a penny for my thought

I'm going to let you in on my biggest KitchenAid secret: it's refurbished.

Here's the thing: I've wanted a KitchenAid forever. Here's the other thing: they're expensive. I penned in a KitchenAid on my big wish list and let it sit there. Then when our tax return money came in, I started thinking about moving the mixer from the wish list to the buy list. But $350 is still a lot of money, even with a tax return (and especially when you're trying to pay off school debt).

Then I remembered a conversation I had over the summer with my friend Breanna. She bought a refurbished KitchenAid mixer and was more than pleased with it. So I did some research into the idea. Turns out that KitchenAid is in charge of refurbishing their own mixers. So I'd be buying a KitchenAid from KitchenAid for a fraction of the price. Done.

At that moment I defined one of my key money philosophies: make it do.

I'm blessed that Josh and I have similar financial approaches. We both want to live within our means and provide for our current and future needs. I love the doctrine of provident living. I love the present and future freedom promised by saving and modest spending.

Perhaps abiding strictly to "making it do" would be making do with my hand mixer instead of purchasing a stand mixer. But I think that for a splurge—especially when the numbers said I could afford a brand new one if I wanted—I splurged in the spirit of making it do.