10 Disciplines for Managing Your Money

Since I am actually at home(not by choice maybe God is trying to tell me something??)I decided to dust off a book I have been trying to read all summer: Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George. The chapter the I am actually on is kind of interesting with the state the economy is in right now: 10 Disciplines for Managing Your Money.

1. You shall not be in debt. "the borrower is servant to the lender"(Proverbs 22:7) and "owe no one anything" (Romans 13:8). I thought she gave some interesting ideas about ways to get out of debt.
*Go on a fast. What she means by this is to cease all unnecessary spending. That means NO eating out(that's a hard one for me). Nothing new for the house.
*Pray instead of spending. Make a list financial concerns and pray for them daily.
*Maximize short-term strategies. Do you really need to go grocery shopping or could you find a weeks worth of meals in your pantry or freezer?? Have a garage sale.

2. You shall not spend more than you make. I thought the following list was very interesting because I see this happen everyday. Jeremy and I have tried hard NOT to do these:
*Use a substantial amount(20% or more) of take-home to pay off credit card debts.(better idea don't have credit cards, then you won't have the temptation :)
*Add new debts before paying off old ones
*Have consistent debts with banks or lending companies
*Frequently late on payments
*Are continuing to stretch out your debts for longer periods of time
If you are in this kind of situation, you are spending more money than you are bringing in!!

3. You shall not buy on credit. Two guidelines that her and her husband follow for buying things on credit. Having a mortgage is okay when purchasing a home, since a home is considered an investment. Second, using a credit card is okay ONLY if you pay it off the purchased at the end of each month.

4. You shall not covet what others have.
5. You shall not love money. "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"(1 Timothy 6:10)
6. You shall give regularly to your church.
7. You shall give generously.
8. You shall know your financial condition at all times.
9. You shall have a reserve.
10. You shall practice self-control.

I would say you could borrow the book but seeing that it is already the fall and almost winter, I probably won't be finished for a LONG time!!