Spending Plan?

"The Need for a Spending Plan

If you were going to build a house, you would need a house plan. This plan would tell you the size of the house, and how big each room would be. It would tell you where the windows would go and how high to make the ceilings. You would see where to put in the plumbing for the bathrooms and kitchen. Obviously, you wouldn't be able to know all of these things without the house plan.

Obviously, plans are necessary in order to reach a goal. When a person decides to run for a public office, he or she makes out a plan that includes where to get the necessary financing and how much will be needed for advertising, marketing, and other office expenses. Teachers must have a plan for what they will teach each day, each week, and each month. They are required to plan out when to give tests and to measure their students' progress throughout the year.

In the Bible, whenever God was instructing His people to do something, He always gave them a detailed plan, i.e., building the tabernacle, the ark, or the temple. God gave detailed laws that the Israelites were to follow while living in the Promised Land. The Bible is full of examples of the importance of planning.

Proverbs 21:5 tells us that, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” Luke 14:28-30 says, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'”

If plans are so important, why do so many of us think we can manage our finances without one? In a recent survey of Crown.org visitors, we asked how many used a plan for managing their finances. Less than half of the respondents reported using a spending plan.Many people hear the word “budget” and respond negatively. They think of a budget as being restrictive, too limiting, and too legalistic. Yet, in truth, a budget can be very freeing; it can bring peace and break the bonds of being a slave to our money.

A budget is simply a plan – a plan for how to spend the money we have. As Christians, we recognize that everything we have is a gift from God. We are not the owners; we are simply the managers of what He has entrusted to us. Knowing this fact should give us a better perspective on how we handle money. A budget is a great way to make sure we are handling money in the best way.

Without 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. The “not knowing” can create feelings of anxiety and fear. Financial problems can cause stress in marriages and other relationships.

When you create a spending plan, you can have the peace of mind in knowing that your bills can be paid, you have funds available for emergencies, and you know what you can spend for the things you need and want.

The Lord blesses us with resources (or money) so that we can use it wisely to fulfill His purposes in our lives and further His kingdom. Without a plan for how to manage our finances, we may never reach our goals and experience true financial freedom.

To learn more about starting a Spending Plan, click here. "

From Crown Financial Ministries.... They just have amazing resources for helping you to get not only your money in order, but how you think about money, in order too. Good stuff!