Four Things We Should Understand About Money

I just read a book called Money Management For Those Who Don’t Have Any by James Paris. It was a great reminder of the action we always need to take when it concerns money. Too often, we fall victim to our financial situation instead of being proactive.

In no way do I claim to be a financial adviser, but there are just a few things that we need to understand:

We are in charge of how much we spend. If we are spending more than we are making, we need to cut our expenses.
We are in charge of how much we give. If we want to truly find joy in life, it will be when have managed to make giving a joyful discipline, no matter how much we may feel we don’t have. If you don’t give when you have a little, you won’t give when you have much. Begin now, setting aside a tithe of your income to give to God.
We are in charge of how much we earn. If cutting expenses doesn’t seems difficult, the alternative is to earn more money. Either through another job, an extra job, or a home start up business.
We are in charge of how much we save. Saving isn’t something difficult to grasp. It’s a simple concept, but again, takes discipline. Pick a percentage – 5% or 10% to start – and determine to save that much each paycheck or month. This may be one of the best motivators for trying to stick to a budget if you don’t already have one. Once we have budgeted our income and expenses and know what we need to do to make sure we aren’t living above our means, we can work to save an amount each month.

Each of these is an action and each of them is in our control. You can get help from others, you can visit a financial counselor (which is really helpful), but it comes down to your willingness to put in the hard work of discipline.

During a financial class at our church, I heard a staggering statistic (I don’t remember the exact amounts, but it was along these lines)… If a person saves and invests $50 each month for five years – from the age of 20 to the age of 25 and stops saving, they will have more money saved by the age of 60 than the person who invests $50 a month from age 25 to 60! That’s amazing!

Of course when I heard this news, I was way past the age of 25, but still, it prompts action. It should motivate us to do something, to be faithful with our resources. We have been given charge of our resources. We must take responsibility to do the best we can.

There are lots of great books, websites and resources to learn to deal with your money. My prayer – for both you and I – is to be faithful stewards of all God has given us.

Here’s a recent post on tithing.

Here is some of what the Bible says about money.

Here’s a link to the book I just read: Money Management for Those Who Don’t Have Any.

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