Praying Amiss

James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.

I think that we often times ask the Lord for temporal things and not the important eternal things.  Our prayers may focus on specific material things so that we consume them upon our lusts.  

Have you ever heard yourself say Lord, I pray for …………a new house with a white picket fence (like my friend so and so)?  You really want that house not because of shelter, but because you want to sustain an image among your peers. Or have you ever asked specifically for a new car because your neighbor recently bought one? I remember praying for a place to live before my husband and I married.  But my mental image was one of a nice-sized brick home like lots of homes others have.   

Sometimes we pray amiss so that we can “uphold” a certain image.  Well, let me tell you about our first home.  Before we married, my husband considered buying a little blue, single-wide mobile home.  As I walked through the rooms, I made all kinds of mental notes of why we shouldn’t buy the little home.  You can only guess why.  My friends had larger homes.  Only a little while into the tour, the Lord convicted me.  This was what he had in store for me and I didn’t want to accept it.

Did you know that this little mobile home has taught me so much?  I am glad the Lord gave the mobile home to us.  I learned to manage money by what I could afford.  Also I learned that I had a heart issue of covetousness.  I coveted what others had. The Lord showed that to me and really worked on this area in my life.

Also the Lord showed us what a beautiful property we had.  Time and time again I have heard others who have larger homes say what a beautiful piece of property we have.  They only wished they had a front and back yard.

Are you seeking the Lord and what he desires for you to have?  Or are you praying amiss for things that are temporal to satisfy your own desire? Consider what you are praying for and why.  The Bible says we have not because we pray amiss.  Seek the Lord and what he desires for your life.

Charlotte

I can’t afford to…

A friend recently shared that they were having financially hard times.  I completely understood because I’ve heard similar stories from people this year.  I REALLY have to watch my words when someone shares with me regarding finances.  I try not to give my opinion unless the person asks me directly what I think.  Many times people just want you to listen and not give feedback when it comes to financial matters.  It’s very hard though when a person shares what financial hardships they are going through yet they admit they are still living the lifestyle they can’t afford.  They admit they can’t tithe nor pay their bills on time; yet they continue to take summer vacations, buy things on credit or refuse to cut back on extras.

If you are on your way into a hole financially, STOP and really put a hold on things you are buying or spending money on.  I’ve heard many comments from people that it’s embarrassing to give up the standard of lifestyle they are living, it hurts their husband’s pride or ego to cut out things or their children won’t understand.  While all of this may be true, it’s much easier to stop and backtrack then to hit bottom and crawl back.

Your neighbor, sibling, co-worker, church member, best friend may be living the high life, borrowing money from parents, on the verge of losing their house and fighting every week over money.  Are you accountable to that person to stay in the same lifestyle?  or are you accountable to God?

I admire each of you who are seeking better ways to manage you money.  Don’t get discouraged!  DANA

When do I pay bills?

Several people have told me they have a hard time with budgeting on a monthly basis.  Although my husband and I have an estimated budget for the year and month, we actually follow a paycheck schedule budget.

I take all of our monthly expenses and income, and divide it up between paychecks.  Currently we get paid on the 1st and 15th of each month.  Here’s an example:

1st Paycheck                     15th Paycheck
Van Payment                     Mortgage
Water Bill                           Electric Bill
Credit Card                        Telephone/Internet Service
Church Giving                    Life Insurance
Gas                                    Gas
Grocery                              Grocery
Dining Out                         Dining Out
Misc                                   Misc
Savings                             

*Misc (haircuts, doctor co-pay, recreation/entertainment, unexpected expenses, etc.)

Although our mortgage is not due until the 5th of each month, I pay it out of the previous month’s check.  Due on May 5th, Pay on April 15.  The reason is because of all the other bill due dates, we did not have enough money to pay the mortgage out of the paycheck on the 1st of each month.  For us it was easier than having to allocate a portion from the 1st check and the 15th check to pay our mortgage.  This is just one example.  If you get paid every Friday, try dividing your bills up by a weekly paycheck.  A good time to change your bill payments around is when you receive your tax refund, bonus check or other extra money.  You may not have the flexibility to move your bills around to a different schedule; therefore use extra money to make up the difference to start the new schedule. 

Here’s a Microsoft Bi-Weekly Template.   I also have Excel spreadsheets formatted for a bi-weekly paycheck, weekly paycheck and other schedules.  Please comment/email me if you would like one emailed to you and what schedule.  Thanks!  DANA

Past versus Present Household Expenses

My post this time is actually to reflect on past and present household expenses.  I thought that it would be a good exercise. You know to kind of make us analyze our own expenses and see if we could do without to avoid extra household bills.

Thirty years ago, household expenses were much different than today.  Here’s the kind of monthly expenses that my father had in the late 70s.

• an electric bill
• a landline phone bill with basic service
• groceries
• gas for the one car we had
• car/house insurance
• house payment
• clothing
• no garbage pickup.  He takes his garbage to a county dump site that doesn’t charge a fee.
• no water bill because he has well water.

So there’s about seven monthly bills.  Okay now let’s look at the kinds of bills many couples are facing today.

• a cell phone bill for more than one cell phone
• a landline bill with internet service and other extra services
• a student loan payment
• trash pickup
• cable
• water
• car insurance for more than one vehicle
• house insurance
• electric
• house payment
• credit card bill
• groceries
• gas for cars
• clothing

Have you noticed something here? The number of bills have doubled compared to the past.   Yet I noticed that my dad still has the same number of bills that he had thirty years ago with the exception of cable. AND he no longer has a house payment. AND he doesn’t have a credit card!!

It was interesting to me today to reflect on past and present household expenses. I noticed how expenses have seemed to double. And it made me think.  Could some of these household expenses be avoided? I hope you enjoyed this post.  Until next time………

Charlotte