An Adult, as of Today

In case I was ever unsure of my status as a real, grown-up, bona fide, adult...today I erased all doubt. Today, I bought a roof.

Soon after Bob and I got married, my brother termed us DINK's, or "duel income no kids". Nearly six years later, here we are...still DINK's. For better or worse, I married a man who believes being a DINK should involve living modestly and saving heavily. "Every dollar we save now," he used to tell me, "could double seven times before we retire and turn into $49 (accounting for inflation)." And since financial security is one of my biggest needs, this has worked very well for us. Most of the time.

We have and continue to make sacrifices, knowing we are making wise long-term decisions. For instance, our TV is bulky and small with a worse quality than most computer monitors. And I work hard to adhere to our $60 weekly grocery budget and small monthly clothing allocation. I drive a stripped down five-speed Mazda that would fit in the bed of most trucks. Our entertainment consists primarily of free books and DVD's from the library. And despite finding new gray hairs seemingly daily, I'm resisting the expense of chemically enhancing my hair.

Now to be fair, we do spend money on things we enjoy, but we are still purposeful and selective. Note vacation to Cancun and expensive running shoes and days at Disney and occasional rounds of golf. But generally, we are saving heavily both for retirement and to build a healthy emergency fund and savings account. For one day, we hope no longer to be DINK's.

So, when replacing the roof became inevitable a few weeks ago, I was at first mortified at the price tag. But, after I came to terms with the size of the number, I was so very thankful for the big and little things we had sacrificed to be able to handle the expense without needing to go in debt. Gosh, I thought, Dave Ramsey would be so proud (great resource for anyone wanting to live debt free http://www.daveramsey.com/).

God has been faithful and is meeting all our needs, and we in turn will honor and glorify Him. Even as I complain about entering the adult world of big responsibilities, I am thankful for a place to live and a roof over my head.

Now, just the big decision - what color shingles do we want?