Cash is King

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

You cannot serve both God and Money!

Our church has been doing a study on Balancing Your Finances. In my quest for Abundant Living, balance is one word that I have been meditating on . I will explore each area with you, today being money. We can't live without it for it has been part of us our entire lives. Generations before us, like my grandparents lived through the depression. Most of us live pay check to pay check but don't really understand what living through that era was like. Living with this past recession, people are getting closer to understanding; losing their homes, losing their jobs, being layed off temporarily, pay cuts, etc.

They learned to make do without, being resourceful and not being wasteful, using cash not credit, habits that have been a part of their entire lives. Our culture has taught us to spend first, pay later, the reason for our country's overwhelming debt. Often we are still paying long after the item is gone or worn out. We have to have everything right now. This is in affect being seen by us in our kids impacting their spending habits in the future. We have given ours an allowance hoping that we will teach them how to tithe, save then spend. However, it is not going so well for us.

I think the biggest reason is "plastic". Anything we feel we have to have right at the moment is just one swipe away, a debit or credit card. How many times a day do they see you swipe? I continue to explain to Dylan that when dad works, the check goes into the bank for us to be able to swipe that card. But that concept just does not compute in his cute little head.

In the past two weeks, we have been forced to look at where our life has taken us and to revisit our roots of how we started when we were first married. Paul and I have been blessed. He has not lost his job, our house or even received pay cuts. However, we are truly being convicted to be better stewards with what God has entrusted to us. To those that He gives much, He expects that much more.

Our philosophy back in our early days, almost 23 years ago was to live within a budget, living within our means so that Paul would not be forced to work overtime to pay for our lifestyle. To achieve this we used a cash envelope system. We would do it for all the categories that were not fixed categories like utilities, mortgage, gas, etc. We would average money spent over six months and then divide it by his two paychecks a month. When the money in the envelope was gone for entertainment, groceries or dining out, we would force ourselves not to do those things again until the money was replenished with the next check.

If wanted a new piece of furniture, cash for Christmas, or even a new car, we would put money in each month to savings to pay for those things and then walk in with the cash when it was time for the purchase. In reality, you were saving for the things before not AFTER they were purchased. We would use coupons and buy one get one free coupons for restaurants and other activities. We would buy only the groceries we needed, not throwing food away because we had bought more than we could use.

One of the most compelling statements for me was "When you want to give to those who are in need, you can't because you have already spent your resources on what you don't need!!!"

What is it in your life that you need to get back in order? What do you have in your closet, garage or food pantries that is beyond what you "need"? I have often said to my kids, is it something you "want" or "need"? What financial decisions have caused you to stress, dividing your attention and family peace and unity? What can you get rid of to restore your life to abundant living?

In the end, I truly want to be found faithful in all things, including the resources that He has blessed us with to further His Kingdom.