Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions:
Spend Less, Save More
Hm. This resolution might require a budget. What do you think? I don’t know about yours but my money has never behaved itself unless I have decided in advance what I wanted it to do – and then made it mind! So how do you do that?
FIRST – tithe.
I know. That
probably is just as bad a word as “budget.”
But it shouldn’t be. In my experience, God wants my money to mind just
as much as I do. And by tithing the FIRST 10% of my earnings, I am more careful
with the other 90%. And don’t forget, tithing is scriptural.
“’A tithe of
everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees,
belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. Every tithe of the herd and flock
. . . will be holy to the Lord.’” Leviticus 27:30,32 NIV
As soon as
the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their
grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They
brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 2 Chronicles 31:5 NIV
“Bring the
whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in
this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to
store it.” Malachi 3:10 NIV
Someone once
said, “we can’t afford to tithe.”
To which came the response, “we can’t afford NOT to.”
To which came the response, “we can’t afford NOT to.”
SECOND – budget.
The concept is
really simple. Write down all the things you have to pay for in a given month
and add them up. Write down how much money actually comes in for each month. In
order to save money, you should have more money coming in than going out.
In reality,
if you've never had a budget, you probably need a little help thinking this through. There are several
resources out there to help you create a budget.
www.mappingyourfuture.org has a
good easy-to-follow budget
www.youcandealwithit.com has an easy
budget, too
www.daveramsey.com has a nice step-by-step
approach to creating a budget
I'm partial to Dave Ramsey's approach to financial freedom.
- It is based on Biblical principles.
- They don't try to sell you a bunch of useless stuff.
- One of our former church members now lives in Nashville and works for Mr. Ramsey.
- Bill and I went through "Financial Peace University" at our church and implemented their strategies.
- We tackled and eliminated all of our debt.
- We put money aside for all of our expenses so that when they come due, we have the $$ to pay for them.
- We NEVER carry a balance on our credit card (because we don't buy anything we don't have the money set aside for).
- We have a fully funded emergency fund. So if an appliance goes out or we blow a couple of tires, we don't have to finance the purchase of replacements.
- We saved all the $$ needed for our children to go to college.
- And we have worked diligently on saving for our retirement.
And, in case you're wondering, you can attend a "Financial Peace University" nine-week class either on-line or with a local group. Many local churches offer the class for the community. There is a fee associated with it, but it is worth every penny -- only if you implement the strategies!
So there you have it. Line up your money and give it a big lecture. The time has come for YOU to be the boss and not your $$. You can do this. And the peace that comes from getting things in order is beyond description.
LORD, help us learn to be good stewards of all that you have given us -- including our finances. Help us to be generous toward your ministries. Help us take care of our families. And help us get out from under the burden of financial problems. We thank you in advance for the peace you have in store for us as a result of committing these things to You.
