Give God a Grateful Heart

How are those Christmas spending plans coming along? Have you narrowed down your list to specific people with specific amounts to spend on each, and an established shopping schedule?

While we're taking this week to approach the holidays with a plan, I'd also like to encourage you to be creative and innovative with your gift-giving this year. If you've decided to give gifts to your family and friends, consider giving them something money can't buy. Here are a few suggestions:

• offer to babysit overnight for that special couple or single parent who could use the time off
• write letters, poems, or simple "thank you" notes to place in family members' stockings
• help someone to accomplish a long awaited goal (i.e., clean windows, bathe pets, workout)
• set aside a day to spend quality time with someone you haven't seen in a while
• compliment a stranger or co-worker
• give away an unused possession to someone who could really use it

Most of all, bless those you love by being grateful to God for who He is, what He's done, who you are, and all you have because He lives! Gratefulness is contagious and it makes others curious about your peace. Your gratitude will beget gratitude. Your peace will inspire peacefulness in others. Ultimately, your glad heart will make God's heart glad too!

Just in Case You Forgot, Christmas is Not about You!

Yesterday, we talked about approaching the Christmas season with a spending plan. Today, my goal isn't to deter you from buying Christmas gifts for your loved ones, but to remind us all that while the spirit of giving is a beautiful way to embrace the holidays, it isn't the ultimate purpose of Christmas. The truth is that Christmas isn't about you, me, or gift recipients. It's really about honoring God by celebrating the birth, life, and sacrifices of Jesus Christ (the God-man) who came and offered us the opportunity to once again take our places in God's kingdom, enabling us to stand in proper position as His royal sons and daughters in the earth.

Whether we choose to shop for Christmas, volunteer at food pantries, or give money to the poor, we must remember why Christmas is so important, and why pleasing others through our financial efforts shouldn't be the top priority of this holiday.

There's a passage in the New Testament gospel of Luke that I believe provides a perfect example of the focus and attitude we should have during Christmas. In Luke, chapter 2, verses 27-31, Simeon, an older gentlemen who had been faithfully anticipating the Messiah's arrival and holding on to God's promise that he wouldn't die until he had seen the Lord, had the following experience:

          So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to     do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said: Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in PEACE. According to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your SALVATION which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a LIGHT TO BRING REVELATION to the Gentiles [unbelievers], and the GLORY of Your people Israel [believers]" (New King James Version).

As we prepare for Christmas, let's also prepare our hearts and minds to worship our God for the Lord, Jesus Christ and share our gratitude for the peace, salvation, light, revelation, and glory He brought to humanity millenniums ago. Shop if you must, but determine that you will not allow it to take precedence over expressing praise for God's faith and favor in your life, and the personal, precious, and priceless example of Jesus Christ!

Time for a Christmas Spending Plan

Okay, so Thanksgiving Day is gone and all hearts and minds have shifted towards Christmas. I'd like to take time to encourage you to approach your Christmas shopping with both wisdom and an intentional plan. Sit down and brainstorm. Ask yourself the following questions and then jot down your answers:

• What is my Christmas budget?
• Who is on my Christmas list?
• What are my gift ideas for each person?
• What is my spending limit for each person?
• How often will I shop for gifts (i.e., every day for a week, weekly, the weekend before Christmas)?
• Where am I planning to shop for gifts?
• What measures am I willing to take to stay within my budget?
• Who will I recruit to hold me accountable to sticking to my budget?
• What will I do if I run out of money to buy Christmas gifts?

The holidays have a way of revealing the best and worse in people. Overall, we tend to use our energy and money to focus on others, whether through charitable endeavors, volunteerism, or giving gifts. However, so many get lost in the shuffle and consumer-pressure to give what we honestly don't have to give or that which we cannot afford to give.

Christmas can't be about the depression that is awakened by an inability to do or give what we'd like. It can't be about beating ourselves up because we aren't further along financially, or because we cannot buy our loved ones the gifts we originally had in mind. Christmas isn't about leaving bills unpaid in order to bank our children's happiness being tied to what's under the tree on Christmas morning.

If you're bent on shopping for Christmas gifts, approach it strategically. Have a plan and know who you have in mind, what you can afford to do, and how you'll meet your goals. Don't put yourself in a financial bind by allowing external pressures to drive you to spend money you don't have for gifts you can't afford. The idea is to wake up the day after Christmas without remorse over financial decisions that were within your power to avoid.

Remember, a free mind understands its purpose and accepts the responsibilities that come with that. So, let's devise a plan and maintain our righteous minds, okay? Okay!

Free to Use Cash

It's BLACK FRIDAY!

Am I too late?

I pray that I'm not too late!

It's the time of year that people begin to lose their minds at the malls and department stores...signing up for credit cards to take advantage of additional savings on purchases and borrowing money from lenders to give gifts to friends and loved ones. As frugal as it may seem to sign up for a Kohl's charge card to get an additional 15% off of your entire purchase, it's actually irresponsible (especially if you're not going to pay the balance before the grace periods runs out). As sweet as it sounds to sacrifice time and money to buy Christmas gifts for the people you care about most, it's actually evil if you're doing it with money you don't have by using credit cards you don't need.

I may sound a bie harsh today but it's because tough love seems to be most necessary during this time of year. Too many of us go to extremes to follow the gift-giving tradition we have come to know and love each Christmas.


Why not use cash? Why not plan for Christmas by setting aside a certain amount of cash to buy gifts (cash that hasn't been otherwise designated for regular expenses)? It has been statistically proven that consumers are more conscientious of their spending when they use cash than when they swipe their debit cards or credit cards because they can see cash leaving their hands as they shop but don't immediately recognize the financial damage they're doing by swiping their cards until later on.

So, although I'd like to advise you to avoid shopping at all if you have debts you need to pay down or off, I'll settle for asking you to leave the plastic at home, put an allotted amount of cash in envelops with names and gift suggestions for recipients on them, and spend only that! Have fun and don't hurt yourselves out there! 

Thirsty for a Zero Balance

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Bible is full of hard truths, and one of those hard truths is found in Proverbs 22:7, "Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is a servant to the lender" (New Living Translation). How true it is! Carrying debt is an awful burden and paying interest on that debt is almost unbearable. No matter how great or small, when we owe others, our hard work and earnings become more beneficial to our lenders and less satisfying to us. When we live debt-free, we decide what kind of work we'll do, what kind of money we want to earn, and what we'll do with our earnings. However, when we're in debt, our responsibility to lenders influence all of these decisions.


Our financial planning processes should not be consumed with prioritizing payments to lenders but with expressing our faith, caring for our families, and loaning and giving money away to people and organizations in need. Debt distracts us from focusing on what we have to give to others to what we need to receive for ourselves in order to loose the grip of the financial shackles we're wearing. That's not how we were created to live. We were created to live as examples who successfully influence the liberation of others from their own chains. Sometimes circumstances dictate that we help to free others as we become free, but it's a whole lot easier to do when we are already free.

Now more than ever, I am thirsty for a zero balance on every debt I have because I am also determined to completely serve God with my money, not my lender. Five years ago, my husband and I were determined to break our dependence on credit cards and other forms of credit, and we did. Now, we're determining to be free of debt and guess what? We're on the road to succeeding at that as well.

I'm grateful for all of you who have embarked on this journey to financial freedom with me, and I'm excited to see how God will transform us all along the way. However, I have to be honest and tell you that I am more excited about the day when I can type a blog post entitled, We Made It! We're Debt-Free! I am thirsty for it because I know it will enable me to do what's really in my heart to do, and that is to finance the path for other people's freedom.

That day will come, not just for me but for many of us and I can hardly wait! 

Give Yourself a Gift: a Little Less Debt

LAST WEEK'S CHALLENGE

Last week I asked that we challenge ourselves to build up someone else's house...to take the time to place value in someone else by giving from our possessions something we love or even feel we need. I accepted this challenge and fulfilled my commitment to it by investing in a start-up business. A friend who has recently established her own company approached me about becoming one of her first customers by placing an order for her product. Instead, I placed two orders.

Having my own start-up company, I not only know what it's like to be excited about a new venture, but to be anxious to acquire a list of loyal customers. And as much as I want to see my business continue to grow, I chose to focus my attention on spending money to get my friend's business off the ground. I took time away from marketing my services to potential clients and invested time into referring customers to purchase her product.

What about you? How did you meet last week's challenge?

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

We began this week by taking a look at how interest rates affect our financial lives. So, I thought it would be fitting to use today to focus on deliberately reducing our debt by making an extra payment on an expense account. I don't care if it's an extra $5.00, $20.00, or $100.00. Let's make the sacrifice and give ourselves the gift of having a little less debt than we had last week, last month, and perhaps even last year by making an extra payment on a debt.

Sometimes we make the assessment that paying a few more dollars won't make a significant difference in reducing the balance on our debt, but those few extra dollars can translate into fewer days spent being indebted to someone else. Paying ten extra dollars on any loan will mean an additional annual investment of $120.00 into achieving financial freedom, and that $120.00 can end up making all the difference in the world. But relax. I'm not asking you to make extra payments every month (at least not today).

Today's challenge asks you to choose one of your loans to make an extra payment on. Now, for some of you this may require you to pull cash from something else. For example, you may have to take it from the money you set aside for movie night. You don't necessarily have to forfeit going to the movies; perhaps you can forgo buying popcorn and use that money to pay on an expense. Either way, give yourself the gift of having a little less debt.

I'm going to do it. Will you?

Dave Ramsey is Right!

 Same as Cash is NOT the Same as Using Cash!

Okay, can I be honest with you? Prior to reading Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover, I thought that same-as-cash deals were a wonderful idea. Six months after my husband and I were married, and six months of sleeping on an air mattress motivated us to purchase our first set of Serta Perfect Sleeper queen size mattresses by taking advantage of a same-as-cash deal. The mattresses cost us a total of $741.00 and we were determined to pay off the debt within 6 months in order to avoid paying any interest on the purchase. We paid a $141.00 deposit for the mattresses, took them home, and then paid $100.00 for six months and accomplished our goal. The mattresses were paid in full and we didn't have to invest a dime in interest payments! 

Fast forward a few years...I'm introduced to Dave Ramsey's book and learn that same-as-cash really isn't the same as using cash. Maybe you're like me...maybe you're going, "Huh? Why not?" Well, Dave Ramsey makes a solid argument to get his readers to understand the difference between using cash to make purchases and accepting same-as-cash deals. He explains that while using a same-as-cash deal and paying it in full before the deal expires and accrues interest might allow you to pay the store price for an item, walking into a store with cash in hand gives you the power to make your own deal...a better deal with the sales representatives and managers than that which a same-as-cash deal can provide. 

It's works like this. Imagine that you're trying to sale your old, used car for $1,000 and my girls Morgan and Michelle are interested in purchasing it. Morgan is willing to make monthly payments in the amount of $166.67 for six months in order to purchase the vehicle, whereas Michelle has cash in her hands and is willing to pay you $900.00 for it right now. Which deal would you accept? I'm guessing you'd rather receive $900.00 from a stranger who is presently able to buy the car and help you to accomplish your goal of earning cash and getting rid of it, than to venture into a short-term loan agreement with an absolute stranger...a person you're not even sure you can trust to make her payments and fulfill the responsibilities of a loan.

The same is true in business. You want to buy new furniture for your livingroom? I guarantee you that you'll do better by planning, saving, and taking cash to the showroom floor than by banking on a same-as-cash deal to furnish your room. Even if you only save $100.00 on the deal, it's $100.00 more than what you'll save by purchasing furniture using same-as-cash. Besides, promising a company you'll pay a loan in six months doesn't allow room for the unexpected.

What do I mean by that? Almost six months after my husband and I successfully paid for our mattresses by using same-as-cash, we embarked on a similar deal to purchase a sofa and a loveseat for our bare livingroom. You'll never guess what happened. Yes, you will. The unexpected happened. Guess what the unexpected cost us? Instead of paying the $2,000.00 the furniture originally cost, we ended up paying more than $4,000.00 for it! We paid for the furniture twice, and needless to say, that was our last same-as-cash purchase.

So, Dave Ramsey is right! Same-as-cash is not the same as using cash!

* If you've never read The Total Money Makeover, I highly recommend it. It is a great resource that will help you to shift gears and approach your finances in a new way and will challenge you to aggressively apply principles and concepts that will drastically improve your current financial reality.

A New Interest in Interest

In this day and age, interest is almost synonymous with purchasing. We have come to accept the notion that we should pay interest on purchases, such as:  homes, vehicles, electronics, clothing, and even the pursuit of a higher education. We have short and long term goals that we believe require immediate finances, so we pursue loans from banks and other financing organizations that promise to loan us money as long as we promise to pay them back more than what they've lent us.

Most of our grandparents, and even some of our parents reserved their spending for items and ideas they could afford in cold, hard cash. Those who were able to use store credit did so on the basis of trading goods for services or because their integrity provided the confidence a business owner needed as evidence that they would settle their accounts. Therefore, it was unnecessary for businesses to charge them interest.

The concept of paying interest for something today that could be saved for and obtained later was a foreign concept to many of our forefathers. So, why have we decided to think about money and handle it differently than our wise ancestors? There are many reasons, but the most important one is the fact that we have come to believe that interest is an expected and acceptable part of our purchasing power. We are willing to pay simple interest to have items today that we could easily purchase outright if we were to budget for them over the course of a few months, and we volunteer to pay compound interest on substantial purchases that would otherwise necessitate exercising discipline to work hard and save for them over the course of a few years.

Let's take a closer look at how simple interest and compound interest works. Remember the twins, Michelle and Morgan from last Monday's checkbook register game? Well, today I'd like to use them in this exercise. Take a look.

Simple Interest

Simple interest rates allow companies to make a profit on the amount that is borrowed from them based on the principle value. For example, Morgan borrows $1,000.00 at a rate of 15% per year on simple interest. This requires her to pay an additional $150.00 at the end of each year she still owes on the loan. Suppose it takes her 5 years to pay the loan in full? Look what happens:

Year 1 - $1,150.00 owed
Year 2 - $1,300.00 owed
Year 3 - $1,450.00 owed
Year 4 - $1,600.00 owed
Year 5 - $1,750.00 owed

At the end of that loan, she will have paid $750.00 in interest for the $1,000.00 she initially borrowed. Would her immediate need to make a purchase be worth paying 75% more for it in the long run? Absolutely not! Even if she paid it off at the end of 2 years, it's highly unlikely that Morgan couldn't have otherwise avoided shelling out $300.00 in interest. Lack of planning and refusing to deny herself are the more likely culprits.

Compound Interest

Compound interest rates work quite differently from simple interest rates because these rates build dramatically over time. Compound interest rates allow the financing company to not only charge interest on the principle value, but on the value of any previous accrued interest as well. Using the same scenario from above, Michelle would not only be responsible for paying $150.00 after the first year of the loan. Every year after that, she would be responsible for paying 15% on the entire loan. Look closely:

Year 1 - $1,150.00 owed
Year 2 - $1,322.50 owed
Year 3 - $1,520.88 owed
Year 4 - $1,749.01 owed
Year 5 - $2,011.36 owed

So, at the end of 5 years, Michelle will have paid a total of $1,011.36 to borrow $1,000.00. She will have paid back more than double the amount she initially borrowed! Does that make sense to you? Yet, we are choosing business deals like this one every day because we fail to budget, fail to save, and refuse to deny ourselves what we want right now.

ONE LAST THOUGHT

Go back and look at the 2 scenarios I've provided above. Now, suppose we weren't talking about interest payments Morgan and Michelle made on loans from institutions, but rather, suppose we were focusing in on interest deposits made to these girls from savings and investment organizations? In that case, Morgan will have earned $750.00 on her initial investment of $1,000.00 in 5 years, and Michelle will have earned $1,011.36 on her initial investment of $1,000.00 in 5 years. Now, who would have a problem with that?

So, on the one hand, simple and compound interest can have an adverse effect on your financial portfolio, and on the other hand, they can have a positive effect on it. It all depends on which one you're more interested in. If you're more interested in paying more for purchases than they're worth (which I don't believe you are), and working hard for your money, then keep using those credit cards and leaving balances on them. However, if you're more interested in making your money grow (which you should be), and watching your money work hard for you, then put your money where your interest is!

I really hope you've learned something new today about your money and the way you think about interest. Let's stop investing it in quick, credit purchases that yield profits for our lenders, and instead change our focus and start investing it in savings and other long-term, wealth building transactions that will enable us to receive interest rather than to pay interest. I believe in you and I know you believe in me, so let's challenge ourselves to change how we handle our money and other people's money RIGHT NOW!

Have a Mind-changing Monday!

Saved!

Well, it's Friday! We began this week by focusing on saving for the future. So, have you been emptying your wallets and purses of their loose change? Have you been digging in the cracks of your couches and checking your pockets? What have you saved since Monday? How much is in your jar, candy dish, tray, or piggy bank? Did you set a goal beforehand and if so, did you accomplish that goal? Did you remember to put your savings away so that it wasn't easily accessible? Did you have to dip into your stash to cover an expense, or to give in to a temptation?

If you've been reading this blog for a few weeks, then you know that freedom carries with it the notion that we are willing to accept the responsibility of being purposeful in our thoughts, words, and actions. Freedom bears with it, a high standard for living...morals and values that require us to say "NO" to ourselves more often than we'd like to hear it. It requires us to maintain the big picture while memorizing the details of our lives and God's given purposes for us. 

No matter how your week ended, I encourage you to keep going. Don't become discouraged if you stumble and spend when you shouldn't. Just keep filling up your jars and intentionally saving money. A month from now, I'd love to come back and submit a post to see where we all are with our savings and how much we've each collected in our jars. Who knows, maybe we'll give a prize to the (honest) person who has saved the most. Perhaps, we'll even come up with an idea for donating our loose change to charity. What do you think?

Thirsty for More to Give Away

There's nothing like bringing a smile to someone's face or watching as tears fall from a grateful recipient's eyes as he or she accepts an unexpected or much needed gift from my hands. I love to give gifts, especially when the people I am giving them to have no idea what I'm up to. The joy and pleasure I receive from giving gifts wasn't born out of a need to be important or to feel superior to others. It's arose from a simple passion to touch lives and remind others that they matter.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like giving gifts to everyone. I have given gifts to ungrateful, thankless people who would rather have received something else. I don't allow that to discourage me because I remember that my motives were pure and that the goal was accomplished. However, sometimes I do become discouraged when I seem unable to give substantially more of myself, more of my resources, and more of my skills away. My remedy for this lies within the context of our focus this week...to increase my discipline and commitment to save in order to expand my ability and the avenues in which I am able to give more to others. 

That's what I'm thirsty for today.

I want to be like my Heavenly Father. I want to represent Him by extending my heart and hands to others so that they know they aren't forgotten...that they aren't alone...that they aren't insignificant. I'm not looking just to give anything to anyone. No, I'm prayerfully asking the Lord to show me how to save more money, who to give to give it to, and how to give it to them. What better way to live than to allow our lives to be poured out as a resource that preaches to others that still, Jesus lives!

Build Up Someone Else's House

Sometimes the greatest gift we can give to someone else is the exact gift we need ourselves. Nine years ago, my husband and I gave away a 1993 Geo Metro in preparation for purchasing a 2000 Honda Odyssey to better suit our growing family. Less than a year later, however, a family member offered us a 1995 Ford Ranger. We gave away a vehicle when we needed another one and in due season, we received a finer vehicle than the one we had donated to a friend.

Be aware - the notion of giving to others while we're in need does not prioritize giving for the sake of getting. I'm simply revealing how the giving principle works. We give to share with others and to honor God by esteeming their needs above our own. Still, the sowing-reaping principle dictates that we always reap more than we've sown.

Having made that clear, today's challenge will require you to purposely pursue the opportunity to build up someone else's house, even if you feel like yours is currently being torn down. You may be in need of $100.00 right now. Why not give the $10.00 you have to someone who'll receive it like it is $1,000.000.00? You may need a new pair of shoes for work. Why not give away your favorite pair of earrings to that woman who compliments you every time you wear them? 

The idea of today's challenge is to motivate you to give from your possessions even as you're learning how to receive and save what you should. The act of giving...with a cheerful heart and grateful mind is a powerful tool. Giving helps us to change our perspective. It enables us to realize how blessed we are to have something of value to give to someone who will cherish it. At the same time, it encourages us to desire an increase in our finances in order to prioritize having more to give away. 

Yes, our overall goal for this week is to establish principles and actions pertaining to saving for our future, but believe me - giving out of what we have will go a long way in opening up opportunities that will ensure that we receive more than we could have ever saved by hoarding what we have received. So, go look on your dresser, in your closet, or in your wallet for something valuable to release for the sake of building up someone else's house. Then, come back here and let me know all about it. I can't wait to hear from you!

No More Breaking Your Back & Breaking Your Bank

Breaking your back to earn 
     enough money to cover your 
          current expenses or
                past due bills?








Breaking your bank to use
     the money you should
          be saving to
                purchase gas
                    and grocery?






The truth is that we should all seek to work smarter not harder. We ought to seek to mend the broken areas of our finances, not crush them to pieces by continuing to make the same unwise mistakes we've made in times past. Obviously, what we've been doing hasn't been working for us but against us, so why don't we change our minds, which will lead to a change in our financial movements, which will ultimately produce a positive and visible change in our financial realities?

I know what our economy looks like right now, but I also realize our potential to shine in the midst of financial darkness. Yesterday, I gave you a few suggestions to use as a guide to begin saving or increasing your savings. Today, I'd like to advise you to work smarter as you begin to save for the future. Here are a few tips:

1. If you don't have a checking account, get one. Don't pay pawn shops, grocery stores, or banks to cash money you've worked hard to earn (even 1% of your income is too much to give away, especially when you're not saving 1%).
2. If possible, bank with a credit union or open a Money Market savings account as a part of your savings plan. No matter how small, they tend to pay you more interest over time for your commitment to saving your money.
3. Deny yourself! Sometimes we say we can't save money because there's never any left over after paying bills. However, if we go back and review receipts, the truth usually is that we could have saved SOMETHING if we had been willing to deny ourselves that fast food burger, coffee, shoes, or trip to the nail salon.

You've got it in you! Now come on...exercise discipline and let's save some money together!

Think About Saving

Savings. What is your immediate thought in connection with that word? Can you relate to having a savings or are you discontented by not having anything set aside? Do you have a savings account? Are you at least gathering and stashing loose cash in a safe place as a part of your savings plan?

Perhaps you’re one of those people who find it impossible to set income aside to save for a raining day. Today, I’d like to encourage you to think about your approach to saving money. If you’re committed to saving and disciplined at building your financial reserves, I admonish you to step it up a notch…challenge yourself to save 5-10% more each pay period, or to save a certain portion of each financial gift you receive. If you’re working with a substantial surplus in your savings, consider taking a small portion of it out to help someone else establish a savings account. It could be your son or your niece, a student or a child in your neighborhood.

Finally, if you feel like you’re barely making it and are living paycheck-to-paycheck, I encourage you to look again. I know you think there’s no way you can save money, but even you have the ability to do so. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Every time you break a dollar or receive change for a purchase, put it in a jar, candy dish, or a tray of some sort (try to refrain from counting or using it until it is absolutely necessary). 
2. Take $20.00 out of your checking account or from your pay each period and place it in an envelope labeled, Savings. Put the envelope in a location that doesn’t provide easy access and don’t open it until it is time to add another $20.00 to it. 
3.  Recruit a close, trustworthy friend or family member to save cash for you. Commit to giving them say, $10.00 per pay period to put away for you. Have them sign a statement to confirm receipt and responsibility for stashing your money for your future use. 
4.  Sign up for a savings program with your local bank. For example, Wells Fargo has a Way2Save program for its customers’ use. Every time they use their debit cards for purchases, $1.00 is automatically transferred into a savings account from their checking account (just remember to deduct these transfers in your checkbook register).

For some of you, it might be necessary to start small. Begin by challenging yourself to save a specific amount of money for a week. After you’ve succeeded at consistently doing that, slowly increase the amount you commit to savings and the length of time you will be disciplined not to use it.

The bottom line:  we are all capable of saving for the future. Whether we have to start small or immediately sacrifice a large sum in order to establish a savings plan, it is in our power to do. So, stop saying you can’t, choose one of the suggestions above (or implement one of your own), and join me on this journey to building and saving money!

Decisions, Decisions

To spend more than we make, or to save more than we spend – now, that is the question! 

 It’s our money, right? No one can force our hands. You and I welcome each new day facing an old decision. We decide whether we will strategize and execute a financial plan or fly by the seat of our pants. We choose whether we will pay attention to our financial happenings or ignore them and let the chips fall where they may. We make up in our own minds whether we will frivolously spend our hard earned cash or save with the future in view. It’s all up to us.

I track my spending because to do otherwise drives me bonkers. I don’t like playing the guessing game with my money. I pay close attention to my financial activities because I don’t like surprises. I stopped using credit cards years ago so that I could move away from having my creditors dictate where my money is invested and towards controlling my own financial planning.

These are decisions and declarations you and I must make because they’re part of accepting the responsibility of living, giving, and spending as free agents who are influenced only by the Spirit of God. So, throw away our checkbook registers or keep them hidden in desk drawers? I think not! Avoid sound financial planning? Never! Get as much financial education and training as we need and prepare to succeed? Absolutely! 

We will and we must discipline ourselves to sacrifice the necessary time to record and examine where we are, what we’re doing, and how close or distant we are to reaching our financial objectives. Then, we must adjust our financial decisions and movements accordingly. After all, that’s what free, responsible people do! 

Thirsty for You

By nature, I am a servant; a leader who finds the most fulfillment in serving others. I have a gift for encouraging people and cultivating their potential to see and believe things in themselves and about themselves that they haven’t previously been able to see or believe. I have a knack for influencing growth. That’s what I do and that’s why I’m here. 

I started this blog to invite you on a journey with me to spiritual and financial freedom. I believe it’s a tool I can use to continue to learn and grow while also giving myself, my gifts and talents away in service to you. Having said that, I’m thirsty for you…thirsty to learn what it is that you need spiritually and financially…thirsty for a revelation of how I can best serve you and help to cultivate a lifestyle that fully embraces Christ and the freedom He offered us millenniums ago.

I have heard Dr. Myles Munroe say on the radio that “without God I cannot and without me God will not.” The same is true of all of us. You have something I need, I have something you need, and God has many things that we all need. There are situations and experiences in our lives that will not change without us first surrendering them to God. Meanwhile there are situations and experiences in our lives that will remain the same until we realize that we have already been equipped to deal with them. Still, the solutions to some issues are more near to us than we realize because we refuse to take advantage of opportunities to gleam from someone else. 

God doesn’t balance my checkbook for me because I am well able to do that myself; however, He is able to open doors that can offer professional opportunities that will forever change my financial reality. Finally, you have information, experiences, and wisdom to share that could teach me things about life, money, and myself that I am not even aware of right now.

So, here I am waiting to hear from you…waiting to discover what you need from me, waiting to learn from you, and eager to see how together they will bring glory to God’s name.