Tight, tight, tight!

Things are hard all over! I see on the news a family that the husband works a full time job while the wife works three part time jobs. One job pays the utilities, one pays the mortgage, and the other buys groceries. I don't remember what the husband's job pays for, maybe bills. Anyway, they have two small children and she just found out she is pregnant again. They don't know what they will do, but seemed hopeful. This is back East, so I imagine that the financial crunch must be tighter in a larger city.

Here things are also tight. The gas and grocery prices are rising, and the salaries seem to be the same. But I am thankful for something now that I used to be unthankful for (much to my shame), I am married to a very tight man. I mean that in the way that he doesn't just spend money...he doesn't just let me spend money (why I was unthankful perhaps?). We have switched our lights to the energy saving bulbs about four years ago...long before it was the style. We run our bath water into a bucket until it gets warm and use it to water plants (strawberries and such) instead of letting it go down the drain. We are frugal with our lights, and air conditioning, and I use a clothes line. In the winter I can hang the clothes on hangers and they dry over night because our house is a balmy 87...we use a wood furnace that lives in our garage, and vents into our house (we all help chop wood during the summers...something to see actually). I also am always using coupons and have been on a grocery allowance, although I push that sometimes. :) So, God has taken care of me and my children by making my husband a tight man with his money. Things are still difficult, but not quite so bad for us right now. I know things can get better or worse, but I am thankful that I have been in training for almost 8 years now for the hard times. People always say what they would do if they won the lottery. We would probably get new carpet, build a sun room, but I doubt it would be spent without thought.