Make A Workable Budget, Stick to It, Strive to Save for the Winter


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budget your money
What then is a workable budget?

It is a budget that within your means that are true, manageable, and affordable to have it.  It is also simply a plan to mange the money in your home or to yourself. There is nothing magical about a budget, however, and it will not work by itself. You must put it into practice or stick to that budget.

Every area of your spending must be reviewed to determine if you are spending the correct amount. If you’re not, you must decide how you can adjust. A budget, if used properly, should help to determine what kind of a home or a person you can afford, what kind of a car you can drive, how much insurance you should have, even what kind of clothes you wear.

Your budget should be a reflection of you or your family has. It should be a plan to bring peace, not conflict, into your home. If, as husband and wife, you find that you cannot agree on a budget by yourselves, consult a spiritual adviser in Christian finances service. Ask him to help you develop a budget as use him as a sounding board. “Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22)


Who Needs The Budget?

Obviously, those who are in debt needs to have a budget. Why? It is because they’re spending more than they earn. The budget is a plan to balance spending with income.

Others who are not in debt also need a budget. Why? It is because it is also a plan for controlling spending. A budget should help to determine where to cut back to develop a surplus. It’s that a surplus that God is able to use both to enhance your lives and His work.


What’ the Purpose of the Budget?

The purpose of making a workable budget is to put everything in order and to save money for the winter or for the rainy days. Saving part of your income helps you a lot in the future.

This savings is not allocated to nay specific needs. About 5% of your net spendable income should be put aside for expenses that cannot be anticipated. There is nothing wrong with having some savings. In fact, it is a requirement for most people. The few exceptions are those people to whom God say, “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up” (Proverbs 21:20).

It is nonspiritual to save, nor does it represent a lack of faith? The question I often ask of those who believe savings is wrong is, “Which represents better stewardship: to borrow at 18% to buy the things that wear out, or to save and then buy them without credit?” It is important that you budget some savings. Otherwise, the use of credit becomes a lifelong necessity, and debt a way of life. Your savings will allow you to purchase with cash and to shop for the best buys, irrespective of the store.

Many families fail to save because they think that the amount they legitimately can put aside is too insignificant. No amount is insignificant. Even $5 a month will help. The savings can be any reasonable amount that fits your particular life pattern.

Be aware, however, of the difference between saving and hoarding. A saving plan has a specific purpose for the money being stored; a hoarding plan is money put aside for no particular reason and wouldn’t be used even if needed. For those who are in debt also you should have your saving strategy, why? It is because in order to get out of debt, you must totally avoid the use of credit. If you don’t have any unrestricted savings on hand and something essential breaks down like the washing machine, refrigerator, or hot water heater for example, it will lead to the use of credit again.

Once you have developed a budget and know how much money is necessary for you and your family to live on and how much you can pay. Do whatever you must to bring your debt burden back under control; determine your priorities; and stick to them. Scripture commands: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you” (Proverbs 3:27-28)

 

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