Sen$eworthy - A five part series on financial wisdom

by Pauline Blanton

Imagine…you recently graduated from college, and landed that first “real” job making “real” money. No longer dependent on mom and dad, you are on your own at last! You’re even receiving your own junk mail from credit card companies offering you some pretty enticing deals. Don’t go there!

In fact, before you take your very next financial step, there’s something that needs to take top priority! What could be that important? Establishing a budget. Boring you say? Perhaps, but absolutely necessary, nevertheless. It needn’t be highly complex or time consuming, and you don’t need to be a finance major to be effective. I read recently that a budget is 80% behavior and 20% math. Think of it as a financial plan for your home. What you do want to accomplish? What are your goals? Chances are, at some point it will take money to get it done. Whether or not you have the resources when the time comes will have much to do with your day -to -day decisions regarding how you handle what God places in your hand. Perhaps you have heard the axiom, “where God guides He provides”. I won’t disagree, however let’s also consider Luke 16:12 – “And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?”

First and foremost, we need to acknowledge that God owns it all. …the cattle on a thousand hills and all the world is His (Psalm 50:10-12). Also, we remember that it is He who gives us the power to obtain wealth (Deut. 8:18). Everything we have in terms of ability, opportunity, physical strength, etc., is given to us by God. So now that we have been reminded that all that we have, and earn, really isn’t ours but His, we can begin to appreciate the responsibility that we have to care for it in a way that pleases God. Think of the parable Jesus told of the talents in Matthew 25. The master gave to each servant according to his ability…and as you read this passage it becomes clear that although he didn’t give specific instructions as to how it should be handled (we still have free will and the ability to reason and think), there was an expectation that the servants would each care for it in a way that would honor the master. Those that did were rewarded. Remember that in Hebrews 11:6 it says that …anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. What a fabulous promise!

Finally, it is best to keep a picture in front of you (in this case, a written plan) so as to keep yourself in remembrance of both your short term responsibilities and long term goals. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation (also translated “vision”) the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” It is so easy to spend money on unplanned things when there is nothing written down, or it’s conveniently out of sight. For this reason, I recommend placing your written budget in a location that you will see often. So let’s get started!

Our first “To Do”: Obtain a calendar that contains all the days of the month on a single page with room to jot notes by each date. In pencil, enter your expected income on the appropriate dates. Write in all of the current bills on their respective due dates. Also include expected expenditures such as grocery shopping, hair cuts, etc. You can see we are already creating the “vision” that shows a plan for how your income will be prioritized. Each day, take a few minutes to update with new bills received, and/or check off the ones paid, and other minor adjustments that may be needed. Always look forward. For example, the income you receive on the 15th (added to cash already on hand) should be covering the bills coming up, not the ones due the previous week. We’ll continue to build the vision in the next update as we discuss the importance of planning ahead.