Wednesday, September 29, 2010

No-Spending Days

So we Long's are really trying to live more simply. We're getting rid of a lot of stuff (as I've mentioned in previous posts), and working towards having a bigger giving budget. It seems like every day one of us calls or texts the other with some new "lets get rid of it" idea or "what if we..." comment. It starts getting pretty crazy when you become convinced that Jesus REALLY meant to "love others as you love yourself". I don't say that to sound holier-than-thou or anything. I mean, we're still spoiled rotten when we think about it. But when you start cutting those strings that "stuff" and "wealth" have on your heart, you start experiencing moments of freedom and it gets downright addicting. Sooo...
My challenge to my family and yours is this:

Go 4 days a week without spending any money.

Is that extreme? It's really not so much to me since I'm at home doing school with my girls Monday through Thursday anyway. I seldom leave the house on those days, and if I do it's for an appointment or something. Definitely not to go shopping with the munchkins. But there is the occasional night run to the grocery store or Jono eating lunch out with someone. And you know how the "I'm just running in to get some milk" can turn into "well, the fall scented candles were on sale...".
We usually do our grocery shopping together on the weekends anyway, and if I have somewhere else I want to go, it's usually on the weekend too since that's when Jono's off and can either keep the kids at home or at least go with me to help control the chaos. So really, it may only mean a few breadless days for me and planning meetings after lunchtime for Jono (when he can get away with just ordering a water?). A small sacrifice that has the potential to keep a few extra buckaroos from disappearing.
Maybe you're not at home the majority of your week and going 4 days without spending a dime seems catastrophic. Do 3. Or 2. Or even 1. It's baby steps. Just skipping your usual Starbucks run one day a week can mean $20 extra you have at the end of the month to give to an awesome ministry you know of or to a person or family in need. That seems like a pretty good trade to me.

P.S. As of today, our 2 vehicles are on Craigslist. Jono's gonna get a cluncker (unless I can talk him into just getting a bike) since he works 1.5 minutes from our house, and I'm getting an older van with fewer little buttons that do wonderful things like open and close doors. Oh well...it's just a car right?

1 comment:

Laura said...

So proud of you guys! When God opens your eyes to the reality of most of the world population, it is SO much easier to see new clothing and daily meat as the luxuries those things truly are. We're working on moving that knowledge into action into our lives. It's a long process . . .