Lessons Learned from a Diet Coke

If you have been following the entries since early December, then you know on December 9th, Milo was let go of his position at Aegon. Needless to say we were shocked and in wonderment of what this would mean for our family and his career. That next day, we sat down and took a good hard look at our financial situation. Thankfully, he was given a 7 month severance package, which would provide us some time to wait and listen for God's plan. We felt strongly in the mean time that it was even more important to be excellent stewards of our finances and resources.

What we did that next day was put into place a game plan that would have different phases. We decided we would implement the phases over the next seven months pending on what direction our situation would take us.

The very first phase included making a list of all of the 'necessities' in our household budget. We then made a list of all of the non-necessary things that we were currently spending money on. Toppers on that list included eating out, movie rentals, entertainment, specialty coffees, and my EVER favorite....foundation diet cokes at the convenient store!

I seriously could have one a day and be happy for the rest of my life! I CAN do the bottles and cans however they JUST don't taste the same as right out of the foundation with glass full of ice! FYI..After numerous taste test comparisons, McDonalds by FAR has THE BEST foundation diet coke. Subway would be ranked #2 simply because they also have Cherry Coke, which then I do a mix, 3/4 diet and 1/4 cherry. Love a splash of cherry. Trust me, I take my diet coke, VERY seriously!

Our list consisted of ONLY the things we absolutely NEEDED! That meant cutting back at the grocery store and making sure we were maximizing every single resource!

As of TODAY, January 7th I can proudly and successfully say we have completed DAY 29 in our family challenge! I can also say that this month we will be depositing close to $1000 in our savings account, simply by eliminating those 'extra' expenses and maximizing ALL of our resources! WOW! How quickly it adds up!

Our mantra for this past month has simply been, 'We have the money to get that, however at this TIME we are simply CHOOSING NOT to spend our money on that particular item!'

In much of a way, I would relate it to FASTING.

We are utilizing many of the resources that we have right here in our home. AND much of our extra spending was tied to just a simple lack of planning ahead! When traveling back to NW Iowa for Christmas we packed a cooler with water, soda, and snacks preventing a $10 drop at the Handimart each stop.

I smiled BIG last night as our family gathered around the supper table. What usually is a QUICK chow down and on to the next thing is gradually becoming a time to linger, talk, laugh, and share more about our days. We were at the supper table last night close to an hour. I am beginning to see a some new patterns developing and it feels GOOD! Milo obviously is not traveling 3 days a week any more and now at week 4, I think we are beginning to settled into a NEW routine, a NEW season of our lives.

May be God was preparing me in September for this new change. A change that would entail me to even more of a planner.

Last September with a simple notebook, I started a weekly log of our suppers. I was frustrated and TIRED of the NEVER ENDING, line....'whats for supper!' So I decided to do something about it! Of course, we have our tired and trues that are always a hit and I like to try new recipes, in fact I probably try at least 1 or 2 every week. So I started a weekly meal plan and weekly shopping run. Each Sunday (dump day) I plan out all of the meals for the week and a grocery list. At the end of the week, I look back over what NEW meals were a HIT and ones that were not! I highlight those meals in my notebook. Now 17 weeks into this notebook, I have 17 weeks of meal plans that I can look back on. My goal is to do this for an entire year, so that when next September rolls around, I can simply flip to that week and start the whole year over. Try NEW meals in place of the 'not so popular ones', hoping that someday I can pass onto my daughters, 'Japenga' all-time favorite suppers!

I heard a great quote today.

'In order to change, one must not gain something, but instead give up something.'

I thought, WOW!

However, difficult the past 4 weeks have been when out running errands and all I can think about is HOW good a diet coke would taste. Or while sauntering through the grocery store thinking a good hot coffee would so do the trick. Or Milo and I looking for longed at each other and asking, what ARE we going to do tonight instead of eating out or picking up the NEWEST release at the video store.

What I have gained in place is a longer supper time around the table. More cozy conversations in front of the fire instead of the TV. AND a NEW appreciation for just exactly HOW great that first diet coke will taste, when I have the PRIVILEGE of treating myself!

However HARD change is, however HARD it is to GIVE up something, one of my first LEARNED lessons in 2009 is that in order to change, I have to first be willing to let go of something. That when I simply give and sometimes GIVE UP to maximize ALL of my resources is when I begin to see and be blessed with EVEN greater rewards.

Who knew what giving up a simple FOUNDATION diet coke, would do for a girl?

Blessings.