One of the behaviors we must change is living outside our means. That is, we cannot spend $5000 every month is we only make $4000. See? As a matter of fact, we must live below our income, which means we are saving the balance for later. We will talk in detail about Emergency Funds, but we also must think about our retirement years too. Learning to save some money in the good years for the tough ones is a great lesson we learn from Joseph in the Book of Genesis, right? Well, it is foolishness if we read the Bible but do not implement it. So no more spending more than we make is the first thing we must change.
Second, we need to be able to visually see what we are spending. We usually miscalculate our real expenses when we just think about them in theory. We need something down in either, old school paper and pen, or new school electronic version, where we can see what is coming in and what is going out. So changing the habit of not writing out a monthly budget is another thing we will be discussing, in detail. That alone has saved my household thousands of dollars a year. For instance, my “budget” for food when I wasn’t really paying attention was about $1000 per month for a family of three. That is outrageous! The moment I began writing out what Mr Ramsey calls the Monthly Cash Flow Plan, I made our grocery budget $500 instead…and wouldn’t you know it, that was more than enough to keep us well fed! So instantly I saved $500/month…again that’s $6000 a year I just “found” in our finances for things like paying other bills, going on vacation, saving for a “new to me” car…fill in the blank. Living within your means and writing out a monthly budget are both boundaries we must choose to implement, but again I am telling you if you will follow this program, it will change your life for the better!
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
April: Living the Resurrected Life: “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” by Dr Charles Stanley
May: My Spiritual Mom: “Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits” by Joyce Meyer
June: Spiritual Dad: “It’s Not About Me- Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by Max Lucado
July: Financial Freedom “Complete Guide to Money” by Dave Ramsey
<>< Peace, Diane
