I think I regretted the claim as soon as it left my vocals chords — maybe because my husband was so quick to agree. But it was too late, I had committed.
In actuality, our pastor is to blame — he had to go and write the book “Too Much — Living with Less in the Land of More.” While preaching one ordinary Sunday morning, Dr. Gary Johnson used the phrase “eat down.”
He explained how his son’s family, who is a pastor in New Orleans, prepares for hurricane season by “eating down” the perishables in the freezer and refrigerator in case of a power outage. The husband and I both nodded in agreement that this was a great idea — even without the obvious threat of any Indiana hurricanes. We do have an ample supply of fish and venison in the freezer.
The words that flew from my mouth: “We shall have an ‘eat down’; and while we’re at it, let’s have a buy-down — where we don’t buy anything but essentials (like fresh vegetables and toilet paper) for a few months.”
My husband’s sense of reality kicked in, and he suggested that the buy-down should begin after Christmas and that we should commit to one month at a time.
During Thanksgiving, we shared our intentions with the daughters, and No. 2 corrected me and suggested the buy-down should actually be called “buy-haitus” or “buy-aitus” for short.
Now don’t get me wrong, the hubby and I have taken and even taught classes on good financial stewardship. We took and taught Crown Ministry Bible Studies back in the mid ’90s for a few years — then when Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace showed up, we studied and applied his methods and love to listen to his radio show.
But as life moves on, bad habits can slowly creep back in.
So now 20 days before Christmas, I’ve been shopping for toothpaste and shampoo before the buy-aitus begins.
But I’ve also been thinking about the cups of chai tea and hot chocolate we won’t be purchasing at the coffee shop while driving those snow-covered roads to church.
Say it after me: I am content.
