|  Mark Edward  |

Sixty Five.

 

That’s the percentage of men that checked…

“Money: Managing What You Have; Giving; Saving; Budgets”

on the I’d Rather Talk™  Pre-Launch Survey.

 

I knew it would be near the top, but I didn’t expect it to be Numero Uno.

Think about it:  

Money affects every part of our lives.  

Name something in your life that is not impacted by money or lack thereof.

Gotta be honest:  

In my younger years, money management was not my greatest strength.  

But I’ve learned from my mistakes.  Maybe you can too.

A few years back, our income plummeted from nearly six figures to modest $20,000 in one year.

We were laid off 3 times.  I faced a painful crisis.  

Cut back.  Or lose everything.

When you are accustomed to big homes, new cars, and buying what you want, cutting back hurts.  If we are honest, it simply hurts our male ego and our American Pride.

What hurts more is not paying your bills & screwing up your credit.

Here are 14 Simple Ways to Make Your Money Go Farther:

1. Don’t Spend What You Don’t Have

This might seem overly simple.

When you spend what you don’t have, you are charging.

Unless you pay it off before the grace period, you are paying interest.

If you are paying interest, you are lining someone else’s pockets and emptying your own.

(Picture from “It’s a Wonderful Life” © 1946, Liberty Films)

2. Don’t Spend What Should be Held for Something More Important

Is that new ______ (insert: phone, pedal, instrument, gun, jacket, technology widget, expensive meal) really more important than the mortgage, rent, electric, or tires?

3. Put a Stop to Emotional Spending

Do men buy on emotion?

We’d never admit it, but some men are trying to fill the God-sized hole in their heart with stuff.

Guys, spending does not sooth the pain of rejection by peers, women, dad, or worse yet, rejecting yourself.

When your wound is filled and healed by God (often through the masculine affirmation of godly men in your life – and – fully knowing God as your Father), then money becomes a tool to serve you, not a tool to sooth you.

4. Forget About Your Image

Do we really need to have everything Broseph Buff Neighbor has?

I make it simple for myself and my family.

We do what seems right for us.  Screw what your BMW-driving-neighbor thinks about your 9 year old Kia.

Your neighbor might be smiling on Facebook, but he is not laughing all the way to the bank if he is up to his Oakleys in debt.  Image maintenance is a never ending circle of pain.

This problem is best solved when you learn to become a God pleaser not a man pleaser.

Is your identity in your stuff?

It all burns up guys.

Galations 1:10: NIV
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

5. Give

For now, I won’t go too deep here.

But part of your success with money does involve giving. Give what you are led to give.

2 Corinthians 8:3
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord…

Don’t give out of coercion or pressure from friends, charitable organizations, or…yes…I’m gonna say it:  Ministries.

Yes.  Give to ministries.

Give where you are led to, and as you are able to.  But giving out of obligation and pressure is never God.

 

God is not involved in guilt-giving.

Have you ever held your hand up in the air when asked to “raise your gift up before God”…and your hand was empty…but you raised it because you didn’t want to be embarrassed?

I am not against a true act of faith.  I am against whatever becomes a manipulative ritual.

Yes.  I just went there.

6. Buy Something Fun but Inexpensive, Each Pay Day

In our household, it’s inexpensive dark chocolate!  It makes the pain of cutting back in bigger areas more bearable.

7. Give Your Family a Budget.  Stick with it.  Lovingly.

When asked, “How much can we spend at the grocery,” I give specific amounts.

When “she” goes over, I try not to get mad – it can be tough to stay under when the list is long.

Yet, we have put things back on the shelf more than once, to avoid robbing another part of the budget.

When you go over,  where is that extra $57 going to come from?

8. Give Your Wife Spending Money for “Her.”  Even if it is Small.

In our times of abounding I handed her a $100 or a $50.

In leaner times, when our income was 50% less than it was previously, it was a $5, $10, or $20 bill.

But it’s something she can call hers.

 

9. Shop Smarter

By shopping at the Dollar Store instead of Target, we save over $75 monthly, or nearly $1000 a yr.  Yes, not everything at the Dollar Store is worth buying.  Don’t compromise on quality, but you can save a bundle annually on things like batteries, cards, cleaning supplies, some toiletries (not all), household goods, birthday and holiday supplies…for a buck, instead of $4.29 at Target.

Love Target.  Just don’t love what they do (did) to me.

10. Downsize

Previously, we’ve lived in a 3,500 square foot home.

We’ve lived facing the mountains.

But during a season of lower income and extra expenses, we downsized – to 1,400 sq. feet.  Nice. Gated. But smaller.

Presently, I am writing you from my “office” at the kitchen table!  My lake view is now a tapestry of a lake on the wall, haha.

We saved about $600 monthly, or $7,200 annually.

“Oh, I could never do that.”  Dude.  I still have children at home.  We did it.

You’ll be happier paying the bills than having the big house and eating spaghetti.

Every meal.

I’ve had new cars, and I really enjoy them.  I’ve owned a Lexus LS.

At this writing, our two vehicles have 300,000 miles between the two of them.  It’s better to drive older, then to run out of gas in the newer.

11. Cut the Fat

Netflix vs Cable.  $9.95 vs $65.

I know,  I know…sports and stuff.  But if you aren’t paying your bills, Netflix is an alternative.

Love the Spotify app for unlimited streaming music.  But at $9.99 that’s another $120 per year you could put in your emergency fund.

TIP:  The Desktop version of Spotify is free.  With commercials of course.

Eating out is a biggie.

In boom times, we dined out 3 or 4 times weekly.

For our family, that was $150 a week – or $7,800 a year – that’s a nice anniversary trip to somewhere special.

You don’t have to stop.

Just adjust.

12. Save for Emergencies

I haven’t been the best at this, particularly since we have faced enormous medical expenses. But I continue to strive.  

If you save a small percentage for emergencies, then when emergencies come, guess what – you don’t have to charge.

This can be a separate account, or as simple as an envelope hidden away for emergencies.

A new Harmonic Capitulator is not an emergency.

A flat tire or a trip to the, um, Emergency Room, is an emergency.

Love that word.

Harmonic Capitulator.

Yes, This Pic is Random.  It Just Made Me Laugh.

13. Credit

When used properly (paying off before the grace period ends), charging can boost your credit score.  

Unfortunately, most Americans don’t do that.

According to creditcounselingbiz.com, during the financial bust of 2007, consumer debt in America had risen to $2.5 trillion.

This past Christmas, for 6 years running, we used NO credit cards.

We paid no interest.

Did we buy everything we wanted to?  Not hardly.

But we didn’t owe any one, any more than we did before Christmas.

And we are not lining the pockets of Mr. Chase.  Or Wells.  You know – Mr. Wells Fargo.

 

14. Lower your Bank fees

Dumping my bank and using a credit union has saved me over $200 a year in bank fees.

15. Starbucks

What??

“Don’t mess with my coffee!!”

Ha, this one’s so big,  it gets it’s own category!

In 2005, we enjoyed Starbucks 1 or 2 times weekly.

In 2013, our SBUX budget dropped to $10 per Pay Day.

You read that right.  

Twice per month.  

And my wife worked there.

Some see the barista daily.

$4.99 daily, 5 days a week, is $1297.40 per year.

Or in 15 years, $19,461.  

A very nice College/Wedding/First Car fund for your babies.

Or the babies in your loins.

16.  Speak Life Over Your Money, Not Death.

“We never have enough!”

And with that coming out of your mouth, you won’t.

Preaching to myself.

Instead say, “Things are tight now, but God is my provider.  He will give us wisdom.  We are increasing.”

And He will.

And you will.

17. Toss the Erroneous Belief that the Amount of Money you Have is a Reflection of your Faith.

If you really belief that, you are saying that Paul was not in faith when he was in a season of “being abased.”

He was locked in stocks sitting in his own dung.

His tent business was down at the moment.  He wasn’t making any money.

Was that a faith issue?

Phil 4:12 NIV
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

NLT
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

It is clear that Paul knew the secret of living in either circumstance:

Contentment.

Hey!  That’s 17.

I guess the last 3 are freebies.

There are a many more money tips out there.  

Make some adjustments.  

Lose your pride.  

You can do it.

In the Bible, money is mentioned more often than prayer.  Learn more here—>:  Arsenal on Money

And… Is Money Really a True Measure of How Blessed You Are?

 If getting wealth is your main goal, you won’t find true and lasting fulfillment.  

 

Instead, getting wisdom should be our goal.  

 

Wisdom brings with it, riches and honor, and the know-how to manage both!

What other practical ways can you better manage your money?