Haan.Family.Life.Classroom

One of the hardest things, for me, about being a stay at home mom is not stressing out about money. I am the "money manager", and have been since Eric and I got married. It was an obvious designation. I am much more detail oriented. Of course, when I took over the bill paying role, Eric and I had equal incomes and we were sharing purchasing decisions more evenly.

Now, I am home with the kids and not bringing in any income into the house. But I spend most of our money - bills, groceries, L's preschool tuition, household and child needs, etc. And I write all the checks sending money out of our house.

I never really considered how much that might stress me out.

I readily admit, I have problems with trying to control things too much. I control the checkbook, to an extent, but not the money that goes into the bank. I carry the worry of stretching the money Eric makes to cover our expenses. Eric is aware of our financial situation, but he doesn't "feel" it as much as if he were writing the checks and writing those numbers into our checkbook on a weekly basis.

I bet there are other stay at home moms who have the same stress.

The good news is that I do know that, in actuality, God is providing for us. That money in our bank account has been provided by Him. We have been a single income family for three and a half years now and for three and a half years, the numbers "don't add up". Looking at numbers, there is no way I should be staying home. And yet, here I am. In times of anxiety (and at the end of the month!), I continually remind myself of these facts. God is providing for us, and I should not worry about the details. (And yet, I still struggle with this.)

Phillipians 4:19: "For God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Jesus Christ."

Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"