The Truth About Money - 5

My boss gave me the opportunity to work on further education and an increase in job responsibility to go with it. Studies have shown over and over that increasing your education is correlated with an increase in wages. In my opinion adding education to OJT is a winning combination. Most couples want a house of their own. Marla and I were able to save about $2000, enough to get a mortgage on our first home through a government sponsored first - time home owner program. I will never forget the heavy sense of obligation we had signing all those papers. Even in a tough economy there are usually special programs like that to help families get started. It pays to investigate.

Of course we also learned that owning your own home means you are responsible for the whole deal so when the back yard flooded we found out how to put in a "french drain." Homes are generally an appreciating asset as long as you keep them up so as long as any work you do on them yourself is up to code and good quality you are earning even more through "sweat equity." During the 8 years we were in that house, we also rebuilt a fallen cedar fence, added a wire fence on the other side, planted trees, built a deck and a large shed, extended the driveway to accommodate an RV, replaced vinyl flooring, and added a nice wood stove for heat. When we sold, we were rewarded for our work with a quick sale and fair price.

Every realtor tells you it is location that makes the difference in the value of a home but it was my wife Marla, not me who has always had a sense for this. We were learning to function as a team in unity and never made a move on some larger purchase unless we really both thought it was best - except for the time I bought an old Ford pickup for too much money that never really did run well and finally blew a head gasket. It probably would not have been a bad rig for a mechanic. The fact is that I just really wanted a pickup. This was the one time I did not consult Consumer Reports or anyone else for that matter - and I paid for it. I had grime smudged repair manuals spare parts somewhere for every vehicle we owned but I was no match for the "Green Monster." Put this one in the loss column and remember to think and pray more next time.

I've learned that important financial lessons come from both the wins and the losses. The lesson from the "Green Monster" and our first home was that there are styles of buying, selling, and ownership for all kinds of families and it is important to find the one that fits for you. For instance, we decided that buying a "fixer-upper" really did not fit our lifestyle. Great for other families - not so great for us. It was a tough lesson for me to learn because it seemed so compelling based on the evidence in the lives of some guys I knew.

Marla found our next home in a neighborhood with better streets. She has proven that she has an eye for location. It was a nice corner lot, near a park (for home educators like us park meant P.E.) Once again, we made modifications both to suit our needs and to upgrade the property. We did some major landscaping. FYI - every home in the Oakbrook neighborhood is built on top of an old river bed which has been cleverly covered with one inch of dirt. Which means every shovel will have to work it's way through rounded rocks anywhere from 1" to 4" in diameter. This project was true "sweat." I'm not sure how much equity it produced but the front yard looked nice. The back yard was a different matter. We added a large deck to deal with part of it and I decided that building raised garden beds beat trying to plow any more of that dirt.

This was also the home where we did the most significant work. I had received an inheritance of $20,000 from an aunt. I'm being open about this because it was definitely an important part of moving us forward. However, it does not help anyone to look at someone else's situation and say, "It must be nice" or "No wonder why they are where they are..." The fact is that we had been living on a razor thin budget for 14 years and were in the black on our own before this very special money came.

The fact that we had learned to live within our means (acting your wage - as our Pastor has put it) allowed us to use that money as any inheritance or special money should be in my opinion. To build wealth for the next generation. We gave 10% to our church. We used another 10% to buy into a plan which would allow our family to take some vacations at nice places for hugely reduced rates (like Eagle Crest - 7 nights for $350). It was living like we had never known. The rest of the money plus a little more was used to build an oversized garage. We had converted the original garage into a school/family room. Before we sold that house, we had also built a large shed, re-roofed, lowered the ceiling and changed lighting in the kitchen, knocked out a wall to open up the floor plan, and of course repaired the drywall in the living room where the bees chewed through.

That was not the only things that got chewed on. There are times when how you respond to pressure makes all the difference. During my stint with the Family Service agency I had several "opportunities to grow." Two of them were strangely related to the same issue God wanted to change in me. It might strike you as odd that a radical behavior change is needed in order to grow financially but I've seen this truth in other people and it was certainly true in my case. The only way I know how to be changed in a real and lasting way is through the reality of Jesus Christ being worked into me. Fortunately I knew Him and He was more than ready to help.

Of course, in that home we also celebrated a LOT of birthdays, entertained guests, held House Church meetings, counseled couples, and went through all the phases growing families go through. The girls were launching out on their own. Two out of three had graduated from High School and our oldest was engaged before we moved again. This time to an apartment while we built the house I never could have imagined.

That chapter is about increase, life after teens, and faith. It also takes us up to the present so it's the last chapter in this blog series.