Budgeting
“Financial Freedom”
Chapter 3
Budgeting
Luke 14:28-30
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
NIV
Spiritually speaking, goals are measurable objectives that you believe God wants you to achieve. Budgeting is one tool that will help Christ followers achieve those goals. A failure to plan can be very costly and keep us from being everything God desires us to be.
When we fail to plan and set goals we miss out on God opportunities that include the possibility that we will never reach our God-given potential and touch the hearts and lives God desires. We also are not being good managers of God’s provision for us by going into bondage (debt). Remember the old saying, “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.”
Guidelines for Setting Goals
- A goal is a measurable and time-specific objective toward which you believe God wants you to move.
- Set your goals and standards on God’s conviction-not on what others possess.
- Goals need to be realistic, practical, reachable, and have deadlines.
- Faith-sized goals that stretch you and require God’s help should be considered.
- Financial goals change as circumstances change, so be flexible and patient.
- Goals need to be written down-creating more accountability and motivation.
- Each goal needs a set of plans to reach it, with a beginning and completion date for each step along the way.
- You may need the help of others in order to create plan and find tools to reach the goals.
- Setting goals requires uninterrupted time, attention, and serious commitment.
- Every goal needs to be prayerfully considered and have ownership by all parties involved in achieving the goal.[1]
When I do pre-marital counseling, one of the things I do is encourage the couple set short-term and long-term goals. I would highly suggest that you do the same for your family now and state clearly the objective in dollars and offer a clear deadline; as an example, save $25,000 by age 30, buy a $15,000 car for cash in three years and pay off my $2,000 debt with two years.
Remember, the greatest hindrance to financial planning is procrastination. Get started right now and follow through.
Gal 6:7-10
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
NIV
When it comes to financial planning remember this, if you sow nothing (don’t plan), you reap nothing. If you sow too late, you reap a limited harvest!
Your child comes to and says he desires to buy a $100.00 bicycle in one year, what advice would you give to him on his spending practices? If you are careful with your money and don’t spend it on things that are not important, you’ll have enough money to buy what you desire.
[1] Patrick Clements, Financial Freedom: More Than Being Debt Free (Sisters, OR: VMI Publishers, 2003), 45-46.
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