budgeting

God’s attitude

'Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money".' Luke 16:10-13.

Big picture
Photo: Tearfund.

Budgeting is about making choices about where, how and on what you’ll spend the money God gives to you so that you can buy into His plans and provision for you, others and His world. It’s worship because it’s about your heart attitude towards serving God rather than money.

Passionate spirituality

Our attitude to money has a direct impact on our relationshp with God. Jesus was right when He said that we can't serve both God and money. The bottom line is that whichever one we love the most will influence how much we love the other.

When we worship money more than God, we choose to find our value and security in possessions and wealth, rather than in relationship with Him. If we look for our value in what we have rather than who we are as God's creation, we'll never be happy and constantly having to get the next best thing on the high street so that we can feel good about ourselves.

Once you are handling your money rather than allowing it to handle you, you should feel free from worrying about your financial commitments. Planning is the key to this, helping you to be a good steward of what God has put in your care. The plain truth is that if you don't control your spending you will never earn enough money. This might all sound kind of stark, but honesty is the key to integrity.

What does it mean for me as a disciple?

Photo: Richard Hanson.

Write down everything you spend your money on in a notebook for four weeks. Mark each item with either an N for Need or an L for Luxury. Fill in our Budget Buddy and let it add it all up for you!

Ask yourself:

Would Jesus have the same priorities you have with money?
How yours are different?
What do you find hardest about being faithful with your money?
Ask God to help you change your priorities and become more faithful with your money.

What is my response?

Review your Needs and Luxuries list. Are any Needs really Luxuries? If so change them.
Shop around for cheaper brands for ‘Need’ items
Save up for Luxuries, or wait for Christmas or a birthday
Avoid buying Luxuries impulsively. Apply a 14 day window-shopping rule and shop around for the best price in that time. After 14 days ask yourself, do you still need it? Be honest!
Spend in cash. Stick to your weekly limit.

Talk2God

Pray with your mates and ask God to help you become radical stewards with the money He gives you.

Click here to think about your attitude to giving.

Budget buddy

Working out where your money goes each month can be hard work. It's often the little expenses that we underestimate and that empty our wallets quicker than we anticipate.

Budgeting sounds dull, but it's worth it. Once you start you'll be amazed at where you're spending your money and it will help you decide if you are being wise with it or a bit frivolous.

It means you can change how much you're spending week by week on your basic needs, you can decide how much you'll give to God in advance, how much you could save each month, and avoid getting into tricky situations where you have to borrow from you mum, your gran or the bank!

Want to give it a try? Let our Budget Buddy below help you. Plus you can check out our top tips on how you can start to handle your money better, rather than allowing it to handle you.

Budget Buddy XLS file - requires Microsoft Excel)