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"For which of you intending
to build a
tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he has
sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he has 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" (Luke
14:28-30).
Although, Jesus in the above
statement is talking
of the decision to follow Him, He is actually talking of the principle
of
planning and budgeting.
The questions now are: What
is a budget? and how
can we use the principle of budgeting to obtain Financial Freedom in
our
families?
Family
Budget Defined
A family budget is a written
financial plan in
which a husband and his wife take their existing family’s financial
situation
and circumstances into account and chart a way into the future.
In order to take control of
your personal
finances, you need to have a family budget. This family budget will
eliminate
waste from your disposable income. Disposable income is the money you
have
which you are free to spend.
Also, family budget will make
your current income
to go further than it is now going. Your goal is to reorganise the
spending
habit of your family so that you can have a surplus with which your
family
can start investment programme.
I will analyse the word,
"BUDGET"
through its acronym.
B - Borrowing is avoided
(Proverbs 22:7)
U - Unnecessary spending is
avoided.
D - Discipline is established
(Proverbs 23:23)
G - Grace of God is received
as gifts (1
Corinthians 12:4-5)
E - Endurance is needed for
successful family
budget (Joshua 1:2-3)
T - Treasures are built on
earth and in heaven.
Steps
in Developing Family Budget
1. Divide your spending into
separate components
or departments. For example you can have:
- The
kitchen department where all groceries
and food items are considered.
- The children department where
the needs of children
like clothes, shoes, toys, balls etc are stated
- The
mother’s department where the personal
needs of the wife like handbag, clothes, shoes, shop requirements
etc
can be stated.
- Transportation department
which takes into
consideration expenses on transport. For the family that has
cars, the
fuel and the car maintenance expenses will come here. For the
family
without a car, the estimate of transport fares to work, market,
church,
and visiting will be considered here.
- Father’s department which
takes the personal
needs of the father into consideration including lunch at work,
cloth,
shoes, club dues.
- Tithes, offering and giving
both to God and
people.
- Rent bills, electricity
bills, water rates,
telephone bill etc
2. All these items of
expenditure will be written
down and totals obtained. Each member of the family would be asked to
submit
his budget. That is, what he wants to buy.
Obviously the list submitted
will be higher than
the money available. But the fact that a member of the family is able
to submit
his or her requirement for consideration is a comfort to him.
Please note that absolute
honesty, sincerity and
transparency is required for the successful implementation of this
principle.
3. The family must determine
their family
financial goals. What do they want to achieve as a family in six
months’
time, a year’s time or in five year’s time? When is the family
thinking of
having a home of its own? When will the family buy a family car?
It is highly recommended that
both the father,
mother and the grown-up children be in agreement in prayers for God’s
guidance, revelation and illumination. Once the family financial goals
have
been decided, they must be documented and implemented.
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