In this state of our economy, it is really mandatory to acquire knowledge about financial stewardship. Stewards are managers of possessions. They know how to handle their God-given resources. I recently attended "Financial Peace" classes at Resurrection Kingdom Ministries (RKM). There I learned "how to count the cost." The lesson began with assigning your money responsibility not just carelessly wasting it. For example, monthly budgets are used to categorize, so that you can spend your wages wisely. The first step of budgeting is the calculation of your monthly paycheck. This must be written down. There are named categories. They are tithing and offering, emergency funding and basic necessities. Everyone requires shelter, food, clothing, transportation and entertainment to lead a balanced life. The goal of budgeting is to use all the money and reach zero balance. We were taught effective planning yields a psychological feeling of power. | When money is delegated to a certain place, the money loses its controlling pull. Often we spend money so thoughtlessly, we disregard how our actions bring needless disastrous consequences. The solution to that is using named envelopes and when money is depleted you can see how quickly you spend it. Next, an emergency fund should be subtracted from your monthly budget until the ideal goal of $1,000 is reached. What a sense of peace we experience having rescuing funds at our disposal. It is after we attain the emergency goal plan, we can move in the direction of debt snowballing. At this point, much discipline is needed to exercise the step needed to cancel debt. We use any left over money from budget toward littlest | debt and pay maximum cash for that one. According to the author Dave Ramsey, "Complete Guide to Money" this action must be taken with "gazelle intensity." As each move is accompl-ished then you move on to next adventure using the amount of money expended on your first debt to annihil-ate your next one. Another step in budgeting is to reserve a 3-6 month add-itional fund after each step is reached. When I first started on this venture, I struggled with accurately assigning money to a designated spot. As I persisted within a three month period, I realized "Financial Peace." It seemed like I had received a raise. All of this work is not for the faint-hearted or those who want money to come easily to them. All I know is I have been blessed by the labor and am thus able to be a blessing to others. |
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