Finance Q&A: How Can I Control My Spending?

Dear Deborah,

I’m 27 and single. I struggle every month to pay my bills. I’m finding that my impulse buying is getting out of hand. I owe $6,000 on my credit cards, and I’m only making minimum monthly payments. I want to pay off my cards and start saving. What can I do to help control my spending? -- Eric

Finance Q&A: How Can I Control My Spending?
Deborah Nayrocker
Crosswalk.com Contributor

You’re off to a great start by realizing you need to make changes in your spending. The first thing to do is stop charging on your credit cards. If you pay more than the minimum amount and yet continue to make purchases on credit, you’re not moving forward at all.

Would you like to pay off your debts within a short time and get more joy into your life? Do you want to be a wiser shopper, spending only what is necessary?

Just ask yourself three simple questions before making your purchases. And you’ll be surprised at how much easier it will be to control your spending.

Three questions to ask before spending your hard-earned money:

Is what I want to buy a need, a want, or a luxury?

Decide into which category your purchase fits. Be honest with yourself. It is easy to talk ourselves into buying something by saying that it is a need, but is it really? Why not pass up a frivolous purchase, and save the money instead?

Tip: When we develop an awareness of our purchasing choices, we spend our money more wisely.

Am I following through with my goals by buying this item?

Once we have set clear goals of what we want for our life now and in the future, it becomes easier every day to make buying decisions. We can be focused and deliberate about paying off our credit cards, saving for an emergency fund, and saving for the things we value even more.

Tip: We can learn to align our purchases with our personal goals. It will be worth it.

How many hours of my life is this purchase worth?

Let’s say you’re thinking about buying a new car for $20,000. You make ten dollars an hour. Is the car really worth 2,000 hours of your life? And remember that your actual working hours will be more than 2,000 hours if you buy that car on credit. You could find yourself paying for your new car and thousands of dollars of interest besides.

Tip: We can’t get the time back that we spent earning our money. Our time is finite.

Eric, you’ve made a smart decision to put a halt to impulse buying. Carefully record your purchases every month, observing where you tend to spend frivolously. Pay off credit card bills as quickly as you can. Then watch your dollars grow in your savings accounts!
________________________________________________
Deborah Nayrocker is the author of The Art of Debt-Free Living – Living Large on Less than You Earn and Living a Balanced Financial Life. Her Web site is http://www.artofdebt-freeliving.com/.
________________________________________________
Take care until…......and God Bless ya
http://jamesedgecombe2.blogspot.com/

Are you ready to face eternity? If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your life and desire to make that commitment now please repeat the following prayer:

Lord Jesus be merciful to me a sinner. I realize that I have sinned against you and come short of your glory. I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and I believe in my heart that God has raised him from the dead. I pray for your forgiveness and ask that you save me now and accept me into your kingdom. Give me eternal life today.
In Jesus Name, Amen. Read more!

Issue #48 - Two Couples, Two Ways of Handling Money

I thought you might enjoy this page I found at Crosswalk.com. Check it out:
Cheryl Gochnauer
Author
Danny and Tricia's combined income places them firmly in the upper middle class, so most of us would assume their financial problems are over. Not so. Though they bring in a substantial amount each week, Danny and Tricia have never learned to effectively handle their resources.

Like many couples, Danny and Tricia don't keep close track of where their money is going. They have separate accounts, since each respects the other's right to "their own money." Tricia likes not having to answer to Danny for every penny she spends. Unfortunately, she doesn't answer to herself for every penny she spends, either. Dollars flow into their three checking accounts - hers, his and theirs -- then flow right out again without hanging around long enough to draw interest.

With all the activity in their accounts, Danny and Tricia figure they are doing okay. Bills are usually paid on time, and when the checking account balances disappear, they always have their good credit to draw on. When they receive their charge card statements each month, a fleeting discomfort sets in while reading the multiplying totals. But they've never had a problem making the minimum payments. After all, two more checks are coming in next week.

At least, they assume so.

Tim and Rhonda make half of what Danny and Tricia bring home, and yet are in better financial shape. That's because they regularly do the math to see exactly where they stand, money-wise, using a loose budget that guides their spending decisions without hog-tying them emotionally.

Early in their marriage, Rhonda and Tim pledged to openly discuss all money issues. Together, they planned and identified mutual goals. They use credit sparingly, and postpone big purchases until they can pay cash or at least make significant down payments. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy the occasional financial fling. It's just that those sprees are planned for, not regretted in a resulting 21 percent APR after-glow.

Because they know where the funds are flowing, this couple knew exactly where they could cut when Rhonda decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Budget modifications were minor, since they had never delved into serious debt. Freedom from monetary strangleholds enabled them to make family, not finance, focused choices.

Tim and Rhonda understand the fundamental difference between "wants" and "needs". You can bet this young couple can visualize themselves in the same luxury car their friends drive, and would savor the same 5-star meals and costly vacations that launch Danny and Tricia's account balances into the stratosphere.

Sure, Tim would look great in that car. But the paid-off one he already drives is dependable and economical. Yes, Rhonda needs a new outfit. But is she really getting twice as much quality by spending $100 on that dress, instead of $50? And though a special meal is nice every once in a while, how often should they spend $40 for dinners they could fix at home for $7?

Free-spiritedly riding the financial wave from week to week is both risky and restrictive. The most glaring potential peril is losing everything due to an unforeseen layoff or illness. But it isn't a prospective catastrophe that poses the most danger to a couple's emotional bottom line. Instead, it's the strain accompanying financial uncertainty and consistently living beyond their means.

To positively approach marital money management:

* Review finances together.
* Agree on spending priorities.
* Identify mutual goals.
* Make a budget.
* Regularly review the budget, tweaking it to reflect your current situation.
* Stay in tune financially with your partner.

It'll nurture the kind of money-handling relationship you each want and need.

Cheryl is the COO of the Gochnauer family, the captain of a cottage-writing industry and the author of So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom (IVP). Copyright 2000 Cheryl Gochnauer
http://www.crosswalk.com/finances/635888/

Take care until…......and God Bless ya
http://jamesedgecombe2.blogspot.com/

Are you ready to face eternity? If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your life and desire to make that commitment now please repeat the following prayer:

Lord Jesus be merciful to me a sinner. I realize that I have sinned against you and come short of your glory. I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and I believe in my heart that God has raised him from the dead. I pray for your forgiveness and ask that you save me now and accept me into your kingdom. Give me eternal life today.
In Jesus Name, Amen. Read more!

Issue # 15 - Getting more ‘F’ in your life.

From A - Z… the series continues, letter 'F'

The way you think now will determine how you make it in the future. You must aggressively think of ways to change your position in this next subject matter. Many times you get so complacent and wonder why we are not getting help from people or further ahead.

You must take control of your use of time to improve your position in this. The letter 'F' comes to help to bring in the 'finances'. I’m sure you can use some more finances. There’s always room for money in your life.

Finances:
1.Monetary resources; funds,
2.The management of money, banking, investments, and credit.

As long as you are alive you will need finances. With the rising cost of oil & fuel what are you doing to cope with this dilemma? Yes the price of gas doesn’t seem like it’s slowing down anytime soon. The numbers keep going up and I know you are praying for a miracle each time you get to the pump.

"Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears".
Robert W. Sarnoff

If your financial position is great at this time, you should still think about days ahead. I’m sure you have heard stories about persons on top of the world today and tomorrow the world is on top of them.

Increase by your talent

Even if you own the business you must still look for ways to generate more income. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind hearing the sound of your cash register ring more often. More customers, more money, more choices, more of what you want. Sound like a better life to me.

What talent or gift are you not using or maximizing. There is at least one thing you can do well. God gave it to you to use it. For example, lets say you discover you have artistic ability. Why don’t you use it in designing items or images for T- shirts to sell etc. - or maybe you love typing. How many persons out there that need things typed up, whether it’s a personal project, resume, business etc. and you charge a fee. You need to stop thinking that nobody needs your talent. Advertise, put it in the local paper do something. "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,.." Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)


Just in case you’re thinking using your talent doesn’t pay off. Bill Gates (talent-computer technology) worth $48 billion, Oprah (communication) worth $1.5 billion, Martha Stewart (publisher / business personality ) worth $575 million, Tiger Woods (athlete) worth $500 million , Mel Gibson (actor) worth $500 million. Where these people are now they did not start there. Increase comes through your use of talent and investments.

Savings , Savings, Savings

"6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest"- Proverbs 6:6-8 (KJV)

Maybe you’re tired of hearing this word but you can’t get away from this. You cannot ignore this factor of the economic formula if you expect to be financially secure. Many times we think saving $10 here and there is unimportant because the number seems so small.

If you fall $10 short at the grocery store you have to put something back right? Now think about that $10 you didn’t think saving was so important. You have to start somewhere. When you discipline yourself to start small. The number will increase.

Budget with God

Planning for future needs is a wise course of action. You must see where your money is going by literally writing it down. Everywhere you spend it record it. This exercise may surprise you to see what you are wasting on unnecessary stuff. This will give you a clear insight on where you are. Then you can see what you need to do to make the adjustments to make your position better.

But for God’s sake don’t try to do it alone. The best person to show you how to handle the green stuff is God. Asking for wisdom is important in every area of your life, including finance. Never forget, all that you have comes from God. It’s only fitting that part of it you should give back to God. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" . Malachi 3:10 (KJV)

Resource & materials

There is always someone that is at the place you want to be. The best thing to do is to find out how they got there. If people are using their talent to help better your life you should listen. What would life be like if you had the knowledge to better understand the language of finance?

Here’s some material & info to help you:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=56804&sp=51177

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2007/12/14/see-a-penny-pick-it-up.aspx?GT1=10719


Coming next week: The series continues…letter 'G'


Take care until…......and God Bless ya
http://jamesedgecombe2.blogspot.com/

Are you ready to face eternity? If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your life and desire to make that commitment now please repeat the following prayer:

Lord Jesus be merciful to me a sinner. I realize that I have sinned against you and come short of your glory. I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and I believe in my heart that God has raised him from the dead. I pray for your forgiveness and ask that you save me now and accept me into your kingdom. Give me eternal life today.
In Jesus Name, Amen.

Read more!