I CAN: Be Prepared

I've had life happen enough to be prepared and by nature I'm a planner. Yes, you cannot predict what's going to happen in the future but you can prepare for some of the things that may come. Everyone's "prepared" won't look the same but it can be done (in whatever way fits you).

The recent government shutdown is one example, I can give, of being prepared. My husband is a government employee and his job serves as our main source of income. When the shutdown became official a little bit of panic set in and it became a test of faith. During my quiet time, God reminded me of His faithfulness and that we would be ok.

Before my husband and I were married, Armand read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and adopted the TMM way of managing money. He made it look easy. One of the main ideas, when managing your money this way is, "to live like no one else, to live like no one else." The goal of TMM is to is to help you live debt free and manage your money in such a way that when life does happen, the panic won't set in.

You may ask, what does this look like? In a nutshell it's living beneath your means, such as only buying things when you have the cash to purchase them. And by "things," I mean everything.

My husband set us up with different accounts in addition to our everyday spending account. One of those accounts was a rainy day fund. Some money, each check, goes into the account. When the shutdown hit and the checks stopped, we were still able to pay all of our essential bills and buy all the things we needed, like groceries. Yes, we halted leisurely spending, but our needs were met. Just like God says in His word, in Philippians 4:19, "And my god shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

With this type of living and money management, it takes discipline, faith and A LOT of prayer. As I said before, my husband made it look easy. When we first got married, I fought him, like crazy, when it came to our money and spending. But here we are almost 10 years later and our rainy day came. God answered my prayer when He brought Armand in my life. At first, I my not have been totally on board with the TMM way of living, but God showed me that not only did He answer my prayer, but through Armand's money management skills and faith in Him, He blessed me more than I would have ever known. Living this way, was much different and better than how I grew up.

It taught me that preparing can be beneficial. And you may not see the fruit of your preparation immediately, in all situations, but it will help when your rainy day comes.

Like I said earlier, everyone's preparation may not look the same. You may be good when it comes to your finances, but maybe you need to prepare when it comes to life insurance or a will/trust. No matter what it may be, prepare for your rainy day. Your day will come. And when it does, it will be best to have your ducks in a row.

In what areas of your life can you prepare? Or are you already prepared?. If you are prepared, please encourage those around you to be as well.