Living with Margin

Last spring my wife got really sick unexpectedly. She couldn't get over the bug and eventually I caught the same thing. We had House Fever.

My wife caught it first and began searching for her dream home online. Eventually we found ourselves driving all over Nashville. We drove around after work, weekends and any spare time we could find in our schedules.

We found the house of our dreams - a 3,000-square-foot, brand-new home in southern Davidson County. We put the house under contract in the spring. It felt as though we visited the house nearly every day.

When construction started, we were emotionally connected with the house. This was our home. We shared the good news with friends and family. Our 1,100-square-foot condo in Bellevue found itself on the market and being toured by strangers nearly every Sunday while we left it behind and visited our new home.

By the time fall came the house was nearly finished and the economy had begun to unravel.

My wife's job security and income stability were in doubt and money in my accounts receiveables was evaperating along with the credit market my clients depended on for projects.

Three weeks before we were to buy our dream home, we had to take a long, hard look at the big picture and be honest.

Our condo had not sold. Bottom feeders and people without credit were the only ones making offers. Cobbling together the loan for the new house meant lines of credit, advances on income, etc. It was so tempting.

We prayed a lot. We opted to cancel the contract three weeks before the closing. It was the most difficult decision of our marriage. We felt sick, crest fallen. Our condo was happy, however.

We nestled back into our condo reluctantly. It's small, but perfectly sized for us. For now, it'll do.

And now to the point.

My wife was laid off three weeks ago. We thank God for not answering our prayers for a new house.

In the new home, our savings would be depleted. Stress levels would be significantly higher and pushed to the brink. In the condo, we are comfortable and not stressed out. My wife is looking for a job, but not worried about paying our mortgage.

In short, we have financial margin. We are blessed by God for this.

I think there is a lot we can learn, or be reminded of, from the "Greatest Generation." Live below your means. Pay yourself first. Don't live on credit. Don't succumb to immediate gratification.

There is peace when people live within the margin. It's part of God's plan to keep us sane and stress free.

Don't tuck your head underneath the bed covers in fear or stick your head in the sand to ignore this recession. Let's all lick our wounds and learn the lessons of this economy. Let's do more window shopping and less leveraging of our future income with credit - even long after the recession ends.

Caution: Read Manual before Operating

My wife and I purchased a new vehicle last fall. It was slightly used, but better than any car we've owned before.
From cruise control and automatic windows to the weather channel on the radio and seat warmers, this car featured almost everything we could imagine needing between point A and point B.

Like many red-blooded American men would have done, I immediately jumped in the car for a drive around the city. I could figure out all the fancy gadgets while cruising down the interstate. No need to wait!

Everything was great until about three weeks ago...

I notice when I tried to wash the windshield with wiper fluid the only thing that happened was the swish of the wiper blades. I tried a second time. A third. The same result.

This was horrible! How could this be! Was the honeymoon over after only a few months? Did I need to make my first repair?

"Wait. Calm down," I thought. "There has to be an easy solution."

I popped the hood and checked the fluid. Ah, the problem. No fluid.

Close the hood. Crank the engine and zoom to the nearest Auto Zone.

Grab Wiper Fluid. Go to the counter. Swipe the debit card.

Pop the hood. Fill the canister with wiper fluid. Close the hood.

Get in the car. Press the lever in. The wiper blades went swish. No fluid.

Argh!

I delayed making the call to the dealer. Maybe it wasn't a necessary feature. I tried convincing myself I could live without wiper fluid. But I eventually broke down and scheduled an appointment with the dealer.

The following Friday at 8:30 a.m. I arrived at the dealership and waited in the lobby for my technician.

Ten minutes later, my technician arrived after making an initial inspection of the car.

"Mr. Forrester, I couldn't find anything wrong with the wiper fluid," he said.

"Really," I said incredulously. "It hasn't worked for me in weeks."

We walked to the car. The technician entered the car, pressed the lever inward. The wipers went swish. Jets of fluid sprayed onto the windshield from outlets on the hood.

"No, no," I said. "It doesn't work for me. See."

I crawled into the driver seat and pressed the lever in.

This time the wipers swished but no jets of fluid shot out of the hood.

"See what I mean," I turned to the technician and said.

"Push harder," said the technician.

Sure enough after pushing a little harder the wipers went swish and fluid sprayed onto the windshield.

Needless to say, I felt a little bit foolish and couldn't help but laugh at myself.

"I bet this will be the easiest repair of the day," I said.

The technician and I both enjoyed the moment briefly before I left the repair shop.

I immediately called my wife to explain what the problem had been.

"That's why they mailed you a manual for you to read," she said.

So from here on I have two options: buy a less fancy vehicle in the future, or read the manual before operating.

Surviving 2009 with Attitude

My wife and I have a Pomeranian and a Cocker Spaniel. They are great dogs. My Cocker Spaniel enjoys the benefits of our trust and therefore gets to lounge around the house during the day while we are at work. On the other hand, the Pomeranian needs to be left in the bathroom because she has too much energy... to describe it kindly.

The other day when I arrived home, the Cocker Spaniel was in the living room lying on the sofa next to the arm rest. I released the Pomeranian from the bathroom. She flew from the room like a furry bullet; zooming left and right and circling me a couple of times before jumping on her hind legs and pawing my leg for attention with her front paws.

I couldn't help but give her a quick pat on the head before I laid my briefcase in the office. Since the Pomeranian didn't have my constant attention, she disappeared.

When I went into our living room, I noticed my Pomeranian, all 4 lbs. of her, had managed to move my 26-lbs.-Cocker Spaniel aside and was lying on the couch comfortably. The Pomeranian was quite satisfied with herself, while the Cocker Spaniel seemed perturbed.

"How in the world can a 4 lbs. dog move a 26 lbs. dog," I asked myself.

The answer is attitude and the difference attitude can make is something worth remembering particularly during this year.

The negative news reported daily is difficult to comprehend. If too much attention is focused on the economy, it's hard not to become depressed or discouraged. So don't.

Everyday we wake up and have the choice to look at life with a positive or negative attitude; an attitude that all things are possible or one that limits our potential because we see accomplishments as unachievable.

I choose to have the attitude of my Pomeranian and with work and prayer can achieve similar results this year. I want the same for you.