3 Ways Planning/Budgeting Helps You

The plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

I love this verse when counseling about planning/budgeting, and how it protects us and what happens when we don’t budget.

1. Planning or budgeting helps to lay a foundation for us to depend on in times of need.  A financial emergency happens to everyone.  When we don’t have a savings though or plan, that emergency turns into a catastrophe that sometimes can’t be recovered from.
2. When we don’t have a financial foundation and get into an emergency we don’t think logically.  We only think about solving the problem in front of us. That problem is to pay for the emergency at hand.  This illogical thinking means that emotions take over (fear), and we tend to make bad decisions.  Budgeting will prevent us from acting on emotions and instead use a preplanned attack that won’t hurt us in the long run.
3. When we make emotional decisions we turn to poor short term instruments to pay for emergencies because we are not thinking rationally.  We use things like high interest credit cards, lines of credit, payday loans, title loans, pawn shops, or even worse.  Many people use these instruments because they fail to make a plan/budget.

God wants us to depend on Him.  That is really hard when we fall into a financial bind.    Planning/budgeting helps to prevent financial strife.  That does not mean that we can’t fall into financially hard times, because God might want that for us as well (It brings us closer to Him).  But, that does not mean we should not plan or budget for our future.

Scarcity Creates Abundance

I will keep this brief.  

During my financial time of abundance I spent more money, got deeper in debt, did not keep a budget, and ultimately spent more than I made, which made me broke (scarcity of money).  When I made a budget and lived on less than I made, I saved more money, paid off more debt, and realized just how creatively I could spend $100 to entertain my family during a month.

Successful businesses have realized this as well.  Companies like 37 Signals.  They offer less features, had less money, and less people.  Yet they became a great company, that offered a great product, to some great companies.

Ideas work off of scarcity also.  When was the last time you created something great when you had a ton of options available?  When was the last time you enjoyed a meal that had so many flavors nothing stood out?  But, you take some flour, water, yeast, salt, olive oil and a little rosemary and execute it correctly and you can have a loaf of bread that will rival what is made in most local stores and restaurants today.

Want to have abundance, then scale something down in your life.

Start Now, Start Small

When Amy and I started on our journey to get out of debt ($120K) it was an overwhelming task.  What really helped though was taking it in steps that were doable in the short term yet could show we were making progress.

• Track expenses daily.  This does not need to be fancy just carry around a small notebook and write down what you spend when you make a purchase. (We started this immediately)
• Organize your debt.  (We did this in the first week of deciding to do something about our dilemma)
• Cut back on spending a little bit at a time. 1% per month and add an extra 1% each of the following months after that.  (We were aggressive here, we cut back 10% in our first month, and ended with almost  40% cut back in a year)
• Open a new savings account either online or at a separate bank. (We did this in the first day of our journey)

These are just some examples of what we did to kick start paying down our debt.  Pick just one and start tonight.  After doing one well, check it off your list and start a new milestone.  By starting small you will see immediate and beneficial progress that is manageable for the long journey.  You might surprise yourself as we did and find out you want to do so much more.

Opinion Vs. Conviction

More than any other time in history we have an unlimited ability to be able speak to an audience.  Blogs, YouTube, forums, and many other mediums help to spread our message.  For years I have been labeled as opinionated (go figure).  In the past I was okay with this label because I was, and actually took pride in being so.  However being opinionated is nothing more than a big mouth that is actually discontent with everything surrounding them.

You can have an opinion of food, politics, what way to take to get to the airport, or even which cell phone is better the IPhone or Android.  Your opinions should not keep you from trying something that is new or different.  Your opinions can be many and varied.

Convictions are things that you would be willing to die for to protect or defend.  My ability to worship God and read my Bible, and to keep my wife and kids safe are both convictions I have.  You have to determine what your convictions are, but this list should be extremely small and the list should be at the top of how you run your life.

The next time you are sharing an idea in a business meeting, or you are trying to convince someone that you should go to a certain restaurant, remember, it is a conviction and not an opinion that you should die for.  

Contentment

When stewarding over God’s blessings (money) you won’t have a chance of doing it correctly if you think God has not already given you all you need.

Contentment is something that has over the years become a word synonymous with settling.  Settling though would be the complete opposite of what contentment means from a biblical perspective.

Contentment comes from the Hebrew term Ya’al which translated means, to show willingness, to undertake, or to agree or accept.  The Greek translation is Arkeo which means to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to suffice, to be enough.  In the context of Biblical contentment I will focus on the last meaning in each of the translations - to agree or accept, and to be enough.

We see throughout the entire Bible that contentment is something that man can’t sustain on his own.  Examples like Adam and Eve thirsting to be like God, the Israelites being led out of Egypt but complaining that they don’t have certain provisions, Solomon in Ecclesiastes always wanting more wealth, and Paul warning us in Philippians to be able to live on a little or a lot.  God’s heart is clear in all of these circumstances.  We need to accept that what God has given us is enough.  God does not promise us anything except His Son and eternal salvation.  We need to be content in that promise, be thankful, and turn towards the Holy Spirit for help.

That is not to say that we can’t strive for better, or earn more, but we must look at these things as blessings and not something deserved.  We can jump through many moral hoops to justify our means to acquiring material bobbles if we think we deserve them.  

Here are some tips to help you cultivate a content spirit daily.

1. Begin your day by writing down what you are thankful for.  This will keep you focused on what you have and appreciate it.
2. Cut down on your exposure to outside advertising influence. Even if it means turning down commercials, or opting out of email advertisements, you won't be continually reminded of what you supposedly are missing out on.
3. Call or write to someone that you care about and tell them you appreciate their friendship.