Free to Be Intentional

Have you ever made a special trip to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread but ended up leaving with two bags of junk food? Have you ever gone to the mall to buy a new pair shoes, but also went home with a new jacket and three pairs of jeans? Have you ever taken $40.00 out of the ATM with a plan to only use $25.00 and save the other $15.00, but quickly spent it all?

Don't get me wrong; it's okay to enjoy the fruit of your labor by buying things you haven't planned for in your budget, but there's a proper way to do it. Budgeting isn't meant to be so serious that you can't stray from your plan; instead you have to be intentional in your planning so that you can take advantage of opportunities to spend what I'd like to call stray money.

Who says you can't budget for that unexpected sale or that deal of a life time? Sure, it's hard to define an expense when you don't know what it is or when you'll encounter it, but that's why you allocate funds for it in your budget. You set aside stray money so that when you come across an exciting opportunity, you can indulge in guilt-free spending because you know your financial plan is still intact.

Too often, we purchase items frivolously, picking up a candy bar here, coffee there, and fast food every where...all without giving thought to our budget. The bottom line is that we have to become intentional about how we spend and how we save if we're ever going to become as successful as we'd like to be with handling our finances.

Remember, change doesn't just happen. We're not going to make better financial decisions without being deliberate about them. If we budget $20.00 for eating out this week, then we shouldn't be spending $40.00. If we have $100.00 set aside as stray money but want to buy a new I-Phone that could cost more than $400.00, we have to exercise restraint. We will need to discipline ourselves to save for it and purchase it at a later date instead of whipping out the credit card to make up the difference so we can have it now.

Since our new year is set to begin in less than three days, let's enter into it embracing the freedom to be intentional. Instead of throwing caution to the wind, let's catch new determination in the stillness of December's end and allow our financial lives to be changed forever!

Free to Open the Door

If you're anything like me, visitors on Christmas day are a no-no. Christmas is a day when I prefer to be stingy with my time and my family. On a typical Christmas day, I only see 5 other people all day...my husband and four sons. That's it, that's all. I'll share my time and attention with others on Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, or New Year's Day, but frankly, I want my family to myself on Christmas day. I can't say that this is right or that it's wrong. All I can tell you is that it's my preference for this one particular holiday. I don't know why but Christmas just seems more special to me when celebrated intimately with me and mine.

Having said that, I must admit to you that I have opened my door to others on a few Christmases, and what I've learned is that it isn't always fair for me to be as close minded about Christmas visitors as I've chosen to be. There are times when it's more beneficial to others for me to open my heart as I open my front door than it is for me to keep my family and Christmas experiences to myself. The few times we've shared our Christmas with others, it has meant much more than not having them over could have meant to them or us.

So, on this Freedom Friday, I urge you (and me) to be opened minded this Christmas. Planning how we'll spend our time on Christmas day and who we'll spend it with is a productive way of approaching this special holiday, but we must be careful to leave room for the unexpected miracle that having unexpected visitors can bring...for them and us!

I hope you have a very, Merry Christmas!

Take it Back: Possess Your Power!

This week we've talked about steering clear of celebrating Christmas on credit, not allowing credit card use to turn you into a beggar, admitting your debt to yourself and exposing it to someone you trust, and finally, intervening for those whose spending is out of control. Today, I'm encouraging everyone to take back their power. You haven't been using credit cards forever so believe or not, you can function without using them now. This Christmas, I want you to give yourself (or help someone else to gain) something that can't fit under the tree...independence...freedom from relying on credit cards. I want you to become liberated from your comfort with credit card spending and the convenience of swiping that card.

Remember what we've learned this week:  admitting and exposing our truth is the first step to any real change. If we're all going to possess our power and control our spending, reduce our debt and destroy our dependency on credit, we have to face our current realities. That means pulling out the those statements and noting the God's honest truth. Are we behind on our monthly payments? Have we been paying on the same balance far beyond the length of time it should have taken to obtain a zero balance? How much are we paying in interest? How much have we paid this year? How does that amount compare to the amount we've paid on the principle amount originally financed? What have we been paying in late fees and other charges? How long is it going to take to pay off our balances if we continue to only pay the minimum amounts due, and how will that affect our bottom line?

After we've finished noting these facts, it's time to determine our own truths and paint our own pictures. We'll do this by changing the game. Here's how:

• gather all credit cards and cut them up, have someone we trust to hold/hide them from us, or freeze them in a large container of water (get them out of our sights so we can work on getting them out of our minds),
• call our creditors to make arrangements if we're behind on our payments or if we need to reduce the amount of credit we have available, 
• make credit card payments on time,
• establish a realistic plan for paying off all credit card debt, 
• discipline ourselves and sacrifice additional funds monthly to pay down balances (commit a portion of every extra dollar that comes our way to reduce our debt),
• and finally, DO IT! Pay off every single debt and retire entirely from credit card abuse!

That's power, and that power is ours! Let's take it back from our creditors and possess it on our own!

Free from the Pressure to Please People

As we bring this week of plastic-gift-talking, not-counting-on-online-banking-for-tracking-my-finances conversations to a close, I'd like for us to allow every bit of the information from this week to also encourage us to be free from the pressure to please people. We've talked about shopping for gifts and we've talked about passing out plastic presents. We've talked about giving and we've talked about receiving.

Whether our buying power is being focused on Christmas, birthdays, or some other reason to purchase gifts, we have to be clear on what we're buying for people and why we're buying them. It's one thing to give gifts or spend our money on people out of the kindness of our hearts. It's another thing to do it because it's expected of us. It's fine if I ask you what you want for your birthday, graduation, or Christmas and you expect to receive one of those items from me, but it's not okay to tell me to what to buy you.

A gift card isn't really a gift if you're pressuring me into purchasing it for you, and cash isn't a loan when a person says, "Eh, let me hold a twenty for a minute." So, why do so many of us put unhealthy amounts of energy into pleasing others? How is it that we are adamant about who we are, what we'll do, and what we won't do when it comes to so many other areas of our lives but then allow our friends to dictate where we shop and how we spend our money?

If you're reading this and feeling a bit convicted, I encourage you to embrace your freedom. You and I are free from the pressure to please people. So, let's resolve to maintain that freedom and live apart from the selfish demands of others! Have a fabulous Friday!

Free to Spend, Free to Save

Okay, this week's blogging is coming to an end and we've covered a few touchy subjects. From discussing the wisdom in creating a spending plan to rediscovering and prioritizing the true meaning of Christmas, we've considered the ins and outs of the holidays. So, as we close out this school and work week, I'd like to encourage you to approach your spending (whether for Christmas or not), with a clear objective:  to maintain your freedom. If you have money to spend, spend it with a purpose. Be sure to take advantage of sales, deals, discounts, and coupons that will allow you to spend and save at the same time. 

Last week, I visited Kohl's department store where I shopped for clearance items, received an additional 15% off of my purchases at the register, and then earned $30.00 worth of Kohl's cash that I was told I could use on purchases I make this week or next week. As soon as I earned the Kohl's cash, I gave it a purpose. I knew exactly what I was going to use it to buy.

The prison ministry at my home church participates in the Angel Tree program. It is a program that provides much needed clothing, shoes, and even toys for the children of incarcerated parents. I knew immediately that I would get great use out of it for donations to someone's precious little girl. Long story short, I used the Kohl's cash to purchase $131.00 worth of clearance items for $27.00!

I killed two birds with one stone. I added value to someone else without taking value away from my own family (and still have $3.00 worth of Kohl's cash left). In other words, I freely spent and saved money at the same time! Prayerfully, you will choose to do the same.

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! 

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?

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! 

It's Over!

It’s over! Say it with me:  my days of living in the middle are over! My days of being stuck in the muck of financial mediocrity are over! My life as a worker-thinking person is over. I will no longer be imprisoned by my past, I am retiring from enabling slave minded men and women who have no interest in changing, and I am no longer afraid to hope for better and pursue my best as the person God already knows I am. 

We’ve spent the past three weeks analyzing our lives and considering the thoughts that make up who we are and where we are today. Together, we’ve learned some things about ourselves that we hadn’t realized before, and we have committed ourselves to making changes that we were previously unwilling to make. In essence, we have taken the first and very necessary steps to embrace the financial freedom that has always been ours in Christ.

So as we leave this week behind, I urge you to remember the three money mentalities we’ve discussed because their relevance will continue to reveal themselves, not only in your financial experiences but in your decisions and relationships with others. For those of you who are new to the blog, you can always check out the Money Mentality Monday posts from the past three weeks to familiarize yourself with them. 

Now, on to new and exciting things! Next week we will begin to study financial principles, planning, and possibilities. We’ll continue to cultivate our bossy minds to assert the financial maturity and discipline that will ensure we become exposed to every unbelievable opportunity that awaits us. I’m excited about the next step on our journey and I hope you are too!

Free to be the You Others Cannot See

Today I am borrowing part of my inspiration for this Freedom Friday post from a woman whose work and ministry are quickly transforming my life. Priscilla Shirer, founder of Going Beyond Ministries (and Dr. Tony Evans' daughter), has recently written and published a book entitled, The Resolution for Women to accompany the release of the movie, Courageous and the book, The Resolution for Men. In one of the sections of her book, Priscilla encourages women to embrace the beauty of being "authentically you". She admonishes her readers to recognize the power, privilege, and responsibility we have to give the people we love and the world at large our true, genuine selves because that is exactly what people have been waiting on and it is exactly what the world cannot do without.

Whether you are a man or woman, boy or girl, God has made you uniquely "you". Your dreams are uniquely yours and so, as we conclude this week's focus on the Boss Money Mentality, I want to encourage you to keep dreaming. Spend time meditating on the you no one has seen...the you who exists inside of your flesh. Who would you be if you were already walking in the fullness of the Boss Money Mentality? What would you look life, how would your actions differ if you didn't have to think about your finances, your self-esteem, your health, your family issues, and other distracting circumstances? 

Well, guess what? If you can see that "you", you are starting to tap into the "you" that no else can see. That is the "you" you must begin to live as, and that is the only "you" God recognizes and speaks to. Start small. Begin to prioritize your life and base your decisions on that "you". Discipline yourself to move towards that "you". After all, that "you" will pave the way for you to attain the boss mentality. It is how to make freedom a reality in your life.

I have a dream. My dream consists of becoming a solution, allowing my life to serve as an answer to the slave and worker mentality in others. So, as I continue to dream, I choose to act on it. I have begun to move towards it. I am mapping out a plan to elevate my dream into a vision that finds its way into my reality. I am disciplining myself. I am sacrificing my money, time, and energy in order to meet the needs of others. Instead of waiting until I have earned a graduate degree in some form of counseling, in the meantime I am offering my listening ears to troubled hearts. Until my small business has a need for additional staff, I will utilize other opportunities to assist willing workers in obtaining employment by networking and building connections with those who have the power to hire referrals from me. I'll pay a portion of an honest man's bills while I await the earnings that will allow me to pay all of them. 

The bottom line...I will no longer wait for circumstances to change before I choose to become my authentic self. Fear, doubt, and unbelief will no longer rule my thoughts, emotions, and actions. Instead, I will walk in the fullness of my true self and make an impact in my community right now, right where I am with what I have to offer today because that's what bosses do!