new van= spending freeze??

Ok so when we decided to give up spending for lent we knew we MAY be purchasing a van. We had just found out the tires we had just put on about two years ago were needing replaced and there was a big leak somewhere under our van in the garage every day so we knew it was time to either get something newer or end up putting a lot of money back in our van. WHICH we just did last year (almost 1000 dollars worth) We were tired of spending money on a vehicle that we just didn't feel was going to make that many more miles. So we started looking and in less than a week found a vehicle in our price range (under 20K ) in our milage range (under 60K) and in our brand (aka NOT an american made car, I know I know but to me foreign cars get about 150,000 more miles that was enough for me!) So needless to say last Friday we went to Hutch and traded in our old clunker for a 2007 Honda Odyssey. So far I have loved it! It runs without hiccuping in the middle of trying to accelerate (they told us our transmission was on the way out, wether that was true or just a ploy so our trade in value was almost nothing we will never know) But it's not our problem anymore.

Since the date of our purchase we HAVE NOT SPENT any money on our credit card. We typically use our CC for everything and pay off the balance each month. It is not for us to buy whatever we want but we have found a card that gives us between 1% and 5% back on all purchases so why wouldn't I want to make money by spending it! So how have we survived? Well we went to Pizza hut and used a gift card, we needed a few things from the grocery store and we used a debit card I had gotten from taking a few surveys. That card has been nice but it only has about 16 dollars left on it. We will see how long we can stretch that!

I have still been pondering how not spending money is getting my relationship better with God. I still wonder a bit about that but I guess it has helped me be resourceful and content with what I have. I get more excited when I find a recipe I can make with what I have in my house. (we have yet to settle with beans and rice rice and beans!) I've actually cooked more which is interesting. I do think us giving up spending is going to effect us more in the future. Because we are going to pay off our debts a bit faster by not spending unnessicarily. And then we will be able to give more of our money away once we have paid off our loans.

Just another thing if anyone ever needs any money help I love to help people I see it as a game (an important game) I'd love to help anyone. when you are in debt you are a slave to whoever you owe. I wish there were more free people in this world. I wish I could get ahold of our governments money. Man how hard is it to not spend what you don't have. If they can't be a good example how can they expect their citizens to make wise decisions? ok ok getting off of my soap box!