A testimony from Christina
Growing up, saving money was always important to me.
My parents taught my siblings and me to save 60% of the money that we earned. I was naturally not a spender and saved closer to 80%. I remember at age 16, I had the goal of saving up for a down payment for a house! I wasn’t interested in the latest electronics, clothes, fads, etc, so I steadily built up my savings.
When I married my husband 3 years ago, I married a saver as well! While neither of us have college degrees (or college debt!), we are both hard workers. We have chosen to live simply, save as much as we can, and pay cash for everything.
When we bought our first home, we knew we were in for some major renovations. We found a great deal on a farmhouse foreclosure. The kitchen was in need of an overhaul as the only counter space was an island with a sink in it.
My sweet husband gave me an amazing gift: he told me to design my dream kitchen and he would build it for me – whatever the cost! It didn’t take me long to come up with the layout that I wanted. However, the quote for the cabinets alone was around $10,000!
For me, purchases aren’t nearly as fun if I don’t get a good deal on them — so, we put off the cabinet purchase as we tried to decide what to do.
We are huge Craigslist fans, so I began searching for used stainless steel appliances. During my search, I found a set of appliances that looked nice and they were part of an entire kitchen that someone was selling due to a remodel. There were a lot of cabinets, so I had the thought of possibly purchasing the entire kitchen since it was such a great deal.
The cabinets were in nice shape – the problem was that they were dark brown and I was set on antique white cabinets for my dream kitchen. My husband and I decided that we could make it work somehow even though their kitchen layout was completely different. It was too good of a deal to pass up!
We figured and figured, and with God’s help, we were able to make them work for my original design! We bought the kitchen – cabinets, range, microwave, dishwasher, pendant lights, sink, faucet, and garbage disposal — all for $1,500. We found a fridge for $200 on Craigslist. We painted the cabinets and added new hardware and no one would know they were second-hand!
I absolutely love my new kitchen! Besides getting the materials for a bargain, I love that I can LIVE in my kitchen and not worry about my children messing up $10k cabinets!
Christina is a full-time wife, homemaker, and mommy to three children ages 28 months, 16 months, & 2 months. She’s learning to live out her roles with dignity and to thrive where God has her.
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Read 4 chapters of Missionary Adventures of Bob & Arty aloud to the girls. 
