"Oh Look! Her Mama made her cake!"

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.

The Lego Movie party is inching its' way closer, and the budget hasn't grown a bit. I just finished our daughter's birthday cake and asked my husband how it looked. 

Silence. 

That's never a good sign. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It looks like a birthday cake." Great. It looks homemade, I thought.

My goal was to save us a nice chunk of money on this party expense, but I hate sacrificing the adorable quotient. For her last birthday, I bought a super cute cake with Ariel and Flounder and Sebastian all decked out on a beach scene. That edible artwork cost more than $50! So this year I decided that was not happening! 

Here's what I spent on birthday cake:

$1.00 Yellow Cake Mix -on sale!

$1.00 Chocolate Cake Mix-on sale!

$3.00 Cream Cheese Icing- 2 containers on sale!

$1.50 Chocolate Icing-on sale!

$1.99 Round Cake Board

$2.00 Disposable Cake Pans

$1.00 Lego Stickers (I actually took them out of a book that cost $13.89 that I bought for her for a gift, but I was planning to give that to her anyway. I could find stickers online for about $1.00)

That's a grand total of $11.49! 

Compared to last year, I saved over $35 just on cake!

I borrowed a piping bag from a friend, hoping to achieve a more professional look, but professional equipment must be in the hands of a professional.  I am not a professional cake decorator. I am a cake decorating dummy.

Part of my mind is hearing the voices of other moms saying things like, "She's only going to turn six once, so you might as well make it special." That makes her Lego cake that I made seem inadequate. 

Though the ugliness of mom comparison is trying to steal my joy and convince me I am a sub-par parent because I am not purchasing a cake that is worthy of multiple-angle photos, a still small voice is encouraging me. "This is CAKE. We are going to EAT it. Cake is not something that has long-term value."

So with more resolve, I decide to feel confident about this feebly decorated cake. Yes, it looks homemade.  It saved us quite a bit of money, and my daughter thinks it looks amazing. It tastes delish too! ( sampled a bit of it!)

As I think about this cake, it is more a gift to my family than some kind of show piece for her guests. This is a gift to my kids, a gift of modeling responsible financial behavior. If we have the choice of spending $12 or $50+ on cake, will my kids want to take on the additional time commitment or the additional cost? This is a gift to my husband that allows him to have financial peace because he can trust me as a steward of the finances in our home. If we are worried about our budget, he feels additional stress. I want to create a home that allows him to sigh with relief when he comes home; I don't want to add any frustration to his already hectic day.

So, we will press six candles into this creation, light them on fire, and allow this child the opportunity to wish for something and then blowout the little flames. And then we will demolish the cake and consume all if its' carb-filled yumminess.

Financial Responsibility is my goal in this journey, and unfortunately, there are no exclusions for birthdays. If I want to teach my kids how to be financially responsible,  I have to show them how to do it everyday of the year. Though my husband and I are currently slaves to our lenders, my kids don't have to be! No cake is worthy of any debt!

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

For instructions on making the cake, click here.