To minimize spending and put more of our hard-earned money toward debt, we go without some luxuries (or even things that are just plain normal for others). Some of these things may even be considered extreme. Most of them keep our life simpler and less cluttered and make us happier anyway.
In all of our slimming down spending and trimming off excess, there are a couple of expenses that we don’t cut out.
Tithing
God has given us all we have and all he asks is for us to return one-tenth of our income to him. No matter what the circumstance is, we will not rob God. We have already experienced great blessings for faithfully obeying the commandment of tithing. UPDATE: I dedicated an entire post to why we pay tithing.
Health Insurance
We currently have a high-deductible plan, so most of our medical expenses are paid by us, but if anything drastic happens it is nice to know we won’t be stuck with outrageous medical bills. Even though we pay for most everything out of pocket, the insurance company negotiates a better rate for the services, so we pay less out of pocket than if we didn’t have insurance. UPDATE: Read about how the ACA affects our health insurance situation.
Car Insurance
We believe in obeying the law, so we have liability insurance required by law to take car of the costs of any mistakes we may make. Since our used cars aren’t worth a lot, we aren’t too worried about insuring them. UPDATE: Read more about how car insurance has helped up out.
Life Insurance
We have three precious little ones. Knowing that there will be money available for their care should one or both of us die early brings great peace. Hopefully we will never need it, but I think having it in place is our responsibility as parents.
How About YOU?
Are there other expenses that you won’t cut out?
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Couldn’t agree more! These are things that we won’t cut from our budget, and I feel more secure by not cutting them.
Great list! Food for thought – you are more likely to become disabled than die and leave a family behind. Where is your disability insurance?