By Katie Ginn
The most fun way to figure out how to “invest” your time? Create vision boards with friends! (From left: CC Allgood, Mandy Bufkin, Katie Ginn.)
I never thought I’d be excited to have grown-up food for dinner.
By “grown-up food,” I mean meals like red beans and rice or homemade beef and veggie soup. The stuff that doesn’t exactly thrill you as a kid but hits the spot as an adult if you do it right. Now I kind of wish my taste buds had grown up sooner.
As a child, I was picky; as a single woman, I was lazy. I knew how to make a handful of delicious meals – thanks to my mom, who famously says, “If you can read, you can cook” – but I had zero desire to learn more. So I rotated between those half-dozen dishes, and when I grew bored, I grabbed takeout. Lots of takeout.
When Stephen and I got married, we started cooking more than either of us had before. At first, I hated all the research and planning. I didn’t want to constantly have to figure out some new, exciting dinner to prepare. But now, since we’ve expanded our repertoire and are no longer combing the internet for recipes, I’ve taken charge of meal planning and am happy to do so. And, too much restaurant food makes me feel gross.
Now, I was going to give y’all more details about my single-era takeout consumption. I even went to my online bank account to pull up some old statements. But I couldn’t access them. My bank essentially said, “Nah, girl, you don’t need to look at that.” My online statements only go back four years; by that time, since Stephen was taking me on dates, I “only” spent about $100 a month on food not made at home.
Single-era Stephen allowed coffee runs and takeout to eat away at some of his money, too – but he did a better job of saving the rest of it. Unlike me, he never flew across the country without thinking twice. He never spent money he didn’t have on pricey concert tickets or Christmas gifts. And, once he was a working adult, he never incurred overdraft or “maintenance” fees. (I thought the latter were standard – then I learned that banks only charge a maintenance fee if you don’t keep a minimum balance of a certain amount. How insulting!)
All that to say, I wish I could’ve contributed more financially when we got married. Even if I’d only put $50 a month in savings (instead of drive-thru windows), in 10 years I would’ve saved $6,000. If I’d invested that $50 a month? I’d be looking at $30,000.
Kayla Soukup, one of the financial professionals in this month’s Cover Story, made a similar discovery when totalling up what she’d spent getting her nails and lashes done each month. She and I both wish we’d made some changes sooner.
I’ve been similarly convicted lately about the way I steward my time. Late last year, I decided to make a list of priorities, in order, and start writing it at the top of my desk calendar each month. Hopefully, the list will remind me that my close relationships are more important than, say, getting three intense workouts in every single week. On my deathbed, I’m not going to gaze off into the middle distance and say, “I wish I’d done more squats … ”
When it comes to our time, money, and energy, we could “spend” it doing whatever we want in the moment; we could “save” it by refusing to do anything not chiseled into our sacred weekly routine; or we could invest it by pouring into the people and things that matter.
What or whom are you investing in for eternal dividends? What is sucking up your resources and providing momentary benefits but no long-term ROI? What could go either way, depending on the week? Let’s brace ourselves and take a look. We might have to make some hard changes. We might feel like kids being forced to eat their veggies. But eventually, we’ll taste and see that God’s way is better.
In this issue:
- My cover interview with four financial professionals
- Financial tips and resources for 2026
- Twin Lakes camp director enjoying second career after retiring from financial sector
On this month’s episodes of ‘Oh My Word with Katie’:
- Author Toni Shiloh on her hockey-themed romance “Hearts on the Fly” (Feb. 5)
- Authors Lynette Eason and Dani Pettrey on their two suspenseful novellas, published together as “Whiteout” (Feb. 19)