GIVING:
Money and Sense
You may not be pulling in mega bucks, but
you probably have some sort of cash flow you can call your own, whether it’s
from an allowance, or from a part-time job or a permanent job.
Regardless of your source of income—or how
much moolah you make—it’s smart to start practicing basic money management
principles now to help you prepare
for the future. While God doesn’t place
a whole lot of stock in material wealth, He is concerned about how we use the
resource (i.e. currency notes) He provides for us.
Here
are some tips on how to be sensible with your money.
* Give
Back to God. Really, all the money
and stuff you get comes from Him, so it’s a pretty smart move to give a portion
of what you earn. Back to the One who’s in control of your income—no matter how
meager it may seem. A good rule of
thumb: chop ten percent off your
earnings before you go blow your whole wad of cash, and give it to your local
church or another ministry God might lead you to invest in.
Get into the habit of giving now, no matter how little money you
earn. It’s not the amount you give that matters to God,
it’s your attitude.
“Each man should give what he has decided in
his
heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Cor. 9:7).
I
am praying for the ministry
One other thing: God honors sacrifice. Guess jeans
are great—but so are other, less expensive brands. Maybe the next time you’ve got Rs.1000 to blow on a pair of jeans, you could
opt for a Rs. 500 pair and give the rest of your money to an organization that
helps homeless families or needy kid. Just
some food for thought.
Remember
this: “Whoever sows sparingly will also
reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (II Cor.
9:6).
- Save,
save, save. I know, it’s
tough to save when you’ve got friends who spend money like it’s water, but
saving a part of your income is smart especially if you have plans for
college in the next few years. Even
if Mom and Dad have offered to foot the bill for your college offered to
foot the bill for your college education, you may want to consider saving some bucks to help lighten the
load for them. There’s no hard and
fast rule for how much you
should save, but if you stash ten percent of your income into a savings
account with a fair interest rate—and leave it alone for a few years—you
could be much better prepared for college than your “spendthrift” friends.
Now, if you’re like I am, spending money
comes a lot easier than saving it, so you might want to ask someone like Mom or
Dad to keep tabs on how much you’re depositing into your “untouchable”
account. Accountability is a key when it
comes to saving money.
- Plan
ahead. It’s easy to spend money as it comes in
on whatever you “need” at the time.
But that approach to money management may leave you short of cash
just when you need it most.
So here’s a crazy idea: Put yourself on a budget. No, I’m not kidding. Determine now how much you will spend next
month on clothes, food, entertainment, music, gas for your car, gifts, or
whatever you regularly spend money on.
For major stuff, like stereos, bikes, cars or the Air tickets Mom and
Dad won’t buy you, save a little each moth until you have enough for the big purchase. You might even want to have Dad keep this
money for you temporarily so it won’t be readily available for you to go blow
on burgers, fries and video games.
- Avoid the
credit trap. This tip may be a bit premature because
you probably don’t have tons of credit card companies mailing you stuff
about preapproved credit limits and no annual fees—yet. But understanding the dangers of unnecessary
debt is important. A couple of good
rules to follow: 1) Before you plop down plastic or buy something on
credit, ask yourself, Would I purchase
this if I was paying cash for it? If the answer’s “no,” then evaluate
whether or not you really need it; and 2) If and when you use a credit
card to make a purchase, pay your balance off in 30 days to avoid interest
charges. And don’t charge up to
your limit; you’ll get head over heels in debt faster than you can
imagine.
Like I said, this advice may be a little
premature, but just remember: In our society, people don’t spend according to
their income; they spend according to their credit limits. There’s a big difference between the two and
it’s gotten a lot of people in major financial trouble. If you can just remember these three little
words—“Don’t abuse credit”—you’ll be off on a great start.
- Lighten up. This isn’t so much of a money management
tip as it is a warning: Watch your
work schedule. Don’t get so caught
up in earning money that you lose sight of other priorities, like spending
time with friends, family, and most importatanly, Jesus, Yeah, it might be
pretty cool to pump up your Reeboks out on the football field or jam in
front of JVC speakers with surround-sound quality but believe it or not,
most of the time the non-tangibles in life are a lot more valuable than
the tangibles. Working more hours
to make more money to by more stuff that you really don’t need is a futile
process.
Excuse me for getting preachy, but I’ve
been involved in that futile process, and the benefits of acquiring more stuff
that you don’t need are very limited.
The bottom line in money management is, think
before you spend. Don’t get
impulsive. Remember who’s giving you
every dime you shove into your pocket—and it’s not the tooth fairy.
Money is a tool that God gives us to use
for our benefit and the benefit of other, and He’s serious about our responsibility
to manage our money wisely. That’s a pretty good indication that we should be
too. CL
By Lisa T
Source:
Confident Living Magazine
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