Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Money-Saving Tips
While greeting a visiting couple at his church, he learned the man was in the same field. The husband asked him to send him a resume. This led to him being offered a job at the visiting man's company. I believes God provided the job for him as an answer to his prayers. The listener thanked Crown for the biblical principles it teaches. He had applied those. When he lost his job, had no debt and could fall back on emergency savings to help his family through the unemployment period. I hope that encourages you! When we live in God’s Economy and apply His financial principles, we can make wise financial decisions. It starts with recognizing God owns everything and we are His stewards. As stewards we should seek to please the Lord and live for eternity. Practical programs like this one should make more sense in this context. We don’t want to follow the wisdom of the world. I want to encourage you to follow God’s wisdom and do things that are pleasing to Him. Tip #1 - Switch your bank accounts to a bank that respects you. You shouldn’t be spending your hard-earned money on maintenance fees. You also should be earning some interest on your checking and savings accounts. Here’s a guide on how to make that switch. Shop around for the best rates. Bankrate.com is a good place to start. Tip #2 - Turn off the television. One big way to save money is to watch less television. There are a lot of financial benefits to this: less exposure to guilt-inducing ads, more time to focus on other things in life, less electrical use, and so on. It’s great to unwind in the evening, but seek another hobby to do that. Invest time in more family-engaging activities. Tip #3 - Turn a critical eye to your “collections.” Most people collect something – what do you collect? Is it something that consistently brings you joy? Or is it something that you just do out of habit at this point? Does the collection itself have value? Could you perhaps “trim the fat” from this collection by getting rid of duplicates or getting rid of the items you no longer use? Also, could you perhaps cut spending for that hobby? Tip #4 - Make your own gifts instead of buying stuff from the store. You can make food mixes, candles, bread, cookies, soap, and all kinds of other things at home quite easily and inexpensively. These make spectacular gifts for others because they involve your homemade touch, plus quite often they’re consumable, meaning they don’t wind up filling someone’s closet with junk. Even better, include a personal handwritten note with the gift. This will make it even more special than anything you could possibly buy down at the mall, plus it saves you money. Tip #5 - Master the thirty day rule. Whenever you’re considering making an unnecessary purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Quite often, you’ll find that the urge to buy has passed and you’ll have saved yourself some money by simply waiting. If you want, you can even keep a “thirty day list” where you write down the item and the day you’ll reconsider it, but I prefer just to keep this one in my head. Tthat way, I often just forget about the unimportant things. Tip #6 - Write a list before you go shopping – and stick to it. You should never go into a store without a strong idea of what you will buy. Stick strictly to that list when you go to the store. Don’t put anything in the cart that’s not on the list, no matter how tempting, and you’ll come out of the store saving a bundle. Tip #7 - Invite friends over instead of going out. Almost every activity at home is less expensive than going out. Invite some friends over and have a cookout or a potluck meal, then play some cards and have a few drinks. Everyone will have fun, the cost will be low, and the others will likely reciprocate not long afterwards. The Bible calls this practicing the gift of hospitality. Tip #8 - Instead of throwing out some damaged clothing, repair it. Don’t toss out a shirt because of a broken button – sew a new one on with some closely-matched thread. Don’t toss out pants because of a hole in them – put in a patch of some sort and save them for times when you’re working around the house. Simple sewing can be done by anyone – it just takes a few minutes and it saves a lot of money by keeping you from buying new clothes when you don’t really need to. Pass down clothes to younger siblings. Shop at thrift stores for clothing. |
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Steps to Making a BudgetIn making a budget, there are several steps, each requiring individual effort. |
Need for a Spending PlanWithout a spending plan, it is impossible to know where your money goes each month and whether you will have available funds for the things you need. |
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Budget BustersBudget busters are areas that can result in financial disaster if not accounted for properly. |
Finding Financial FreedomThe Lord owns everything and we are merely stewards of what is His. He has clear ideas on how He wants His people to function as His stewards. |
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Other Resources: |
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I want to share an email testimony from a listener. He was an engineer and lost his job, but didn’t want to relocate his family.
