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BIBLE-BASED FINANCIAL GUIDANCE, Part 9

by Jerry Dewey

            Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6     Part 7     Part 8     Part 10

          The only way to become the master of your financial situation is to follow ALL of God’s principles of financial management; one of those principles is contentment.  In Philippians 4:11-12 (Amplified), Paul wrote, “Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.  I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want.”  Contentment simply means you’re happy and satisfied in your present economic situation (think of it as “where I’m at now”) because you know someday that will change (think of it as “where I’m going to be”) as long as you remain a faithful steward of the resources God provides.  Instead of artificially increasing the appearance of your affordable lifestyle, you exercise biblical control and discipline over your spending; therefore, you are not under the bondage of debt.

          Unfortunately, very few people can claim they exercise 100 percent biblical control and discipline over their finances, in particular, their spending.  It is a concept that is rarely taught; if it is taught, it is not given the emphasis it truly deserves, so people do not understand how important it really is.  Proverbs 27:23 says, “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds  (in the Amplified it says, “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds;” in the NLT it says, “Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds;” in the NIV it says, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.”).”  This concept of controlling and maintaining discipline over your finances, as it relates to this verse, can be explained with the following analogy:

                    A wise cattle rancher will fence the boundary of his property, will routinely check the condition of his fence line, and routinely check on where his herd is.  The purpose of the fence around the boundary is to keep his herd confined to his property; without the fence, he has no control over the movement of his cattle, so they can and will wander off.  If he does not routinely check his fence line, he will not be aware of damaged areas that would give his cattle an avenue of escape.  Likewise, if he does not routinely check on the whereabouts of his herd, he will not know if they need to be moved to another area (because they’ve eaten all the grass or the water supply is depleted in the area they’re currently in; normally, a wise cattle rancher will divide his property into smaller areas with interior fence lines so he can rotate his herd from one area to another) or if they’ve been taken by cattle rustlers (cattle rustlers will watch to see how often a cattle rancher checks on his herd and if they see that he infrequently checks on it, they may target his herd for their next round-up).

          To be a wise steward of the resources God provides, you have to establish a boundary or limit to your spending and you have to constantly and consistently check on where you are spending those resources, what you are spending those resources on, and how much you are spending.  If you do not establish a limit on how much money you can spend, you will be no better than the average American, who spends anywhere from $1.20 to $1.30 for every dollar they earn (if you are spending, on average, $1.25 for every dollar you earn, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why the average American carries over $17,000 of unsecured debt month after month, year after year).  If you do not constantly and consistently monitor where and how much money you are spending, how are you going to know where all “your” money is going (what you are spending it on and how much you are spending) so you know where to reduce your spending?

                    The first thing you must do: make a commitment to limit your spending to no more than a dollar for every dollar earned (if you have a family, the “your” includes your entire family).  After you have made the commitment, you must do everything you can to keep that commitment.  This will take uncompromising dedication and discipline on your part; once you start, one lax moment will lead to another and to another and pretty soon, you will find that you have slipped back into your old habit of spending more money for every dollar earned.  Your first goal should be to only spend a dollar for every dollar you earn.  After you reach this goal, set a new goal of spending less than a dollar for every dollar you earn; for example, spend only 75-80 cents for every dollar you earn.  With the extra 20-25 cents, you can create a “special occasion fund” that you could use to help someone, in a huge way, weather a difficult financial situation or you could treat yourself without effecting the normal disbursement of “your” money.  A word of caution: do not compound the negative state of your finances by attempting to reach these goals too quickly (say, 1-3 months).  First, seek God’s wisdom on the best way to approach this; then give yourself 12-18 months, over which you can make the necessary changes, to reach the first goal.

                    The next thing you must do: record every penny that comes into your possession (whether it’s earned income, money given to you [for example, a birthday gift], or money returned to you [for example, a rebate or tax return]); you also need to break it down into “increase” and “non-increase” categories.  All the money you earn or the money that is given to you goes into the “increase” category; tithes should be paid on money recorded in the “increase” category.  Any money you receive in the form of a cash rebate, a refund, and a tax return goes into the “non-increase” category; as long as you have been and are paying your tithes, the money recorded in the “non-increase” category is not subject to tithes (because it is money you should have already paid tithes on).  Somebody is asking, “Why does a $20.00 birthday gift go into the “increase” category?”  To determine which category to place any money that comes into your possession, answer the following question: “was this money or has this money ever been in my possession prior to this possession.”  Your answer determines which category to record it.  If it was “yes”, then you would record it in the “non-increase” category; if it was “no,” then you would record it in the “increase” category.

                    Finally, you must record every penny that leaves your possession and you should record where or what it was spent on and when it was spent.  Get in the habit of getting and saving all receipts and carrying around a little notebook (to write down any expenditures that don’t provide a receipt; for example, the purchase of a candy bar or soda from a vending machine).  This is, perhaps, the hardest thing for people to commit to; for them to fully embrace the activity; and, for them to consistently do, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.  It's especially hard for married couples because one spouse doesn't want the other spouse knowing how much money they're spending and what they're spending it on, without realizing how important this step is.  Folks, this is the only way you are going to get to the root of your financial problems and difficulties; once you get to the root, then and only then, you can begin the process of getting rid of that root.  If you do not destroy or get rid of this root, it isn't going to matter how much more money you make than you are making now.  It's still going to be there.  Oh, you may be able to fool yourself for a little while, but eventually, you will end up right where you are today-you can't figure out where all your money goes and why it seems like you never have enough money to pay all your bills.  JUST DO IT!

          You will quickly find out that it’s a good idea to have a daily diary for each month so you can record your financial activities.  You can develop one on your own or use one that’s been developed by a financial counselor (you may have to change it to make it applicable to your situation).  The key to having a diary that provides meaningful information about your financial activities is to break major areas down into as many sub-areas as possible/needed.  Major areas could be: income, tithes, payroll taxes, housing, personal, transportation, savings, medical, credit card debt, and etcetera; the breakdown of major areas into sub-areas may look something like this:

                   For your transportation expenditures, break it down into sub-areas, such as, loan payment, gas, inspection, registration, insurance, and repairs; this is especially useful when you have more than one vehicle.

                   For your food expenditures, break it down into sub-areas, such as, groceries (food items that are taken home to become part of a home-cooked or home-prepared meal) and eat-out (food items that you buy at a restaurant, a convenience store, or from a vending machine for immediate consumption).

Click here to review an example of a daily diary.

At the end of the month, you are going to add up all the daily activities for each of the sub-areas, then add up all the sub-areas for each major area, and finally, add up all the major areas, which will give you a grand total for that month’s income (includes “increase” and “non-increase” money) and that month’s expenditures.  If you have been keeping your word (commitment), you will no longer be able to make the following statements: “I can’t figure out where that $20 I had in my wallet went” or “I just don’t know where all my money goes.”

          You may find it very useful to determine what percentage of your income you are spending in each of the major areas; likewise, you may find it very useful to determine what percentage of your income you are spending in each of the sub-areas.

Due to the amount of math that's involved (you have to do this every month, year after year), you may find it very, very useful to create an Excel spreadsheet or find someone to help you create one.  If you design it properly, all you have to do is enter your data into the appropriate spots and it will do all the calculations for you, saving you lots of time.

Do your expenditures exceed your income?  If so, you need to review your diary to see if there are one or more sub-areas you can cut back your spending in so you will be spending a dollar or less for each dollar you earn.  Folks, for a season, you may have to do without some of the things you buy during the month or give up some of the “luxury” things you consider “necessary;” the only other option is to increase your income.  For example:

          Instead of eating lunch out every day, brown bag it.  Buy a loaf of bread, some lunch meat, cheese, and your favorite condiments or peanut butter and jelly, a bag of chips (get the family size not the individual serving size; buy some zip-lock baggies and make your own individual serving-size bag), and bake some cookies, a cake, or cupcakes.

          Cancel the cable or satellite TV subscription (you’re going to be so busy on your debt-reduction program you’re not going to have time to watch TV).

          Increase the “deductible” on your car insurance (unless you’re prone to having lots of accidents).

          Instead of going to the movie theater, rent a movie or two, buy a jar of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn (pop up a batch or two), a family-size bag of candy bars, and one or two liters of soda and have a movie night at home (yes, you won’t be able to rent the movies currently showing in the theater, but they’ll eventually come out on DVD).

          Instead of buying those high-priced name brand clothes, shoes, and other accessories, buy them at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or Target (if it’s that important, rip the name tags from those high-priced name brand clothes you don’t wear any longer and sew them on the cheaper clothes; nobody will know the difference.  Besides, do you think they really care?).

          Cancel your membership to the health club (again, you’re going to be so busy on your debt-reduction program you’re not going to have time to go; if you started a lawn care or handyman business, you’ll get plenty of exercise).

          Instead of buying a new car, lawnmower, weed whacker, or whatever, if at all possible, fix the old one and if you can, fix it yourself.

          If you’ve got both landline and cell phone services, cancel the most expensive service, which is probably going to be your cell phone service (cell phones only became widely available in the mid-to-late 1990’s, whereas, landline phones have been around since the early 1900’s.  If you’re parents, your grandparents, and the generations before them got by without a cell phone, why won’t you?).

          The negativity is overwhelming: “I can’t do that;” “you don’t understand, the price of gas keeps setting new record highs and there’s no end in sight, the cost of food has gone way up, and the economy is terrible…there’s no way I can cut my spending;” “are you crazy, the things you’re suggesting are impossible.”  If you want to continue living a life full of financial problems and difficulties, by all means, continue managing and handling your finances the way you’ve always done.  However, if you would prefer a life free from financial problems and difficulties, read on.

                    God made a covenant with Abraham and his seed; He is bound by that covenant and He will not break that covenant (Psalms 89:34 (Amplified), “My covenant will I not break or profane, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.”).  In Psalms 115:9-14 (Amplified) it says, “O Israel, trust and take refuge in the Lord! [Lean on, rely on, and be confident in Him!] He is their Help and their Shield.  O house of Aaron [the priesthood], trust in and lean on the Lord! He is their Help and their Shield.  You who [reverently] fear the Lord, trust in and lean on the Lord! He is their Help and their Shield.  The Lord has been mindful of us, He will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron [the priesthood], He will bless those who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord, both small and great.  May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children (verse 14, KJV, “The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children”).”  His covenant is always on His mind.  If your life and your finances are within the boundaries of the covenant (you are in full compliance with every law, principle, precept, and standard), you are on God’s mind and He is fully aware of your situation; in essence, you’ve become God’s responsibility and He will see to it that you succeed (Psalms 111:5 (Amplified), “He has given food and provision to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever and imprint it [on His mind]”).

                    If you are still struggling after some time has passed (the turn-around isn’t going to happen over night, so allow some time to pass to reverse the effects of all those years of mishandling and mismanaging your finances before you become overly concerned, unless God intervenes with a miracle), all you need to do is go look in the mirror and ask yourself which law, principle, precept, or standard you are not obeying (in compliance with); obedience brings blessings and blessing brings increase.  Here’s what you must understand: God is going to keep up His end of the deal as long as you keep up your end of the deal; when you drop the ball, He is no longer obligated (it’s His game and He established the rules; you either play by His rules and win or do it your way and lose).

In Deuteronomy 10:14 (Amplified) it says, “Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth also, with all that is in it and on it.”  The most important truth you must always remember is: God owns everything; therefore, He is your source (Psalms 115: 15, “Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.”).  God will give you everything you need to take care of your needs and for you to enjoy an abundant life.  As a child of God and a seed of Abraham, it’s His plan that you be blessed and have plenty left over so you are able to bless and help others (according to Genesis 12:2, “…I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”).  However, God has one requirement: He expects you to be a wise steward of everything He puts into your possession, especially the financial resources.  Here’s the way Pastor Ray Popham puts it (paraphrasing): God measures your stewardship by your faithfulness; God constantly watches to see if you are faithful and diligent to learn what He says [about handling and managing the financial resources He places in your possession], then faithfully and trustfully practice what He says [it doesn’t do you any good to know what God expects you to do if you never do what He expects].  Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings (the NLT says, “The trustworthy person will get a rich reward…”).”  When you honor God by faithfully handling and managing “your” financial resources His way (you know where your money goes and how your money is being used) and your life is in covenant with Him, God’s blessings will come and regardless how things look, He will take care of you.  In Colossians 3:23-25 it says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.  But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done.  For God has no favorites.”  If you work hard and do all the right things (serve God; focus on the things of God; get your life and finances in covenant with God), then God will reward you and you will be the master of your finances. 

NOTE: I created an Excel spreadsheet I use to manage our finances; it does all that was discussed in this article and more.  If you are interested, I would be more than willing to work with you to modify it to meet your situation.

            If you would like more information, click on the Contact link and send us an email; someone will contact you shortly thereafter.

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