Written By:  Virginia Nolen, Author of the blog 1184 Square Feet of Bliss

SECURITY

–noun

(courtesy of www.dictionary.com)

Financial security means to me freedom from the prospect of total financial ruin. It means that if my husband loses his job (us being a one income household and intending to stay that way), we’ll be okay until he finds another good one, even if that takes a year. Financial security means that I don’t have to worry whether or not all the bills will get paid this month. It means that I don’t stress about money. Financial security is a happy place! For me, it is knowing that without a doubt, barring a total breakdown of the American banking system, we’re going to be okay.

The title uses the word “frugal” because I like to claim that I am such a person. I’m a stay-at-home mom to three kids aged 5 and under. My husband is a church musician. When you think of “poor church mice” you should imagine our Christmas card photo right underneath it. But even church mice can (and do!) achieve financial security. My husband likes to joke that it took me a year to buy a double stroller but only a month to buy a minivan. Why does he think that’s funny and why the disparity? We didn’t have the money for that stroller. It was an unnecessary, extravagant purchase. But I searched and I searched, scouring the internet, consignment sales and thrift shops. After a year of being unable to find a stroller I could truly afford, I went ahead and spent on a brand new one. And I still regret it. I shouldn’t have spent that money; we weren’t financially secure. Two years later, it really did only take me a month to find and purchase a minivan. To me, financial security means having bolstered our credit, watched the prices, set a budget and when we found it, we bought it! I was secure in the knowledge that we really could afford that minivan and it was a good investment, fitting into our long term goals of having reliable, fairly maintenance free vehicles that could transport our growing family.

For me, financial security is comprised of two aspects: one is a physical, financial accounting of my money and the other is a state of mind. What may surprise you is that one is not necessarily dependent upon the other. It doesn’t matter to me where my money is, what matters is whether or not it’s doing what I want it to. And if it is, that gives me the “freedom from care, anxiety or doubt” inherent in the term “financial security.” I don’t claim that our financials are picture perfect; we are church mice, remember. The physical accounting and use of it still needs lots of tweaking and will continue to need close monitoring and adjustment in order to meet our goals. Our financial state of mind, however, is as clear as the sunniest summer day and is allowing me to focus on the stuff that really matters, like playing outside with my kids and dreaming of the bigger house that my musician husband will be required to “play” handyman in.