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At one point a few years ago, we wanted to have one of those very basic “In this house we believe in…” Live, Laugh, Love type signs made, but on it actually have our family values. But what were our family values? We’d internalized some things, changed our philosophy over the years, etc., but had never really tried to summarize or write them down before. It turns out it was much harder to do than it sounds. 

Over the course of a few months, we kept a piece of paper in the kitchen and added things as they popped into our heads about what makes our family unique and what are the values that drive us to do the things we do and what are our guiding rules. From that we came up with this list of our family values and although we had every intention of shortening it to like 10 things that would fit on one of those signs, we’ve had trouble scratching anything off the list in several years so here it is, unabridged.

Jesus

This is our foundation. We are Christians, which simply means that we desire to follow Him and make Him known. If you’ve got questions about that, we’d be happy to talk to you about it. That’s our family’s foundation though.

Less But Better

This is a minimalist philosophy that aims to reduce the volume of stuff in our lives in exchange for the quality of stuff in our lives. That matters, whether it’s physical stuff, relationships, or how we are spending our time.

America

We believe this is the best country on the planet and are proud to be Americans.

Some Beats None

Sometimes perfectionism seeps into our family. Our philosophy that some beats none helps to get us unstuck when a monumental task lies ahead of us. Maybe we can’t complete something, but we can at least start it and make some progress and that beats having never started at all. This also goes for trying and failing vs. never trying in the first place.

Be Awesome

We believe that we are all uniquely awesome and when we remind ourselves of that and live in accordance with our own flavor of awesome, we are living our best lives (for us and for others).

Craigslist

Buy used, serviceable, quality items for half price rather than new, more expensive, disposable items. Craigslist, estate sales, Goodwill, and consignment shops have served us well.

Justice

We believe in justice. We take a biblical view of all peoples and seek justice for all.

Freedom From Debt

Since learning about Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University, we have been huge advocates for freedom from debt. Seeing how much being free from debt can change your outlook, we are excited to pass this on to our children.

Compound Interest

We believe in compound interest. Investing early and often and allowing time to compound our investments. We also believe in employing this financial concept to other areas of life: like investing a little time each day in getting better at something (maybe doing push-ups, etc.), but having the small gains compound over time for big results.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

I come from a long line of woodworkers and this sage advice applies not only to our DIY or woodworking projects, but to other areas of life, as well.  If you’re making an irreversible change in life (like cutting a board), you’d better think it through (measuring twice) before executing it. This lends to our risk averse nature and serves us well. We can take risks and act with confidence knowing we’ve measured the cost not just once, but maybe several ways or with wise counsel.

Get a Little Better Every Day

This concept comes from years in the high tech industry where Kaizen systems train you to get better every day in small ways. We’ve found it applies at home as well.

Be Generous

It’s not only the right thing to do, it is incredibly rewarding and fun.

Grace

We believe in grace. We all have times in our lives where we need grace. In our family we have EGR days (Extra Grace Required). If someone is tired, sick, or going through a rough patch, we help by providing unearned grace to them (see Jesus).

DIY

We fix things ourselves. It’s a frugal choice but it’s also using the giftedness that we are blessed with to serve our family. If there’s a possibility to learn and do a project ourselves vs. hiring someone, we will choose to DIY it every time. This gives us pride and satisfaction in the job and the work ethic to see it through.

Prayer

We believe in the power of prayer both individually and as a family. We prayed through cancer and God showed up in incredible and powerful ways. Simply put, prayer works and is an incredibly powerful discipline to incorporate into your life.

Say Please and Thank you

Although basic, sometimes the basic needs to be stated. Sometimes I phrase this more as “be good humans” when the kids head out the door. Yes sir and Yes ma’am for extra credit.

Work Hard, Relax Hard

This goes for a small job or a many year life plan. We work hard and then we play hard. We like to sprint to finish something like yard work and then go on a fun adventure or eat out as a family. We’ve been uber frugal for so many years because we intend to relax hard in early retirement.

Eat Your Veggies

And exercise once in a while. We are by no means perfect or experts, but recognize the value in a healthy diet and active lifestyle plays in the quality of life.

Capitalism

We’ve started our own small business and believe in the American Dream based fundamentally on capitalism. We believe in empowering people such that anybody should be able to work hard in what they are gifted in, at what they love, and make a profit in the market they’re in as a result.

Family

We believe in family. Taking care of your family. Spending time with your family. And prioritizing family.

Forgiveness

We all screw up and fall short. We believe in forgiveness as we are also forgiven.

Done is Better Than Perfect

Again, this speaks to the power of triumph over perfectionism where understanding that perfect is the enemy of good enough. Sometimes a sprint to done beats the pants off a long slog to perfect. It also acknowledges that none of us are perfect, so just do your best.

Make Good Choices

Life is basically just a long string of decisions, some big and some small.  Make good ones. Do the right thing.

Do a Good Job

When you work, do a quality job and get a result. Don’t do things half-assed. Do it right the first time. Always do your best.

There you have it.  Twenty-four guiding principles that we use in our family. Maybe you agree with some, maybe you disagree with some, maybe we’ve missed some. Let us know!  This is what we use to shape who we are as a family. An onFIREfamily!