Putting my money where my mouth is... literally.

So, my credit card company offers some really nice no-cost benefits that I receive without even asking.  One of the things I love (and hate) is their end of year summary report.  They do a quick catalog of all my spending over the past year and itemize all expenses under specific titles.  Groceries, Automotive, Shopping, Travel, Home Improvement, Restaurants....  While the numbers are intriguing all on their own, where these numbers really get informative is when you compare them to previous year spending...

If you've seen my FB feed this last year, you will not be surprised that my Travel direct expenses grew by $1000 this year.  Indirect costs that are impacted by this are Restaurants, Auto (gas), and Misc (dog kenneling costs & race entrance fees as examples).  So the reality is my travel bug probably cost me an additional $3000 this year.

Another shocker in this data?  My 1st world addiction to coffee shops cost me an additional $800 this year.  Darn that easy-reload feature on the Starbucks app!  GRRR!!!

Its not all bad news though.  It appears my Shopping days have settled out a bit as I saw a reduction in this category of over $1500.  Guess I didn't spend my shoe budget after all?  At this point I'm operating on an item in equals an item out.  This entails that I have to part with item(s) to make room for new item(s) which has turned out to be a pretty effective strategy in containing this spend habit.

Well just a few weeks after I sat down and spent some time evaluating this spend data, I worked on my 2015 taxes.   And I was faced with another very real data point.  My charitable donation spending, while it grew from 2014 to 2015, isn't what I feel is remotely appropriate given my salary.

As a Christian, I've always been under the guidance of offering to God his portion:

Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. ~Deuteronomy 16:17

Sunday's sermon reiterated a seed that had already been stirring inside me and my desire to build the "right" house with my resources.  Since my divorce, I had made a plan to work up successively each year to get to tithing level (10%).   With the first year being an adjustment to a single income, there was some perceived financial insecurity.  But if I'm honest with myself, God has significantly blessed me since that event occurred on so many levels, including financially.  

So its time for me to walk the walk and I'll trust that God will provide what I need when I need it.  See you Starbucks, my 2016 money is going to be better spent.