Being generous is about more than just giving money away. The Bible has a lot to say about giving and generosity, but the account of Abram in Genesis 12-14 provides six examples of generosity that we can put into practice right now.
Abram cared for his orphaned nephew Lot and brought him with the rest of his family to Canaan (Genesis 12:5). God calls us to care for others, so we should be looking for people who need care. If you have trouble finding someone, pray for God to show you someone in your circle who is in need.
Philippians 2:3-4 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
When the herdsmen of Abram and Lot began having conflicts, Abram settled it by letting Lot choose the best land (Genesis 13:5-11). If you’re involved in a dispute with someone, offer to accept less to settle it. And if you’ve ever been mistreated in a settlement, forgive those who took advantage of you.
1 Corinthians 6:7 – “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”
Lot foolishly chose to live in the wicked city of Sodom, and he was later taken prisoner from there. Despite Lot’s foolish behavior, Abram rescued him (Genesis 13:12-13, 14:12-16). This is symbolic of God’s love and faithfulness to us despite our foolishness.
If God has put you in a position to help people in need, do so even if their own foolish behavior has led to their poverty.
Acts 20:35 – “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Abram voluntarily tithed to Melchizedek, a king and priest of God, from all the goods he seized during his rescue of Lot (Genesis 14:18-20). Give to your church and Christian ministries in a way that demonstrates to others that supporting God’s Kingdom is your top priority, even during times of economic instability. This will be a witness that you honor God first.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Abram rewarded the men who had helped him rescue Lot (Genesis 14:24). Seek ways to bless those who help you. If you’re an employer, be generous to your workers and make sure they know your company couldn’t succeed without them.
Leviticus 19:13 – “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.”
After tithing and rewarding his men, Abram gave back everything he had seized while rescuing Lot. He didn’t keep any goods for himself. Abram didn’t want anyone to misunderstand his motives, and he didn’t want anything God had not given to him (Genesis 14:21-23).
Don’t let your top priority be about storing up money and possessions for yourself. Choose to be a giver first and trust the Lord to meet your needs.
Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
God is calling us to freely share His love, grace, and mercy and to be a blessing to our family, friends, co-workers, the poor – and even people who are suffering because of their foolish behavior. Whatever our current situation may be, we must remember Abram’s model of generosity and respond to God’s call.
Did you know that 78% of full-time workers said they live paycheck to paycheck? Overall, 71% of all U.S. workers say they’re in debt, 56% of whom say they’re in over their heads. This, combined with the fact that almost 6/10 Americans don’t have $500 saved means we have a problem.
Debt, a lack of saving, and financial anxiety all stem from the same problem: living above your means. Our society has made overspending the norm. We’ve propagated a “buy now, pay later” mentality and normalized student loans, emergency credit cards, and perpetual car loans. According to Scripture, debt was never supposed to be normal.
The solution is simple: live beneath your means. Putting that into action, however, is less simple. Here are 9 practical ways to ensure that your expenses are always less than your income. By living beneath your means, you’ll be able to experience freedom and live with financial margin, using your resources for God’s glory instead of your own.
Living below our means is a mindset totally contrary to what the world promotes. It doesn’t come naturally because our sinful selves want to keep up with everybody else around us. But, it is possible! It will take a faithful heart and disciplined hands to do this, but when your priorities are in order, it makes it much easier.
Paul said, …I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
Short- and long-term goals are the guardrails to keep you on the right track. If you haven’t assigned a purpose to every dollar coming into your bank account, I can guarantee there will be a laundry list of expenses pulling at you to spend all that you have. There will always be something you can spend money on.
So set goals. In order to keep your priorities in order, always put giving first. All you have belongs to God, so don’t have a greedy heart or resist giving. Jesus said that it is better “to give than to receive”. This should start with what you are able to do now and increase it to 10% or more as you are able. This will protect your heart from materialism and increase your joy in life.
The Proverbs tell us to “go to the ant, consider its ways and become wise”. This means that a creature with a tiny little brain has something so important for us to learn that it will actually make us wiser! The ant is a habitual saver and we should be too. So set a savings goals: first, put $1,000 away in an emergency savings account. Then save 3-6 months’ of living expenses.
Crown’s Money Map is a visual guide to setting goals like these. You can download it for free and also receive the Get Started Guide with practical steps to take as you work towards these goals.
Remember any goal should be “S.M.A.R.T.” – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited. Setting a goal to “be a better money manager” is none of those things. However, a goal to “save $1,000 by September 15” is all of those!
Living beneath your means will require you to say “no”…often. Don’t get distracted by what others are doing and focus on what God has asked you to do.
Even if you make the same amount of money as your friends, your house, car, clothing, and decor may look different because you have prioritized saving and giving overspending. Resist the temptation to “keep up” and the urge to have the biggest, newest, or best.
Putting your savings out of sight will keep it out of mind and out of your pocket!
Set up an automatic transfer from your paycheck to your savings account. You can essentially force yourself to live on less than you make by hiding your extra money in savings!
An important note here is that a savings strategy should be part of your overall financial plan. Living beneath your means should include giving, saving, and all your expenses. Don’t allow giving or saving to become “optional”.
Find ways to see your goals on a regular basis. Print off the Money Map and hang it in your kitchen. If you’re paying off debt, print your amortization table. Circle your debt-free day on the calendar or write it on a sticky note to keep at your desk.
Seeing your goals may help you accelerate your timetable as well. Make it a game to see if you can beat your own record!
It may sound cliche, but skipping your morning Starbucks run and making coffee at home will save you a lot of money. Small things can often be the biggest budget busters because you don’t immediately feel the impact they’re having on your spending.
Don’t go shopping without a list and don’t be tempted by ads on your Instagram or Facebook. You may need to stay off social media and resist the comparison trap altogether!
Proverbs 10:4 says, Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Keep yourself busy serving others, earning extra income, and taking care of the things you do own. It will keep you humble and from wanting to spend!
Thank God daily for all He’s done, and ask Him to teach you to be content with a little or a lot, so you can praise Him for all He has done for you. Living with a grateful heart brings glory to God as we reflect His peace to others even in the midst of our stressful circumstances. He has told us not to worry about our lives but to seek Him first, trusting that He will take care of our needs. We have much to be grateful for!
What tips do you have to live beneath our means? Share what you’ve done to keep expenses low and strategies that have worked for you!
Ever feel like you just hit a wall with your finances? The truth is, no matter how disciplined you are, sometimes we all need to hit reset with our finances.
Spring is a season of order, renewal. The longer days, more sunshine, and collective attitude to clean motivates us to make improvements in many areas of our life. So while you’re cleaning out your closet or hosting a yard sale, also commit to resetting your finances. These 7 things will help you feel energized and reinstate your purpose as a steward of God’s resources.
Even if you have a perfect credit score, an air-tight budget, and a maxed-out 401(k), you’ll never experience true financial freedom as long as you think of yourself as the owner of everything. Your finances are about more than just money, and the best way to reset your finances is to recognize yourself as a steward, a manager, of God’s resources.
Everything we have comes from God. He’s given it to us for a purpose, but when we don’t embrace our purpose as stewards, we get distracted and (over)spend His resources on other things.
Using all cash, even just for a period of time, is a great way to hit reset. It makes it more difficult to part with the money you have and prevents you from overspending. Studies show it helps you to spend less overall and like what you buy more.
If you can’t convert your entire budget to all cash, start with one category. Food (eating out and groceries) is one of the most commonly over-spent categories, so start there.
If you don’t have a budget yet, make one! Crown has an easy-to-use guide that walks you through making a budget step-by-step and includes a number of resources to make it simple. You can download it here.
Surprise or emergency expenses are a fact of life. No one can avoid them. Yet the majority of Americans don’t have $500 saved! Instead, we rely on credit cards to cover the emergency expenses, which spirals us into more stress and debt.
One of the best resets for your finances is to develop an emergency savings account. Start with a goal of $1,000 (here are 13 ideas on how to get there), and then build up to 9-12 months’ of living expenses. We recommend you have $1,000 in an emergency account before you even get out of debt.
If you want to have more financial margin or reach goals faster, you may need to increase your income (here are some ideas on how to do so). There are many ways to do this, all depending on your current circumstances.
You may need to ask for a raise at work, get a part-time job on nights or weekends, start a “side hustle”, or join the ever-growing Gig Economy.
Be cautious to not increase your spending as you increase your income. Set parameters on what your extra income will be used for (paying off debt, investing, retirement, Education Savings Account, giving, etc.) and work unto the Lord.
This is a powerful way to hit reset for your finances! Giving is a privilege, not an obligation, and we are in fact the ones that are blessed by it. Giving and meeting the needs of others is not only good for our hearts, it’s good for our health and our finances.
Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops…”
A tithe is usually 10% of your gross income, which is a great place to start. But if you can’t give 10% right now, just give something. It may be $5 this week, but it will get you into the habit of giving.
Have you ever caught yourself buying something just to “keep up”? It’s a subtle decision, often undetected in our heart when we swipe up on Instagram or overspend to keep the status quo. So we have to guard our hearts and minds by filling up on the truth of God’s Word so there’s no room for the manipulation of the world.
To reset your finances, stop comparing. You don’t get to take any of what you have here on earth with you to heaven. You’ll spend a number of years here on earth, but an eternity in heaven, so spend for the long-term, not the short-term.
Delete social media from your phone for awhile, confess your struggles to a spouse or friend, and guard your heart and mind by serving others.
Goals are major financial motivators! Without goals, we don’t make plans and end up just drifting along, frustrated and without progress. You may have the best of intentions to save, get out of debt, and open a Roth IRA, but good intentions take you nowhere.
Write your plans down, set up accountability, and act upon them.
Most of us live an affluent life that we don’t have to set goals. We can drift along in the group with relative ease and comfort. But like the faithful stewards in the Parable of the Talents, God expects us to multiply the resources we have been given. Don’t be a stagnant money manager.
Your goals will vary depending on your current financial situation. Crown’s Money Map is a visual guide that lays out a path of financial goals for you to follow. You can download it for free and get access to the Get Started Guide here!
Many people have a misunderstanding of what it means to be a steward. It’s not just getting out of debt and sticking to a budget. It’s much more than just writing a tithe check every month.
Living as a steward means surrendering your finances to God and recognizing yourself as a manager, not owner, of all you have. It is a part of our identity, not just our behavior.
I want to share with you a few of the biblical principles of stewardship and four reasons why becoming God’s steward is so very important, all taken from Matthew 25:14-30 – The Parable of the Talents.
If you’re not familiar with the Parable of the Talents, I’d encourage you to go read it. The story is of three people who all work for the same master.
The master leaves on a journey but entrusts different amounts of gold to each of the three men before he departs. He distributes the gold based on each man’s ability. The first man receives five bags of gold, the second, two bags, and the third, one bag.
While the master is gone, the first and second men invest their gold, multiplying the amount they were given to profit their master. The third man, however, goes and buries his gold. When the master returns, the first two men give back double the amount of gold they were given. The third man gives back exactly what he was given.
As you can guess, the master is pleased with the work and faithfulness of the first two men – they’re rewarded. The third man is called wicked, lazy, and worthless. He loses his job, was punished, and cast out of the master’s presence.
In the Parable of the Talents, the money that was entrusted to each person was not theirs. The money was given to them for a certain amount of time and they were held accountable for their management of it.
It’s a perfect example of how God entrusts us with money during our time here on earth. We will be held accountable for how we have managed it, whether we have a lot or a little! We are not the owners of what we have. We are all temporary managers. We will be either faithful or unfaithful in how we manage it.
Stewardship is not ordering your finances in a way that you can spend whatever you want. It’s ordering your life in such a way that God can spend you however He wants.
Think about this: in a few years, everything you have will either be thrown away or belong to someone else. Everything. Your house, your car, all your clothing, all your books, your most prized possessions.
So instead of concerning yourself with the material distractions of this world, focus your time and money on eternity. In the Parable of the Talents, their faithfulness was measured when the master returned and they were either rewarded or punished based on their management. The same will be true of us when we enter heaven.
You’ll only spend a few years here on earth, but an eternity in heaven. All that we have here has been given to us by God and the way we manage it matters not just now, but more so in heaven.
Those who multiplied what was given to them were commended for their good work. There were resources available to help and bless others.
First Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
As you make short-term and long-term plans, think of your family’s future needs. Save for retirement, education, and plan your legacy. Learn to be more and more generous and less and less selfish.
Heaven is not a celestial vacation or fishing over the edge of a cloud. It is serving the Creator, Owner and Master of the Universe. The stewards that are faithful on Earth will be rewarded with being in charge of cities in Heaven! We will continue to work and serve as stewards of the True Owner—God Almighty.
If you want to take a deeper look at what stewardship means, enroll in the online MoneyLife Personal Finance Study. You’ll get access to 10 Life Lessons, which cover what the Bible says about all aspects of your finances. You can start today!
Purchasing a home can be a costly and frightening experience. It’s likely the most expensive purchase most adults will ever make. The process is constantly changing, and potential pitfalls seem to lurk around every corner. So much so, in fact, that fewer people are buying homes.
According to the Pew Research Center, “A decade after the housing bust upended the lives of millions of Americans, more U.S. households are headed by renters than at any point since at least 1965, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau housing data.”
Millennials, in particular, seem to be a generation of renters. Less than 35% of Millennials own homes, mainly because they can’t find affordable options.
Nonetheless, buying a house still feels like a rite of passage into adulthood. So for those, especially Millennials, who are waiting to buy a home until they are financially equipped, it can feel like delaying a major life event. They continue to rent but have to ask the question: when is it time to buy? Is it better to rent or buy? The biblical principles of stewardship can help one navigate these murky, often overwhelming, waters. There are also some practical guidelines to follow when answering the question of renting vs. buying.
The biggest financial argument to buy a house is because it’s an investment, whereas renting seems like you’re just “throwing money away”. It’s true, that many houses are good investments and will make you money when you resell.
However, not all houses are good investments. Furthermore, if you buy above your means, you’ll lose money in the long run. Overspending at the grocery store because you have a coupon is still overspending. More than any other type of investment, buying a house requires a significant amount of money, time, and energy. If you’re not ready or equipped for the investment, then you should continue to rent.
For the sake of argument, having a roof over your head, a place to sleep, eat, and work is not “throwing away money”. Shelter is a necessary part of life!
In order to assess if you’re ready to buy a house, you need to have a budget. You should consider this an essential step before moving any further in the purchasing process.
Remember the severity of the decision you’re making and overcome your wants or desire for a picture-perfect house. Don’t let yourself get caught in the comparison trap. Seek wisdom from Scripture, use the following guidelines, and answer the following questions before making any decisions.
Generally, no more than 40% of your Net Spendable Income should be allocated to housing. Your Net Spendable Income (NSI) is income after tithes and taxes are deducted. This includes house payments or rent, taxes, utilities, repairs and maintenance, and telephone. Remember to calculate insurance, taxes, utilities, and other fees (like HOA) into your monthly estimation, not just the estimated cost of the mortgage.
If you make $80,000 a year, your NSI may be around $60,760, so you could allocate about $24,304 a year to your housing costs. Each month, that comes to $2,025.
In order to buy a house, be certain to pay at least 20% of the purchase price as a down payment on the house. This will allow you to avoid PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) and save you thousands of dollars in interest costs over the life of your loan. It will also help you qualify for a lower interest rate and shave years off your loan. A .25% difference in an interest rate may not seem like much, but over 15-30 years, it’s thousands of dollars!
In addition to the 20% down payment, plan on paying 3-5% of the purchase price in closing costs. This means, in total, you’ll be writing a check for somewhere between 20-25% of the purchase price of the home. For a $200,000 home, you’ll pay at least $40,000-$50,000 upfront. That’s a significant amount of money to pay out of pocket, and no small savings goal.
Once you have saved your down payment and paid closing costs, you should ideally still have 3-6 months’ of living expenses in your savings account. This may seem excessive, but it is more than necessary. It takes a lot of money to furnish and maintain a house. By having a healthy savings account, you’ll be able to take care of the house and any other expenses that arise without having to rely on a credit card. Be patient to save so you can make a wise decision!
The guidelines above should give you a good idea of how long it will take to save up to a buy a house, but the following questions are also crucial to answer when making this decision.
If the answers to these questions are all positive and you can follow the guidelines above, it may be in your best interest to buy! One last step is to calculate the overall costs of renting and compare to the overall costs of buying. If renting is more than buying, certainly make savings goals and pursue the purchase of a home.
Don’t forget to ask for help and advice! Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Seek the wisdom and experience of others who have gone before you. It’s a big decision and should be taken seriously!
And if you decide to buy, be sure to read this blog to understand everything you need to know about mortgages.
Have you ever shopped at a Hobby Lobby store? The arts and craft supply store was birthed from a small picture frame business, started by David and Barbara Green in 1970, and has grown to be the largest privately owned company of its kind. Based out of Oklahoma City, Hobby Lobby has 800 stores in 47 states and employs 32,000 people.
But what you may not have known when you were shopping for your latest DIY project is the incredible story of stewardship that is the ethos of the company. David Green has been quoted across many sources for the way he talks about himself as a steward, not an owner. The family and the store have a rich history of stewardship and extravagant generosity. And it all began with a faithful grandmother.
To date, the Green family has given away hundreds of millions of dollars. I am a personal recipient of their generosity – they once donated $60 million to the university I attended to fund the scholarship program that paid for half my college education. But the family was generous before their small company exploded into a billion-dollar chain.
Mart Green, David and Barbara Green’s son, has recounted the story of his grandmother’s generosity while speaking to Crown’s CEO, Chuck Bentley.
Mart shared that his grandmother was the wife of a Pentecostal preacher who served in very small country churches. She didn’t have much to her name but was faithful to give to the Kingdom. Yet, every time someone gave her a gift, she would politely ask how much it cost so she could tithe 10% on the gift.
Can you imagine? How much would you tithe if you practiced this at Christmas time? How much would you tithe if you just did this with your tax refund? Mart’s grandmother also didn’t have much cash lying around the house, so as you can imagine, this habit was a sacrifice.
But it became just that – a habit. If you’ve never run a mile, the first few times you do it, it’ll probably be difficult. But the more often you use those running muscles, the more adept you become; you can run faster, better, increase your capacity. Giving is the same way.
Generosity is easy when it’s an integral part of our lives. It breaks the mindset that we own it all; it’s the antidote to materialism and comparison.
Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
This sacrificial habit Mart Green’s grandmother practiced solidified the mindset of stewardship – that she’s just a manager, not an owner. Habitual, sacrificial, generous giving does the same in our hearts and minds.
The legacy of generosity Mart’s grandmother left allowed me to start one of my own. Since I was able to graduate from college debt-free, largely in part to the donation her grandson made, I’ve had the margin to give generously without the burden of debt. Her sacrificial giving decades ago laid the foundation for Kingdom work that is being continued by young people she’ll never meet.
Giving on a tight budget can be difficult, especially if you’re working to pay off debt. But God asks (doesn’t command) us to give because He is eager to bless us. It aligns our priorities and focuses our resources on building God’s Kingdom, not our own “Thingdoms”. Giving helps us “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Both giving and saving should be part of your monthly budget. Even if you can only give 2% of your income or $5 here and there, start now. Get into the habit of giving. Not only will it become easier to give, you may even find more to give. Take a page out of a faithful grandmother’s playbook and give even when it’s difficult.
Remember the story of the Widow’s Two Mites in Luke 21:1-4 –
“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
God doesn’t need your money: He already owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). But you can experience the blessing of generosity – and pass it down for generations to come. This quote from David Green is a great summation of the way we should think of our daily lives:
“I don’t care if you’re in business or out of business, God owns it… How do I separate it? Well, it’s God’s in church and it’s mine here. You can’t have a belief system on Sunday and not live it the other six days.”
What does the Bible say about money?
You may be surprised to learn that Scripture references money than it does heaven and hell…combined. It’s no wonder – God knows how much money affects our day-to-day lives, and the power it can have over us.
The crazier the world gets the more frequently I’m reminded that Christians are called to live differently. Our standards for how we spend our time and money, the way to speak to one another, and how we view ourselves should not only be higher than the rest of the world but in some cases, entirely different.
Stewardship is not about judging or criticizing the way others chose to live. It’s about prioritizing and managing our lives in such a way that God can use us according to His will. It’s saying “no” to the things of this world so we can say “yes” to the things of God. When we see ourselves in light of God’s purpose, we understand that money is a powerful tool for present and eternal impact.
The following 5 biblical principles have helped shape the way I view my finances on a daily basis. They’re the lenses through which I see every spending, saving, and investing decision. I hope they help and encourage you as well on your journey to financial freedom.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1
The best way to start thinking like a steward is to recognize that you don’t own anything. At the end of your life, you’ll leave it all behind – your house, your car, your 401(k). Your stuff doesn’t matter in eternity. What does matter is how you use the time, money and possessions that God has entrusted to you.
This means we need to order our lives and finances in preparation to leave it all behind. That’s why a budget is important. It’s an integral part of faithful stewardship. How you manage money determines how you will manage greater things. Your ambition and life pursuit should be to become rich towards God, not in the eyes of men.
Would you hire an investment manager who is likely to lose all of your money? Of course not! And, yet each one of us is like a financial planner that God has entrusted with His money. But many manage God’s money like it belongs to them and use it like it’s really none of His business.
Faithful stewardship honors God and seeks to obey His ways in all financial decisions. That requires renewing our minds with truth and applying His principles to every area of our finances: budgeting, saving, debt, investing, and giving!
So, I encourage you to pray with the Psalmist: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”
God has given you unique and special talents that you can use to earn a living, take care of your family and be generous towards others. Since God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud (I Peter 5:5), it is important to be humble with money as well.
Consider Paul’s words to Timothy:
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
If giving money is a gift from God, then earning it is also a gift. There is nothing wrong with making money or accumulating wealth, as long as you’re using it according to His will.
Money can be a tough challenge. Maybe you can point to a time in your life that you hit rock bottom with your finances; perhaps you’re there now.
But even in our most dire of circumstances, God is near to us. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Don’t expect your financial situation to change overnight. You’ll have to make sacrifices and exercise self-control before things begin to turn around. But, you can have hope when bringing your desires under God’s control.
In Romans 5, Paul taught on the reason for hope. “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
We have to accept God’s sovereign plan for our lives and then be diligent about praying and seeking His will through reading Scripture. I think this is the best definition of contentment:
Contentment is knowing God’s plan for your life, having the conviction to live it, and believing that God’s peace is greater than the world’s problems.
Hebrews 13:5 says, Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When we truly distance ourselves from the love of money, we are able to use it more effectively for Kingdom purposes. This is when we find freedom. These principles not only give us freedom now but prepare us so that one day we may hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21)
If you want to take a deeper dive into learning what it means to live as a faithful steward, join the online MoneyLife Personal Finance Study. You’ll receive access to 10 Life Lessons and can join a community of others on the same journey to financial freedom. And if you’re experiencing difficulty in your finances because of overwhelming credit card debt, get in touch with our partners at Christian Credit Counselors. They can lower your interest rates, negotiate with your creditors, consolidate your payments, and keep you on track with a debt-payoff plan.
Data has proven that nostalgia is a powerful emotion that can cause us to spend and donate more money, in addition to making it easier for us to part with our money. Your sentimental, warm fuzzy feelings of happy memories are the target of many marketers!
Has nostalgia ever cost you money? And if so, how much? Today we are going to explore the three main reasons your sentimental feelings may be wrecking your budget…and how to prevent it.
The first reason you’re more inclined to spend a pretty penny when feeling sentimental or nostalgic is that your purchase quits being about something material and becomes about something emotional.
Perhaps the store smells like your grandma’s house, it’s something your mom or dad would have just loved, or you just need a little “pick me up”. Of course, we love the warm, fuzzy feelings that things, smells, or memories can bring. “Retail therapy” can actually improve our mood…temporarily. But those warm fuzzy feelings or improvement in mood can then lead to buyer’s remorse, an overdrawn account, and debt.
Going hand-in-hand with reason number one, nostalgia and emotional shopping puts more significance on your purchases. The functional storage chest you spent too much on went from being just a chest to a family heirloom. Marketers know that we think this way – it’s only natural.
The tricky part is recognizing our own weakness in making objective purchasing decisions. There’s nothing wrong with having valuable, high-quality, sentimental things. We could probably all point to a “most prized possession” and explain, with great emotion, the reason it has value greater than a price tag to us.
The danger we need to protect ourselves from is crossing the line from sentimental to wasteful. While you may be able to point to an item of extreme importance, you may also be able to point to a basement full of “prized possessions” that no one actually wants. Many families have the “keeper of the stuff” – someone who holds onto everything and makes it difficult to get rid of anything.
It may be difficult to come to terms with, but in a few years, everything you have will belong to someone else. Chuck Bentley, Crown’s CEO, is married to a woman who “walks this walk” of frugality. If she senses they are going to make an unnecessary purchase, she’ll suggest they just go drive by the dump to take a look at where that item will end up in a few years. That will remind you of the truth in Matthew 6:19-21!
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Lastly, nostalgia can get us in a financial bind because it decreases our sensitivity to how much things actually cost. Maybe you’ve caught yourself in the middle of a store aisle or online shopping cart asking yourself the questions, “Can you really put a price on a family heirloom? A lifelong memory is invaluable, right? Think of all the use they’ll get out of this cherished possession!”
Well, the problem is marketers, retailers, and advertisers know that you think like this and they work very hard to manipulate your emotions to still walk to the checkout line (or “click” to the checkout line). Part of what researchers have found is that individuals are much more likely to part with money if they’ve had feelings of nostalgia, regardless of if those feelings are associated with what their money is being spent on.
So how do we keep ourselves from overspending due to nostalgia?
Have you ever been caught in a nostalgic spending trap? How do you prevent budget busters? Are you an emotional shopper? Share with us on Facebook!
The Best Online Course Platforms to Sharpen Your Skills & Boost Your Career
(Plus 11 of our Favorite FREE Open Online Courses!)
The most in-demand employees have an abundance of either experience or knowledge. And while you can’t
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All you have to do is seek it out.
In this guide, we’ll introduce the six best online learning platforms. They’re stocked with free courses you
can complete from the comfort of your home.
The average American pays somewhere around $100 a month for cable. Per year, that’s $1,200 (which is more than most of us have saved…total). It’s no secret we dish out a lot of money to be entertained. However, more people want to know how to save money on cable because it’s so expensive.
In 2017, 22 million Americans ditched cable. Streaming services have made alternatives easily accessible and significantly less expensive. In fact, so many people are making the mass exodus from cable, #cutthecord (in reference to a cable cord) is now a trend. Americans have also said that of all their “guilty spending pleasures”, streaming services is the one they’re least likely to give up.
Are you looking for ways to save money on cable? The money you save canceling cable can instead be spent:
Here are 7 alternatives to cable that will help you save money:
Perhaps the most popular alternative, Netflix is a great option if you still want a breadth of TV and movie options for significantly less money. They have monthly options of $7.99, $10.99 or $13.99 (the biggest differences are HD and number of screens that can access an account at a time).
If you were to trade in your cable package for a Premium Netflix subscription of $13.99/month, you’ll save $1,032/year. Add that to your savings account, attack debt, invest for the future or use it to bless someone else.
Similar to Netflix, Hulu has an extensive library of TV shows and movies. Hulu has many current cable TV shows that are available to watch the day after they air on cable TV. Their pricing plans are $7.99 or $11.99 a month, differentiated by limited commercials or no commercials.
A year of Hulu without commercials will cost $1,056 less than a year of cable.
Somewhat newer to the cable-alternative family, Sling actually lets you watch many of the cable channels live by streaming through your wifi* (no rewind, fast-forward, or recording capabilities). Sling’s pricing plans are little more customizable. They have monthly packages for $20, $25, or $40. Each package gets you access to a preset list of channels. You can add other channels, like Kids, Comedy, and Sports for an additional $5/month each.
*One thing to keep in mind with Sling (and any other streaming services) is that since it’s accessed via the internet, you may have to upgrade your current wifi in order to support it and any other devices simultaneous. Sling requires a home internet connection of at least 5 MBps but 25 MBps is recommended.
Not taking your internet costs into consideration, and selecting the $40/month pricing without any extras, Sling will cost you $480/year. Which, compared to cable, saves you $720/year.
For most people, YouTube Red won’t be able to completely replace cable. But it does provide many streaming options, including music, music videos, TV shows, and movies, many of which are originals from YouTube stars.
It costs $9.99/month, which, over the course of a year, will cost you $120. Compared to the average cable package, that’s a savings of $1,080.
If you miss the retro “bunny ears” and only care about local news and a few other channels, a TV antenna may be right for you! According to Consumer Reports, they’re making a comeback, and there are more aesthetically-pleasing options.
There isn’t a monthly cost associated with this option. The average TV antenna runs about $60, with the average cost for installation around $275. In total, you’re looking at $335 outright, which will save you $865 the year you install it…and $1,200 every year after.
An up-and-coming player in the streaming services game, PlayStation Vue offers a bundle of TV channels (including sports and news) and movies and doesn’t require a PlayStation console. Unlike some of its competitors, PlayStation Vue also offers a Cloud-based DVR feature.
Pricing packages range from $39.99 – $79.99 a month. If you pick the most expensive package, you won’t have as great of a cost-savings as with some of the other options, saving just $240 a year.
This is a non-TV alternative to cable. Your taxes pay for a library card, yet few people make good use of it. Most local libraries have many different entertainment options, so instead of plopping down on the couch, go pick out some books, rent a movie for family night, pick up a puzzle, invest some time in one another, and steward your money, time, and attention wisely.
God deeply cares about how we spend both our time and money, so canceling cable may be a step towards stewardship. In order to manage your finances wisely, a budget is a critical first step. It will help you see how much you’re spending now and compare to how much you save later on. If you’re looking for an easy way to get started, download Crown’s Easy Guide to a Budget You Love.
Do you have tips on how to save money on cable? Share your favorite alternatives or what you’ve done to save money!
