Maybe it was everything else on our minds as new parents trying to balance work, school, and child care...for both of our schedules, but I guess we should have been mindful and responsible anyway. The problem was that we had completely run out of money. It was ironic that what happened to us was happening to the whole country at the same time. It happened just as the bill for the fall semester came. We had almost, but not enough to cover the bill. At this point we had to borrow about $250 from my mom so as not to let our bank accounts fall below zero and get overdraft fees. We were so broke we were worried about being able to pay our rent. Thankfully, because we live in campus apartments, the housing office was very generous in giving us grace to pay our rent when we could. And thankfully since then, all of Gabriel’s grandparents have been very helpful and supportive.
I know this decision was reactionary, but at least I did it. When we were completely broke, I took that as an opportunity to start being mindful and proactive about our personal finances. Here is where the explanation of one of the Greater Things links comes in. As I mentioned in the first post, I want this blog to be a free forum, so personal finance is fair game. Also, the Bible talks about money a great deal. Money can be a great tool towards “greater things.” Money can certainly be used as a tool against you too, Jesus was sure to mention that in his ministry. Perhaps the pros and cons of money can be the topic of a future post. What I am trying to get across here is that we should be good stewards of money.
Last year right in the midst of our financial woes, I got a letter from ING Direct saying that if I opened an account, I would get a $25 bonus. I know that amount of money is pocket change, but when you have negative money, $25 is a lot. They also offered this on a checking account. That’s 50 bucks that we would not have had if we did not open ING accounts. Since then we have also opened an account with them called “Gabe’s College Fund.” Opening online accounts is great because of their high interest rates. I know ING does not have the best rate around right now but so far I am happy. For more info on online savings accounts browse the GRS blog.
Finally, to explain the link. Get Rich Slowly was a personal finance blog that I found last year while we were broke. It was so informative, and I read so many posts on many different areas of personal finance. JD, who runs that blog is honest, has a great personal testimony and does a great job with the site. I recommend that everyone who is looking to get personal finance under control, and even thriving, check out that blog.
In the present day the Fitzroy family is doing MUCH better with money. We vowed to ourselves that we would never let that happen again, and with the help from family, and a year’s time, we are no longer drowning.
