Anyways, back to counting down the 50 ways they paid off their home without her having to work outside the home. The series begins HERE.

We own a 1984 diesel Mercedes. It isn't used much since both Ken and I are home most of the time but it is nice to have around for out-of-town guests or if we need a second car for something. The insurance is cheap and it just runs and runs and runs with very little maintenance. It has over 300,000 miles in it without ever needing a new engine and it still purrs like a kitten!

25 ~ We try to keep things running with good maintenance. My husband changes the oil in the cars regularly. I keep the vacuum filters clean with regular maintenance. Likewise, the dryer lint vent, and other machines we use. It pays to keep them up, so that you won't have to buy another one due to poor maintenance. My husband always tries to fix things himself, especially our cars. He'll get a book and figure it out, get on the phone and talk to other men, then tackle the task himself. I am usually in the house praying for him.

26 ~ Many times we must wait on the Lord for something and pray. We have waited on the Lord many times during a crisis. He is always faithful. He always shows us the way. "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee" (Isaiah 26:3).

27 ~ I am learning that organization saves time and money. Which is why I am organizing this house and have been for many years. I didn't get into this unorganized problem overnight, so it's taking me awhile to get things in order. The better the kitchen runs, the more time and money I can save.

28 ~ "Use it up" or "wear it out" or "make do." This is definitely how we live which is how we save. And if you keep it clean, it's really not that expensive, because you don't have to buy another. My grandmother used to say it doesn't cost much to keep things clean. She was right.

29 ~ I've cut our hair for twenty years. Incredible savings here. I would estimate about a $2400 savings or more here, so that really helped us pay off our house. Plus I saved on gas getting to the hairdressers and time spent there. I learned from a book from the library and from asking hairdressers questions.

30 ~ We've never paid for a babysitter. I know that's hard to believe, but we never have. We've either swapped babysitting, had my folks babysit for special occasions, or we didn't go. We just couldn't afford babysitters and a night out on our tight budget. Our nights out were very modestly priced when we did go, which was rare, as I've mentioned before.

31 ~ We buy our clothes at thrift shops or garage sales or on sale at the stores. We've never spent a lot on clothes.

32 ~ I've been the family photographer for years. I took photography in college so our living room is adorned with shots of our kids as they grew up. In 24 years of marriage, we've only had our family picture taken professionally three times. 

Comments (17)

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Genny Ower's avatar

Genny Ower · 581 weeks ago

It's impressive, when you see what can be done, but when we provide goods and services, and buy them , we are supporting jobs and the economy. I have enjoyed my vacations, dinners out, getting haircuts, having my car serviced, being educated, and on and on and on. But that family is amazing!
1 reply · active 581 weeks ago
I agree, Aunt Genny, but before people spend the money on those things, they should get out of debt since it is such bondage and grows and grows if not paid back in a timely manner.
Loving been his wife's avatar

Loving been his wife · 581 weeks ago

Hi there Lori, how long have you and Ken been married? I love this post and can identify with so much!
1 reply · active 581 weeks ago
We are a one car family, my sweet hubby sold his jeep when we realized we couldn't afford two cars on one income. We are saving the money spent on insurance and upkeep to pay cash for our next car. It's been 3 years and we have save $4000! We also save for upkeep and repairs on our current car, hopefully it will run for another 10 years or more:)
1 reply · active 581 weeks ago
Up until the 60s or so, most families only had one car. Owning a car is expensive.
RetiredNavyWife's avatar

RetiredNavyWife · 581 weeks ago

This is exactly why I am glad I have an education and career that has enabled us to live comfortably no matter what. My husband is disabled and unable to work, but I have the ability to make a salary that supports us comfortably with enough left over for toys, vacations and whatever else we want. We have no debt but see no reason to go without. I can freely spend money on pampering myself, spoiling my husband and grandchildren and my dogs. There is no way I would ever consider trying to live on my husband's retirement/disability only. It just isn't enough to afford us the lifestyle we are used to.
5 replies · active 565 weeks ago
I am glad you have the choice to do that. There are some women who don't mind giving up freely spending money on pampering themselves and others, going on vacations, etc. so they can be home full-time.
hello
It is nice not to go without some treats but the older I get the more and more I realise that I want to be giving any extra spare money to the Lords work. Time is short on this earth and we need to make a difference for the Kingdom with our resources (such as we have).
Blessings
Helen UK
RetiredNavyWife's avatar

RetiredNavyWife · 581 weeks ago

never said we didn't tithe...we have faithfully given at least our tithe. We actually live well under our means but I refuse to be poor. Been there, done that, lived in a minivan...nope...ain't happening again.
RetiredNavyWife's avatar

RetiredNavyWife · 581 weeks ago

Ummm...nope. I refuse to live on my husband's income. I refuse to scrape, scratch, live in sub-standard housing, go without anything. I raised 3 wonderful children while working and going to school. They are all happy, settled and educated themselves. One is a decorated combat veteran. I make a VERY good living that enables us to have a life that is without want. Why would I want to attempt to live on 24K a year when I can make three times that?
I am so impressed that you have kept your 1984 Mercedes on the road! After I paid off my first car, I drove it until it had 270,000 miles on it, so you have me beat! I was very proud that I kept that car going for as long as I did. I was a single lady then and I took a lot of ribbing from my friends for driving an old car when I could have "afforded" a newer, fancier one. A car is merely a mode of transportation to me; not a status symbol. There were better things to spend money on. I have enjoyed this series on "Laine's Letters". Thank you for sharing it.
1 reply · active 581 weeks ago
You're welcome, Tam! It sounds like you have your priorities in order. Status symbols have never mattered much to me at all.
Agreed Lori. I also want to thank you for sharing Laine with others. I was on her mailing list years ago and so miss her words if wisdom.
We used to have 1 car...well that we paid for for many years. Then My husband had a company truck and when he changed positions we had to give it back. We thought boy what are we going to do? We NEED another car. At the time we really didn't. But a few months later we moved to the country...45 minutes away from his work - so we are very thankful we were given that other car. Being out here is wonderful. I wouldn't change it for anything. I'll be glad when my car is paid off though. I plan to drive it as long as I can. The only reason I'd get rid of it is because it eats fuel bad.
Thanks for these post. We've been married for 10.5 years with 3 children. Im on my journey to be my husband's help meet with out ever seeing it done before by my mom or other women in my life. It's been hard, but with your blog and others I am on my way. Thanks again..
Dear Lori, I know you love Laine. I thought you might like to hear that Laine is getting all her letters back up on the internet and she is hoping to start writing again. The story is here I posted it today on my blog. With love Annabel.xx

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