Part 3: Organizing our finances in a godly way

In this blog, I am going to discuss organizing our finances. As a CPA, I love talking about this topic.  Using finances well is a really important part of managing our household well.

It is important to first have a solid understanding of how God wants us to use and manage money if we are to wisely use and organize it.  Here are some biblical foundational truths about money:

1. God owns everything.  (Psalm 50:12).  Everything we have is from Him.  Because all that we have comes from God, we need to acknowledge His authority over our use of money.  Because of that, we need to follow His principles for using it.  

2.  We are stewards of the money He has given us. See the parables of the stewards (there are several) in the book of Luke.  He will ask us to give an account for how we used the resources He gave us. He calls us to faithfulness, which includes only making commitments we can keep, and living only within our means.  

3. God calls us to be prudent and plan ahead.  Luke14:28-30 “For which of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘this man began to build and was not able to finish"  Proverbs has many admonitions for paying close attention to our resources and caring for them so that we can avoid disasters. (See Proverbs 27:23-27 for an example.)  One reason we need to plan ahead is that we do not know what the future holds. We cannot spend all that we have now because we may face a much leaner time in the future. James 4:14-15 commands us to not assume we can do this or that, but to say if the Lord wills, we shall do this or that.  That is an important acknowledgement.  If we know that the future is uncertain, it will drive us to make some plans and savings for problems that could arise.  

4.  God calls us to self-control, and to reject greed and covetousness.  This is so important if we are going to be good stewards of the resources God has given us.  In Hebrews 13:5 and I Timothy 6:10, we are told to keep free from the love of money.  We often overspend, hoard or use our resources poorly because we love what money can give us. Proverbs 21:17 tells us that “He who loves pleasure will become a poor man.”

5. God calls us to reject seeking a fortune quickly, but instead to work hard for what we have.  There are so many passages on work ethic in the Bible!!!  Proverbs is full of admonitions to work hard and not be a sluggard. Proverbs 12:27b says “The precious possession of a man is diligence.”  This is very important to God.  In Ephesians 4:28, we are told not to steal any longer, but rather labor with our hands. I Thessalonians 5:10b says, “if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.”

6.  Jesus tells us to pay our taxes in Matthew 22:21.

7. We are called to be generous with what God has given us both to help those who are less fortunate, and also to give to advance the heavenly kingdom. Matthew 6:19-21 tells us to lay up treasures in heaven, rather than on earth.  I Timothy 6:17-19 tells those who have resources to be generous and ready to share.            

Practical considerations:  Now that we have in our minds some basic biblical principles about money, let’s consider how to practically organize our finances.  Financial matters are an area that Americans are often illiterate in. In order to be a wise steward of the money God has entrusted to you,  I recommend having a budget, so that you can wisely use your money, and make sure you spend it on godly priorities.  Before I explain how budgeting works, here are the basic practical principles of money management that are the framework for budgets and any successful financial planning (and are also built on the biblical principles above): Spend less than you take in. You need to save to be able to pay for unforeseen expenses, and also to be able to give to the Lord’s work at any time. And lastly, have as little debt as possible.  Debt is enslaving.  You and your husband need to sit down and discuss financial goals, and agree on what your goals for your finances are.  

The first step towards having a budget is keeping track of what you actually spend.  Many people really don't have any idea what they spend on things, but just see that they have no money.  When you see what you are spending, you have a better idea of how to go about doing your budget, and it enables you to see where to focus in on for cutting expenses.  We use a computer program called Quicken to keep track of all our personal finances. You can run reports for any time period and for any expense, and you can easily see the balance in your checking account, savings account and loans. We enter all transactions, including cash expenses into Quicken.  It is best to reconcile your bank statements and credit card statements monthly so that you can make sure you know what is going on in those accounts.    Every household will approach a budget differently because of different income levels and different personal goals.  However, here are some general guidelines in setting up a budget.  

1. Estimate what your annual income is. Divide it by 12 to come up with a monthly income.
2. Estimate what your expenses are monthly. If you have kept track of what you spend, this will be really easy.  Some of them you pay less often than annually (such     as property taxes).  Just figure the annual amount and divide it by 12 for the monthly amount.
3. Make goals for what you want to achieve financially.
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4. Make sure you include savings and giving to the Lord in your budget.
5. Budget the monthly expense amounts need to achieve your goals.  This will mean cutting back in flexible areas, such as household expenses, dining out (a huge drain on finances!), gifts, etc.  You need to consult with your family and be unified on goals and how to achieve them. Sacrifices will need to be made on some level.
6. Review your budget periodically to review how close you are to sticking with it, and what you need to change. Using your finances wisely is a long term goal, and you will sometimes mess up. You just dust yourself off, get up and keep going in a way that honors God.

The Lord will bless you as you strive to honor Him in how you use the resources He has entrusted to you, while trusting Him to provide and guide.  It may not always be in material ways that He blesses, but He will bless obedience. May you be inspired to be a good steward of your finances!

I will be speaking about meal planning in my next blog, which is a big help in staying on budget.

You can ask me questions at candice@anastasihome.com.

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