The year is just beginning, and like all beginnings, we usually do projects of various kinds: personal, family, ecclesiastical, student life, among others, but many times we forget to organize ourselves financially to achieve what we want. we plan so high, so far from our means, that we get frustrated and abandon the plan before it’s done. This article is for us, who dream and plan, and also for those who dare not even dream, because they think it is beyond their means, but planning, in the will of the Father, is possible:
Council 1?Is it all from the Lord? Keep in mind that everything belongs to the Lord, that all we do is for his glory and to serve his people, tim Challies quotes in his book Do More and Better:
1: What was God’s ultimate goal in creating you?
A: God created me for his glory.
2: How can you glorify God in your daily life?
A: I can glorify God in my daily life by doing good works
Tip 2?Is the Lord’s correct answer? A biblical truth to remember: “A man’s heart can make plans, but does the answer of the right lip come from the Lord?”Proverbs 16. 1.
You can make plans, it’s healthy. Our God is a God of order, so it was in creation (Gen 1-2), so in the valley of bones (Ez 37:1-14), everything was very well organized, this verse reminds us that there is a part of God in the plan, the part that in the end he will guide us, direct us and guide us to his glory, to the construction of his church and to be more like Christ. Our role is planning and don’t get carried away with anxiety.
Tip 3?Planning? With these biblical truths in mind, let us continue to make plans that can be short-, medium- and long-term, including one year, two to five years, and more than five years, respectively.
We can start easily, thinking about the one-year plan and, in this one-year plan, divide it into 4 steps, for example, as if a year were our long term and each step a short time. that in the long run we want to buy or invest in something that costs R$ 2000. 00, this means that every step will have to save R$ 500. 00. Several times we already want to give up here, when we see that it looks like it’s going to not fit into our financial life, can you imagine having more to think about this amount?
But let’s go on, don’t stop reading
Council 4?Do you know where we went?We have any idea how much we spend parking, with a cup of coffee on the street?With Sunday’s pizza after the service?(Track: you could make three juices at home!). The reader of this finds me miserable at the time, but I suggest you write for two months your expenses of this type, minor, that we take the money out of your pocket and pay for it without realizing it and, prepare your heart, the value will be We hope it will be much higher, always!I’m not saying that we can’t give our taste buds little pleasures, but that we should be aware of what we’re spending and focus on our goal.
Tip 5? Avoid fixed expenses as much as possible. There are those who have no means, that we have to pay month by month, such as school, housing, water, light, internet, the market. Take care of the most urgent maintenance of your car and home. But there are those where we can expect to have the money to buy or invest, like extra jeans, a household utensil that we want.
An extra tip for purchases: we can write down in a notebook everything that is not essential for our daily activities (such as those mentioned above) and, at the end of the month, choose an item from the list or set a maximum value and buy the most urgent what is very interesting from this list is that we often realize that we don’t really need this item.
Tip 6? Plan your bank accounts: pay them on time, you do not even need the friend who sells this product in your workplace, we must show integrity and honesty, paying interest is a demonstration that we are not good stewards of what the Lord has given us for manage, we are losing money that could be used for something else, even if it’s pennies.
Tip 7?Output x account entry? If you’re in red numbers (more outings than innings) don’t give up, follow the tips, reduce unnecessary expenses, and check every 3 months if you reach the goal set for the year and gradually increase your goals.
Tip 8? Tithes and offerings? This is not the last phase of your financial organization, but it is at the end so that we remember that all things belong to the Lord. Offers should be at the beginning of your budget. give, as the Lord predicted. Helping others is unconditional love.
May God bless all of us, that we may honor the Lord with the beginnings of our income and with what He allows us to administer.