Hello. I’m Rianna.
Millennial, Wife, Mom, Pastor’s Kid, Recovering Control Freak.
I started grocery shopping with a budget when I was about 8 years old. No joke. My mom would give my older sister and me $10/week for lunches. We would write a menu, then a shopping list, and then go to Safeway. Be assured that we ate a lot of Top Ramen, because it was an easy way to save money so there would be some left over for a cake mix. We had our priorities figured out!
My parents raised (are still raising) 9 children on a small-town pastor’s salary. They taught me everything they could about managing money. They taught me to tithe and then to budget. My dad worked multiple jobs while going to seminary, my mom knew how to stretch a handful of pinto beans and rice into burritos for 30 people, and they trusted God to stretch a quart of green beans to feed 300.
I started stressing about money when I was about 10. That’s when I realized we didn’t have any. Financial stress kept a hold on me for years. I can’t honestly say I’ve kicked it for good, but it doesn’t hang over my head every waking minute the way it used to. I feel freer today than I have ever been.
When we first got married, my husband had to tell me over and over again “it’s ok to spend money”, but I was petrified. Even though we were both working full time and making plenty to cover everything, I couldn’t grasp the concept that the funds were there to be used. I was still being held captive by my finances, because I didn’t understand them.
So I wrote a budget, and I pinned all my receipts to a cork board right inside the front door, and I added everything up every weekend. When I could clearly see how much was available, I started to feel ok about going to see a movie, or buying a pair of $3 shoes at WalMart.
I was still being held captive by my finances, because I didn’t understand them.
By early 2018 we were both working 40+ hours at decent jobs, and it was enough to cover our Central Oregon mortgage and two car payments without having to scrape. I was about 5 months pregnant and planning to take a couple of months off when the baby was born but then work from home. It would be tight for a little bit in there, but nothing unmanageable. Two months before the expected arrival of our son, Jed, we decided that continuing my employment as a paralegal was not going to be a healthy choice for anyone involved…and in short order we were left with only one income, a new baby, and no plan for what we would do after the tax refunds were spent.
As a “recovering control freak”, not having a plan is pretty hard for me. Shockingly, those first few months after Jed was born were the most calm and least stressed I had felt in years. Why? Honestly, probably because God took pity on me and gave me a dose of that peace that passes all understanding, and there were a lot of factors at work, but one colossal change was that I was finally taking the time again to analyze our finances, write a budget, and actually stick to it. Because when I have a solid plan, I don’t have to freak out about whether or not I am in control.
(Since then, I started working part-time for our church, my husband picked up more hours, and we are loving life paycheck to paycheck.)
Budget. It’s a cringe-worthy word, isn’t it? For many people, it brings to mind feelings of stress, inadequacy, even shame and guilt. But you don’t have to feel that way! Even if you don’t read another paragraph from me, there is one thing I want you to hear:
Having a solid grasp on and plan for your finances is not about harnessing you and sucking the joy from your life; it’s about taking control of whatever it is you have been blessed with and giving yourself the space to live with minimal stress!
No matter what your situation is, you will always benefit from knowing, understanding, and taking control of your money. I promise. And I want to talk through all of it with you! I’m one of those uncommon folk who aren’t afraid to talk about money, whether I have it or not, and whether you have it or not. It’s an asset, not a character trait, amiright?
Let’s make a plan to “do all things”.
Philippians 4:13 is one of the most-quoted verses in the Bible (“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”), but we often don’t acknowledge the context (finances), which we get from verse 12: “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”
Let’s make a plan to “do all things”. Take some time, ask Him to guide you towards the things He has lined up for you, and then get to work. This is a place for you to get ideas, talk things through, be inspired and encouraged.
I’m so happy to have you with me! If you want to keep moving forward and make some plans and changes in your life surrounding the way you approach finances, start with my step-by-step guide for how to write a budget.
Doing All Things 