Tax Time Again

Yeah! It's tax time again. Sounds a little strange, doesn't it? But, for a former financial advisor, it gives me just a small taste of the world I lost after I quit my job to stay home with my kids. Not that I regret that decision. Well, to be honest, there might be small selfish moments when I regret it. But, the peace that this choice has brought my soul has more than outweighed any of the negatives.

Last night, I spent several hours working on our taxes. I almost have them completed, and once we receive our refund, we'll be able to pay off some outstanding medical bills, and hopefully, repair a few things around our home. We will also use the money to finance the kids schoolbooks and materials for the year. If we're really lucky, we'll get to take a family vacation to Yellowstone this summer. I hope so anyway. That's what we are working towards right now. We would also like to build a storage shed in our backyard and a school room in the garage.

Right now, we homeschool all over the house, and. . . well. . . it shows. Our house definitely looks lived in, and schooled in, as well. This is just one of the sacrifices we decided to make when we began homeschooling. Our small, neat, uncluttered home has now become cluttered with books, art projects and science experiments. That's OK. It is a season, and a season that (while I can personally be stressed to the max by all of the clutter being a firstborn neat-freak type of gal) I'm sure I will miss someday.

We also hope to start an emergency fund this year, so that life's little emergencies don't stress us out quite as badly. Our oldest child will be finishing vision therapy by the first part of April, and after that, we will have some funds to begin putting back into a savings account for rainy days. Our personal motto is that we don't believe in credit cards.

We got into trouble with our credit cards a few years ago, and God, in his grace, delivered us from this without having to file bankruptcy. So right now, the only debt we have is a student loan and a mortgage. I would also love to pay these off in the next couple of years, if possible. I want absolutely no debt, so that whatever happens, we don't have to worry as much about it. Bills stress me. Maybe its the financial guru inside my head, but I've seen too many people get into trouble with credit, and I don't want to have that problem. Now the only debt that seems to be ongoing in our lives is the medical debt, and that can't really be helped at this point.

My dreams are always bigger than our tax refund usually ends up being, but it's nice to live in that dream world for a little while. God has always provided for us and sustained us through all of the emergencies we have experienced so far, and I'm confident that he has a wonderful year planned for us.