We’ve been experiencing a global crisis for many months now and we don’t know when the situation will be significantly better — only God knows! At the beginning of the pandemic, you may have found yourself anxious and wondering if you were prepared for what was ahead, whether it be physically, mentally, spiritually, or financially. Feelings like these can rob you of the peace that God wants you to experience.

During this crisis, you may have experienced a change in your job situation and found yourself concerned about how you’re going to pay all of your bills. Others may have discovered that you have more money now than before since you’ve primarily been staying at home. Whether money has been tight, and you’re adding debt, or you would just feel better if you had more of a financial cushion, now is the time to take a fresh look at your expenses and how you’re spending money.

Some of you may operate with a budget and others may not. A budget might seem controlling or too much work. But a budget will give you control you never knew you could have. And if the word “budget” seems negative, then call it a spending plan, whatever works for you. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening — it’s painful. But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” 

So now you’re ready to take a fresh look at your expenses and perhaps create a budget for the first time, but where do you start? Write down what you’re spending money on — put the spending into categories such as Food, Transportation, Rent/Mortgage, Utilities, Insurance, Debt Payments, Personal, and Miscellaneous. Don’t worry about being precise — estimates are fine. The objective is to get an understanding of your monthly expenses and if you’re spending more or less than your income each month. If you’re spending more, then you’ve got some work to do and need to adjust some of your expenses.

There may be things you’re spending money on that you didn’t realize the dollar amount. You may have signed up for automatic payments for expenses that you forgot about, for example, trial periods that have turned into permanent subscriptions, or apps that you no longer use — no matter how small the amount may seem at the time, they add up over time. Perhaps you bought a “package deal” to get a good price, such as for cable TV.  Ask yourself if you’re using everything in the package. If not, call and renegotiate the amount you’re paying and be persistent — the company will not give in easily but will probably modify the amount if you tell them you’ll go elsewhere for the service. Finally, you may realize that you’re spending money on things you don’t really need. If you’re spending more than your monthly income, you’ve probably been overspending on wants by convincing yourself they were needs. By doing all of this work, you now have knowledge about your spending.  But knowledge doesn’t make the difference; it’s doing something with the knowledge that does. So, take action and create or revise your budget/spending plan and ask God to help you make wise decisions with your expenses.  

I want to leave you with some helpful tips and resources you can utilize.  

TIPS:

• Spend with cash when possible — there’s an emotion created when you give up cash that doesn’t occur when you use a debit/credit card
• Do your budget with your spouse or roommate — agreement is important; don’t just say “whatever you want to do will be fine with me.”
• Don’t give up — persevere! It’s easy to give up when things don’t go the way you expect them to or it feels like too much work. Being defeated is often temporary but giving up can make it permanent!  Galatians 6:9 says, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”  

Helpful Resources

• Free Budget App: Every Dollar (www.financialpeace.com)
• Envelope System for spending money with cash (www.daveramsey.com)
• Article on “Top 9 Best (and Free) Online Budgeting Tools,” www.goodfinancialcents.com