8 minute read
New Baby Brother
from August 2020
Gò0dNews forKids
New Baby Brother
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by Sue Lagermann
Tomorrow is the big day for my sister Cindy and me! Our mom is coming back home and bringing our new baby brother with her. We both were happy the baby was a boy. Now we had a brother.
While our mom was gone, we had Grandma Stella, my daddy’s mom, spend the night with us. She wasn’t around much as we were growing up. She agreed to watch us for the night daddy spent at the hospital. My mom said Grandma Stella didn’t have a motherly way about her. That night, she made us spaghetti for dinner. I told her that my mom doesn’t make me eat spaghetti sauce over my noodles. Grandma Stella served me my spaghetti without sauce. It wasn’t very good. I told her that if I didn’t finish dinner, my mom still gave me dessert. I didn’t finish dinner and still got dessert! When it was time to get ready for bed, I told Grandma Stella I only had to brush my teeth in the mornings.
That night in bed, I told Cindy I had fun playing jokes on Grandma Stella. Cindy told me that was lying, not playing jokes. Something really bad might happen. Maybe something bad would happen to our new baby brother. I said my prayers over and over until I fell asleep.
When I woke up, my Granddaddy was downstairs waiting for Cindy and me to come down. We ran downstairs to see him. We loved our Granddaddy. He was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. Granddaddy told us our daddy was bringing our mom and baby brother home today, but there was going to be a problem. I was so scared something was wrong because I lied. I said a fast prayer in my head before Granddaddy said, “The problem is that Joseph is your brother’s name, but so is your daddy’s. Let’s give him a nickname.” Since we were eating Skippy peanut butter, Cindy and I both said Skippy at the same time. Since that day, our brother has been called Skippy. Cindy and I were proud that we named our new baby brother. I was happy to know nothing bad happened to our baby brother and promised never to play jokes on Grandma Stella again. I never did. Six years later, we had another brother. This time, my mom named him David. David doesn’t have a nickname, but we are proud of him too.
About The Author
Sue Lagermann has been involved with the Floyd County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program since 1998 as a volunteer and became the director in 2004. Before becoming director, she advocated for over 20 children in the foster care system. She is the author of Violet Daisy Flowers becomes a Foster Kid, which is about an 8-year-old child’s journey through the child welfare system. Sue is the mother of six and grandmother of 11 children. Sue and her husband Bob reside in Aragon, GA.
Be Frugal, but Not Cheap
MONEY MATTERS WITH DR. ANDREW LEE
“Y ou’re such a cheapskate! Penny pincher! Scrooge!” Many of us have either heard these phrases hurled at us or, alternately, have used these phrases when accusing someone else. Few people would want to be labeled as “cheap”—it sounds so insulting. But some would embrace less critical terms like “frugal” or “thrifty” which may often be viewed as a compliment. So what’s the difference between being “cheap” and “frugal?” Personal finance author Ramit Sethi has summarized some insightful ways to distinguish between “cheap” and “frugal”:
1. “Being frugal is saving money. Being cheap is saving
money at the expense of others.” Think of a time when you were out at a restaurant with a group of family or friends, and when the bill came, there was “that person” who kicked in seven dollars to cover his or her $6.99 meal, neglecting to account for taxes and tip. Or how about those people who habitually leave a dollar or two as a “tip” for their restaurant server regardless if the bill totaled ten, twenty, or fifty dollars? Or those who choose to ignore invitations to weddings, showers, or graduations as a great way to save some money by not having to buy a gift? Ouch—let’s not be like these folks. People have long memories regarding cheapskates!
2. “A cheap person saves in any possible scenario, at any cost. Frugal people happily spend money on things
they value.” Cheap people always go with the lowest price on anything, while frugal people cut costs on things that aren’t important to them, while spending freely, even lavishly, on things they care about. It’s simply a matter of knowing what’s important to you and then allocating your financial resources accordingly. Personally, most luxury consumer goods are not high on my list of priorities (I inevitably imagine these items 10 // August 2020
Dr. Andrew Lee is professor of English at Lee University. He also serves as a coordinator for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. He and his wife Esmerelda have three children.
in my future Yard Sale). However, I highly value experiences and memories, especially with my family and friends. So when we take family trips, we pull out all the stops without pinching pennies because I had already planned these expenditures in advance.
3. “A cheap person values money. A frugal person
values time.” Some people will drive an extra ten or twenty minutes to buy gasoline at the station that sells fuel for a nickel less per gallon, without realizing that the extra time spent and miles driven for this supposed “savings” has cost them much more than they were trying to save. Or they will spend three weeks struggling to fix a leaky sink rather than call a plumber for a fifty-dollar repair. There’s nothing wrong with DIY (do it yourself), but there comes a point when the time expended exceeds the dollar value of money saved.
4. “Cheap people are always trying to get something for free and often feel entitled or act offended or
mistreated when they can’t get something free.” There’s nothing wrong with sometimes asking for a freebie (James 4:2), but to live life expecting not to pay for goods or services that most people are paying for, well, that’s neither realistic nor healthy. Some people believe that if they whine loudly enough and often enough, they can get anything they want. These people should be avoided.
The previous points all boil down to this: “cheap” people think short term while “frugal” people think long term. Frugal people don’t save money just to save money; they have longer term goals like saving for retirement or funding their kids’ college or donating to worthy causes, and they realize that a dollar saved on expenses can help meet their goals. So be frugal, not cheap!
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Moving in the right direction…
