God's Plan for Financial Fitness: A Written Plan

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>God's Plan for Financial Fitness: A Written Plan</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id463.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Plan for Financial Fitness: A Commi"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id465.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Written Plan (part 2)"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"God's Plan for Financial Fitness: A Written Plan"</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, July 25, 2004</B></div> <bR> <div>      No matter your income or debt-to-income ratio, with a good plan and a disciplined approach, you can move toward financial fitness. We are discussing a 3-step strategy for financial fitness. Last week, we looked at step 1: Commit to getting out of debt and getting financially fit. Step 2 is, develop and follow a written spending plan. Why? In order to a) get out of debt, b) save for the future, and c) use our resources to live for and invest in God's kingdom.</div> <bR> <div>      As you budget and tell your money where to go, here is a process to toward financial freedom to keep in mind. Take several "baby steps" toward financial fitness (Dave Ramsey, <I>Total Money Makeover / Financial Peace University</I>).</div> <div> 1. Save $1000 for a cash emergency fund - fast. One person lined a picture frame with hundred dollar bills, labeled it "in case of emergency, break glass" and hung it in her closet. It was easily available for an emergency, but it wasn't just lying around, waiting to be spent. Put it away, where you can get to it, but where you won't be tempted to use it. This buffer fund will help prevent you from returning to credit card debt if something goes wrong - and something will. When you use the fund, immediately work toward building it back up - and by they way "Christmas is not an emergency" (Dave Ramsey).</div> <div> 2. Pay off every debt except your home. Cut up your credit cards and begin the "debt snowball." (And don't return to debt! If you have set aside money for emergencies, you shouldn't need to keep credit cards around for that purpose - get a debit card instead. And if you need credit cards to manage your monthly finances, you need to keep reading and start acting.) The debt snowball is this: list your debts, smallest payoff balance first (you get some quick wins this way). Pay as much as you possibly can on the first on the list. Pay minumum on the rest. When you have paid off the first on the list, apply that same payment (everything you can) to the next on the list, while you keep paying the minumum on everything else. When that is paid off, go on to the next on the list. Don't reduce the amount you are paying on debts, just because you paid one off. Find money to put on debts, anywhere you can (figure out where money is leaking, put a stop in it and use those previously-leaking dollars to get out of debt as fast as you can).</div> <div> 3. Finish the emergency fund - 3-6 months of living expenses ($10,000). This won't take long, because you are not spending so much on paying off your debts.</div> <div> 4. Maximize retirment savings.</div> <div> 5. Save for your children's education.</div> <div> 6. Pay off your home.</div> <bR> <div> Getting there is going to require that you <B>d</B><B>evelop and follow a written spending plan.</B></div> <div>      If we are going to get out of debt, save for the future, and have resources available to honor God, we must plan what we do with every dollar we have available to us. Proverbs 21:5 says, "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty." In <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Luke+14:28-30" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Luke 14:28-30</U></A>, Jesus asks, who doesn't first sit down and evaluate resources and <I>plan ahead</I> when building a building? The resources God has given us are limited, and we need a plan for what we are going to do with them. Tell every dollar you plan to receive, each month, where it is going to go. Account for every dollar, because what is unaccounted for will disappear. A plan is "telling your money what to do rather than wondering where it went." Plan for your needs, and plan for your wants. Plan so you can avoid debt and save for the future. </div> <div>      Some might say,  "I don't have enough money to plan," or "I have so much money, I don't need a plan." If you don't tell your money what to do, it leaks and drifts away, whether you are working with a lot or a little</div> <bR> <div> <U>1. Trust God and show it by being generous - first things first.</U></div> <div>      Start with generosity towards God right from the beginning. God promises to meet your needs when you put him first (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Phil+4:13-19" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Philippians 4:13-19</U></A>). The key to being able to trust God in everything is to put him first in everything. Consider also <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Phil+4:6-7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>vss. 6-7</U></A>, which say, don't worry, but pray and trust. This is appropriate for those who are worried about their finances and how they are going to get out of debt, save for the future, and use money for honoring God. Giving to God is a reminder to you of who really owns and is control of your finances. If you must, live with less so you can be more generous. A 10-year-old boy at the soda shop asked the price of a sundae. It was 50 cents. He looked at his money. He asked what a plain ice cream cost - 35 cents. So that's what he wanted. When the waitress came to clean up and collect, she found the 35 cents, along with 15 cents for a tip. He had enough money for the 50 cent sundae, but he adjusted his spending in order to be generous and leave a tip (<I>Have a Good Day</I>, April 2002). You can choose to do the same.</div> <bR> <div> <U>2. Evaluate your current situation.</U></div> <div> A. Figure out your expected income. </div> <div>      Be realistic. Update each month according to your expected income, from all sources, for that month (because what is extra will disappear if you don't plan for it).</div> <div> B. Evaluate existing and expected expenses.</div> <div>      Face your situation realistically. If you have debt, and don't have money for emergencies, and aren't saving for your retirement, you may be "normal," but you have a problem that isn't going to go away. Face it and fix it. </div> <div>      Consider your monthly expenses (housing, savings, TV, debt payments) as well as occasional expenses (every few months - e.g., car insurance; once a year - e.g., Christmas [are you still paying for last Christmas?], family vacation). Are you planning for "expected surprises" (vehicle repairs, home repairs, replacement of appliances, etc. - these things don't last forever)? Also, are you setting aside money for real-deal emergencies (like, if you lost your job and needed to eat; or to cover medical expenses)? You also have to set aside money to "blow" - plan for it (within good limits, of course). Have you kept a record of how you have spent your money for a month or so? Have you discovered areas of leakage? Make a list of every conceivable expense, so you can plan to pay for it. You cannot live within a plan that is not realistic.</div> <div>      Randy Frazee, in his book <I>Making Room for Life</I>, shared the research of Robert Frank, a Cornell University professor. He discovered that the bottom 20% of earners spend just 45% of their income on the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. Most people, even the poorest among us, have some available resources we can use to begin moving toward financial fitness.</div> <bR> <div>      Wherever you are today in your financial circumstances, begin to move toward financial fitness. Take baby steps, but start stepping. And when you put God first and trust in him, he has a marvelous way of providing for you needs. Put him first and trust him, starting today. And watch him begin to work.</div> <bR> <div> (To be continued.)</div> <div> Helpful forms are available here from <A HREF="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/fpu_monthly_cash_flow_plan_forms.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/fpu_"><U>www.daveramsey.com</U></A> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>PDF</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Questions for Thought and Discussion:</B></div> <div> 1. How dependent are you and your family on credit cards? What are kids learning about credit and credit cards? If you haven't done so already, what is keeping you from cutting up your cards, canceling your accounts, and cutting the chains of revolving debt?</div> <bR> <div> 2. How often and under what circumstances do you pray about your financial situation (Phil 4:6-7)? Only when you get into trouble, or do you pray for wisdom even when you have a surplus of resources? Discuss your reaction to the statement above, "the key to being able to trust God in everything is to put him first in everything." Are you putting him first?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>