Hard To Say No

Back in January I listed a set of goals that I wanted to accomplish by the end of this year, and a couple of those goals were pertaining to our finances.  For the first couple of months we were doing really well but then we started to backslide and then just fell off track all together.  The past few months have been a little stressful but the hubby and I sat down and had a talk.  We realized that we could not "say no" to things and to people.  We would go to yard sales to see what we could find even if we did not need anything.  So money was spent that did not need to be spent, and no matter what kind of "good deal" we received at a yard sale really ended up not helping us.  Another area that we struggled in was telling people no.  We would be asked to do things and even if we did not have the money to do it, we would still say yes.  Trust me that is the hardest thing to do because we would have LOVED to be able to spend the time with our friends but we have made some really poor decisions and now we are having to deal with those decisions.  Trust me when I say that I have learned humility in our finances this past month or so. 

Since the hubby and I have had our talk and decided that if we do not have the money we will just say no, many opportunities have opened up for us.  Last week while at the thrift store (really needed shoes and jeans for the blessings) with a good friend of mine, a man was in there telling us about a free marriage retreat being offered to military servicemembers and their families.  After finding out that there will be free childcare, free two nights at the hotel, and all meals paid for, I decided to call up the hubby to see if we could attend.  Hubby received authorization to go and so this weekend we will be spending sometime at Denali National Park....for free (except cost of gas which we will take my vehicle because it is better on gas).  That same night I received a phone call from a friend asking me if we wanted free tickets to the indoor football game on Friday because it was youth night so free tickets were given out.  We accepted the tickets and did not order food but brought our own.  A couple of nights later we received a phone call telling us about our housing company here on post setting  up a picnic for the residents to meet and greet with the USA minor league baseball team on Sunday.  Also, it was Military Appreciation night yesterday and all military ID card holders would receive free general admission tickets.  The game was to be held at 2pm but we were unable to attend because we had other obligations.  We did attend the picnic and found out that the game had been postponed to 8pm due to rain.  The hubby and I thought that we would go but after we arrived home, decided to stay home because of our busy schedule this past week. 

I was just so amazed by the opportunities we were blessed with this week.  The hubby and I truly were humbled by our finances these past few months but have come to realize that it is okay to say no.  We need to better ourselves and our finances and if we kept saying yes, our situation would not change.  So this past week/end I think overall we spent about $80 but that included gas in my vehicle.  We have fallen (again) on the finances but just like anything else, we need to pick ourselves up, pray for guidance, listen to God, and everything else will fall into place.