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It’s Mardi Gras time.  Fat Tuesday was yesterday, and in most Western Christian traditions, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day long liturgical season of fasting and praying leading up to Easter.

Here’s Lent in a nutshell according to Spirit Home:

The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.

Give UP for Lent

Most common vices people give up are alcohol, or sweets, like chocolate.  But I challenge you to sacrifice some of your normal spending.  It can be both a religious & financial reward!

Here’s a few things you could give up for Lent that are financially rewarding:

1. Eating out at sit-down restaurants
2. Eating out altogether
3. Going to sporting events
4. Going to concerts
5. Getting a manicure/pedicure
6. Buying more clothes
7. Give up smoking or caffeine
8. ??? (add something in the comments below!)

Add something for Lent

What can you add that could be spiritually and financially rewarding?

1. A monthly household budget
2. Join a website that uses personal finance software to categorize & track  your expenses)
3. Read a financial related book (The Total Money Makeover or Automatic Millionaire)
4. Take a financial course (Financial Peace University or Crown Financial Ministries)
5. Read the book of Proverbs
6. ??? (add something in the comments below!)

Give TO something for Lent

This is a no-brainer.  We should give to those less fortunate or to the organizations that help them.  But I also challenge you to give your time — it often costs us more, and certainly provides us more benefit and personal reward of being intricately involved in a cause.

What will you be doing for Lent?? What would you add to the above lists??

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Photo by howieluvsus

Personal Finance Budget, charity, frugal, giving, Lent, Mardi Gras

This Wednesday, I’m headed to Southern California to be in my college friend’s wedding.  I got an amazing deal on the flight — $220 including fees & taxes, round-trip from DFW!

I don’t know about you, but all I usually hope to do is avoid any disasterous experiences when I’m flying.  Except the last time I flew to California.  That was the time I upgraded to 1st class.

I know, I know.  I didn’t need to fly 1st class, but I’ll give you my excuses justifications *ahem* reasons why I did it anyway.

My Excuses / Justifications / Reasons for Upgrading to 1st Class

I went out to California to visit family for Christmas.  My wife was already out there on business, so we met up out west and spent time with family.  We ended up booking the same flight home to Texas, except her company booked her a first class ticket, and I was back in coach with all the other riff-raff   Being the good husband that I am, I agreed to check into upgrading so we could sit together on the flight back home.  Turns out the upgrade was ‘only’ $100.

Could I have taken that $100 and paid down a student loan?  Sure.  But sometimes it’s fun to enjoy luxuries.  We’re very careful to pick and choose ours, and always make sure they fall somewhere within our budget.  It also fell within our allotted “Christmas Trip” budget-line, so we were okay with it.

The 1st Class Experience

I loved it.  By the time everyone else was boarding the plane, you were already stretched out and a chapter into your book.  Plenty of leg room for my 6′3″ frame, hot towels, a meal on an otherwise meal-free flight, and of course, free alcoholic beverages!  And no, I didn’t try to drink $100 worth of mixed drinks to make up for the price of the upgrade!

The closest experience I can relate it to is going to a professional basketball game, and sitting court-side vs. the nosebleed seats.  You just never want to go back to the cheap seats after the experience!

Taste the Snowball

Our debt snowball will be rolling for quite some time.  A quick victory of knocking out a small debt can keep you motivated to continue snowballing the larger debts.  Every so often in little ways, I like to be able to have a taste of the good life; or “taste the snow” in my snowball.  It keeps me motivated to continue my debt snowball by reminding me that today’s sacrifices will pay off with future reward and security.

Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war.

What about you?

Well I’m back to flying coach this week with a smile on my face and even more determination to knock out our debt. 

Any comments on my choice to upgrade to 1st class? 

Have you lost some financial battles to win the war??

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photo by Richard Moross

Personal Finance 1st class, Budget, christmas, debt, debt snowball, flying, frugal, snowball, taste the snowball, upgrade