Makin' Memories with Our Money

For our New Years Resolution in January 2006 we decided that our resolution would be about money. We sent money to Hurricane Katrina victims, we bought this and that, and at the end of the year we felt a little hollow. We paid our tithing, we gave in other ways, and we paid off some debt. What was missing? We decided to create a motto for money: "Make money, make memories." In other words we were tired of living to work. We not only wanted to work to live, but to make expenditures meaningful. Here is a partial list:

Fly at least one person to visit us each year (I would love to have someone do this for me)
Only buy things that are designed to create memories
* firepit - yes
* one more pair of cute shoes - no
* musical instruments - yes
* car accessories - no
* vacation - yes
* daily Jamba Juice - no
Donate cash to causes that are dear to us, not respond reactively to every global emergency

I could go on, but you get the idea. This summer we paid to have one of Jerry's favorite students come to Utah from California. We take my mom and dad out to eat every chance we get. We bought a firepit for intimate outdoor gatherings in the backyard.


Jerry and Autumn, our visitor

I wish I would have thought of this idea twenty years ago. I have bought and discarded hundreds of pairs of "cute" shoes.


And of course birthday cake is always money well spent!!! This is my nephew Wyatt and my sister Heidi, his crazy aunt.