Discipline

Jason and I recently implemented two things in our lives that have required significant discipline on our parts: P90X and a budget.

We are failing miserably with the P90X workouts. We started out doing really well. We were even waking up at 4:50 (yes, 4:50 A.M) to do our workout before Jason had to get ready for work. But, when Jason started putting the hardwoods down, we didn't have enough space upstairs for both of us to do the videos, so we held off while construction was in progress. Excuses, excuses, excuses...but, I think we are finally back on the wagon and will be re-starting the P90X workout program TODAY. For any of you that have not tried this program, it is awesome! Its pretty difficult, but if you have *discipline* (key-word for the day), then the results are great. You should expect to gain a good bit of muscle and also burn some fat. Highly recommend it.

As far as the budget goes, we are doing pretty well. We implemented a budget in order to try to pay off Jason's student loans as quickly as possible and also start saving for a new house (obviously a long-term goal since the loans may take some time). Its AMAZING to me how much money we wasted before implementing the budget. Just totally wasteful purchases. So, now we have a better grasp of where money is being spent, and we have been able to cut out unnecessary or frivilous purchases from the budget (for the most part - there are some things that we cannot live without, such as DVR - I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever had DVR can sympathize). But, we really feel that this is going to allow us to be more intentional with our finances and the gifts that God has provided. If anyone's interested in a pretty cool money-managing tool, we are using http://www.mint.com/ - its from the makers of Quicken, and its totally free. Mint allows you to link with your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, etc. and categorizes all of your expenses. You can also set up budgets and review monthly budget to actual comparisons to see if you were within target. Pretty cool stuff (oh my gosh, yes, I am a CPA). But, really its a very useful website if you want to check it out!