Handling Your Bills: What's Your Heart Motive?

Some days I make a list of things I need to change to fix my failures in handling our money.
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Other days I repent of loving myself, more than God.
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Every day only God can change my heart and he delights in doing so when I humble myself.

This is the last post for this series about finances. If you have stuck with me this far, thank you! My respect for people who write books has gone up significantly since starting this blog.

Before concluding with some heart considerations, I want to share a brief story:

Once there was a young mom whose mother picked up some groceries for her. When an item was incorrect, and as a result more expensive, that young mom got angry. Instead of being grateful for the help, she allowed anger to grow in her heart. As a result, she ended up speaking harshly with her own daughter for making a silly mistake.

If you haven't guessed it already, I'm the young mom in the story. I'm sharing it because it is often with some trepidation that I write these posts. I'm quick to love money and put my hope in it, instead of loving others. While my desire is to live in a way that honors God, I consistently don't, which is why I need a Savior.

I also know that most people reading this blog don't get to see my daily life. The last thing I want is for any of my readers to think I have it all together. I don't. But God does, which is why I try to regularly remind myself of his truths when I write these posts.

Who or What Should I Live For?

One of my favorite Scriptures is 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

Depending on the day, I am tempted to either wallow in guilt over my sin or dismiss it as not being a big deal. I love how this passage addresses each of these sinful tendencies with the same solution: focus on loving Christ. As I focus my gaze on Christ's faithfulness, I lift my eyes from myself to the one who will never fail. It's his perfect love that is to fuel and inform my obedience.

God is uniquely doing a good work in the lives of each of his children so that he will be made much of. The examples and suggestions I've shared throughout this series, are just that - examples and suggestions. While your life is different than mine, God's truth still applies to everyone.

The following questions are ones I've asked to check my heart attitude towards money. My prayer is that they encourage you to evaluate your own heart and life in light of Scripture. And then, when you realize how short we all fall of what God desires, I pray that you will flee to Christ.

Handling Your Bills: Simple Ways to Spend Less

Some days I'm filled with guilt over the way I fail to love God by being stingy with our finances.
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Other days I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that God loves me knowing my every sin.
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Every day God sees me as righteous because Christ was perfectly generous and selfless.

Last week I shared some strategies of how to save money when grocery shopping. Today, I'm going to share a few more ideas that go beyond the grocery budget. As you will see noted below, I don't do everything listed, so I don't expect you to either. I'm sharing this list because either I, or others I know, have found these ideas helpful when budgeting. 

A quick note: it's completely possible to do (or not do) any of these suggestions in a manner that dishonors God. The most important thing is to have your spending be informed by Scripture. Please take the time to study God's Word on your own. Let your own practices flow out of the convictions you develop from meditating on God's Word, not from something you read on a blog.

And now, onto some final ideas of how to save money.

A Few Simple Ways to Spend Less

1. If you're feeling overwhelmed with budgeting. Start small!

Create a grocery and/or clothing budget for you to keep track of first. As you practice being disciplined, it does get easier. Once you feel comfortable budgeting for one area of life, simply bring another area into the budgeting practice.

Handling Your Bills: The Grocery Budget - Part 2

Some days I self-righteously judge others' "wasteful" spending habits. 

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Other days I remember that I have been forgiven much and am to exalt Christ, not myself.
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Every day I have peace because of Christ's righteousness, not my perceived self-righteousness.

Welcome back! Last post I discussed how I budget for groceries. I've decided to narrow in on groceries because I believe it is one of the easiest ways to cut back on spending. Today, I am going to share the things I do to help save money when shopping for groceries. If you aren't sure how Scripture can inform your grocery budget, please read the following posts:

• The Grocery Budget - Part 1
• What Scripture Has to Say About Money

As I compiled this list I was surprised at how many things I do. For me they are easy, BUT I have added these over the past nine years. When we first got married it was a successful grocery shopping trip if I found the vinegar aisle on my first attempt :) I was also working full time and did not have time to do some of the things listed below. Start small and implement one strategy for a couple months (or longer) until you feel like you have the hang of it. Did I mention start small?

Okay, onto the list. I tried to list these in order of how I added them for myself. I am easily overwhelmed so I started with the ideas that seemed simplest.