Heart Change

We work so hard at life! Keeping up with all the things is a lot. It’s exhausting.

Then there’s the financial side of the struggle…

Do I have enough money to pay my bills?

What if there’s an emergency expense? Can I afford a major car repair or a major appliance when one dies?

How can I help my kids pay for college?

Will I have enough money to retire when the time comes? I don’t want to work forever.

It can be overwhelming.

As I see it, we have three options:

• Don’t stress and hope for the best.
• Put aside money for emergencies and retirement when you have extra.
• Make a plan that will help you be successful with your goals.

Let’s look at each of these options.

Don’t stress and hope for the best.

There are times when all of us have tried ignoring something in hopes that it will work itself out. Sometimes that works; often times it doesn’t. In the case of finances, ignoring it is never a good idea. There is a better way.

“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.” Proverbs 18:2

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5

Put aside money for emergencies and retirement when you have extra.

This sounds like a good plan, but spending first and waiting for extra money to show up in your bank account means waiting for something that almost never happens. At least, not often enough to fund those big-ticket items like a new roof or hospital bills.

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!” Proverbs 16:16

“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” Dave Ramsey

Make a plan that will help you be successful with your goals.

Hoping, praying, and waiting for your finances to take care of themselves is pretty risky. Some of us might naturally be cautious enough for everything to fall into place without much extra effort, but for the majority of us, setting goals is essential.

When my kids were little, we paid them an allowance. Right off the top, a portion went into their piggy banks and a portion was their Sunday School offering. The remaining was theirs to spend. We wanted to set a precedent that would serve them well for the rest of their lives: set aside for the future and set aside to give back to God FIRST. Then the rest is yours to spend.

So often, we get this backwards by spending first and allowing God and our future needs to be put on the back burner. We tend to spend all that we earn – and sometimes MORE than we earn. When we get it backwards, we are always trying to catch up.

DISCLAIMER: You may be in a situation where you are barely earning enough income to pay your basic expenses. That’s a whole other conversation. In this case, strip down your expenses as much as possible. You don’t HAVE to have cable or eat out. Maybe you can manage with one less vehicle? Cut out whatever expenses you can.

There was a full year that I, my husband, and our toddler lived on nothing but an unemployment check. It was tight. During that time, we didn’t purchase anything that wasn’t absolutely essential, and I planned meals that were as inexpensive as possible. We ate a lot of pasta and venison that year. We visited the library and attended free events for entertainment.

Planning my spending, giving, and saving has really paid off. I’ve been married for 44 years. For about half of that, we only had my husband’s income. In the early years, I was a full-time mom. The majority of the time that I worked outside the home, I only worked part-time. And yet, we were still able to help our two children pay for college. We paid off our home and have been debt free since we were 35. Ten years ago, I quit my full-time job and we lost one third of our household income. Still, my husband retired at 62 and we are able to live and spend as we did when we were both working.

Why am I telling you this? And how was this possible?

Heart Change.

I believe that a change of heart is what has made this possible, along with a natural bent toward frugality. Wisdom helped too. Here are some tips that have helped me:

• Avoid paying interest. That is money lost.
• Don’t buy what you can’t pay for. If you do have to borrow money, pay extra on the principle every month.
• Limit eating out and picking up coffee or snacks. Those little expenses really add up.
• Before you purchase something, ask yourself if you truly need it. If you like to purchase things online, add items to your shopping cart and leave it there for a week. Then go back and determine if you still need it after the rush from shopping has passed.
• Make use of your company’s 401k fund. Take advantage of matching funds – that’s FREE money!
• Determine how much you need each year for larger bills like property taxes and Christmas gifts. Average that out over the number of pay periods you have per year and have the bank automatically transfer that amount into your savings account so that it’s there when you need it. If you can, increase that transfer amount to build up a nest egg for emergency expenses.

But the thing that I believe made the biggest impact on our finances? Giving away money.

That’s where the heart change comes in.

Way back, we would toss some cash in the offering plate on Sunday morning. It was the thing to do. We never gave it much thought. Then God began to work on my heart.

All that we have comes from God. He is gracious to bless us with everything that we have. It’s all His and He shares it with us. Doesn’t He deserve a “thank you” back?

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:21

Was I really putting my “treasure” where my heart was? Or maybe I should say, where my heart SHOULD be? We began giving more in the offering plate. On the weeks that we missed church, that didn’t mean no offering and extra money to spend. That money was put aside regardless of whether or not we set foot in the church building.

I felt good about the increase in giving. And then…. God nudged us a little more.

“You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence….Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 14:22-23

God asks us to give back a tenth of our earnings. “Uh…. I don’t know about that. I don’t think we can do that… Oh, alright. We’ll give it a try.” So, we gave a tenth of our paychecks. And you know what? We never missed it. I don’t understand how, but we didn’t.

I felt really good about truly tithing to God. And then… God nudged even more.

“You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.” Deuteronomy 18:4

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10

I realized that giving God 10% of our take-home pay wasn’t giving 10% of what we had. That was after insurance, 401k deductions, and taxes (let’s face it, some of the tax was returned to us later in the year). “You want 10% off the top? Uh…. I don’t know about that. I don’t think we can do that… Oh, alright. We’ll give it a try.” So, we gave a tenth of our gross income. And you know what? Once again, we didn’t miss it.

I believe that God blesses obedience. I believe that my heart change about giving back to God what is already His is how we have been able to do all that we have with the little that we’ve had.

“’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!’” Malachi 3:10

How about you? Is God nudging you to rethink your finances? My advice is to step out of the boat in faith, make a plan to save and give, and see if He won’t bless your efforts.

*Do you need help in figuring out a plan for your money? Dave Ramsey’s website is packed with free tools and great information to help you out. Visit it HERE.

Mandy Hood

Mandy Hood is co-founder and executive director of The Connection. She authored the book, “Let’s Get Together: The story of a unique women’s ministry.” She hopes the book will be a stepping stone to building a supportive network of community-based ministries.

Mandy and her husband have been married for 44 years. Together, they enjoy camping and traveling. Every year, they look forward to GramCamp – three days of spoiling and fun with their three favorite young men.