TGM Special Edition Print Version

Where There Is No Budget,
The Finances Perish…
Written by Jonathan Dalton
It would be essential for any incoming college
freshman to take the time to plan out the classes that
they will need to graduate. Whether meeting with
an advisor, browsing curriculum requirements or
pamphlets, these are prudent steps that will ensure
the student will achieve their goals and receive their
degree. Finances are the same way. Planning is a
necessity for anyone who wants to have his or her
money in order.
The financial authority King Solomon wrote, “Where
there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov 29:18
KJV). This scripture also correlates how "where there
is no budget or plan with an individual’s money, their
finances will perish too." The Christian author John
Maxwell put it this way: “A budget is people telling
their money what to do instead of wondering where
it went.” The concept is critical; but fortunately, it is
also quite simple.
Everybody should have a written monthly budget. It
could be as simple as a note card or sheet of paper
with one column reflecting income and a second
reflecting expenses. For the smartphone savvy, it
could be done on a free app such as the EveryDollar
Easy Budgeting App. A powerful complement to
the budget is the envelope system. Simply assign an
envelope with a predetermined amount of cash for
all the major budget items in a month (e.g. food, gas,
utilities). That way, once the cash is used up, there
is no way to go over the budget. This process can
take a little patience. It usually takes a good three
months before the right numbers and amounts are
established for expenditures.
Jesus said, “For which of you, intending to build a
tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost,
whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply,
after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able
to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able
to finish” (Luk 28-30). There are many things in life
that require vision, goals, and planning. Finance, is
one of them. As Bishop Owens has said, the people
of GOD need to rule over their money, and not let
money rule over them.
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