Caleb, Leah, Will, & Asher

Are you sitting there, like me, wondering what happened to the confidence of America? Why every piece of bad news sends the stock market into a “Sky is Falling” mentality?  Why are we so shaky?  So insecure?  So dependent upon the next piece of news to be good or we’ll just crumble?  Reality is that we are pretty far removed from being able to help with a bailout (besides the fact that as a taxpayer we now own the bad debt).

Hopefully you are like me and wondering, “Is there anything I can do about it?” or maybe asking yourselves, “Is there something I can change to make the situation better?”  I’ve got good news!!!  THERE IS and I have a plan that can help bring confidence back to the American consumer.  It’s literally that, “A plan.”  Let’s call it a Spending Plan for your family.

You see, the sad state of our nation is that the majority of people have been living paycheck-to-paycheck and with a mentality of “If I want it, I can get it right now.” That practice has put us all into the current economic situation we are in today.  BUT… We can change it and it doesn’t require us to stop spending.  It simply requires us to take control of our spending.  Make sense?  Maybe not, so let me ask you a question:

How many of you would rather tell their money where to go, instead of wondering where it went? I’m praying that your response is, “I WOULD!”  If that is the case, take a look at these two forms and fill them out for you or your family:

• Cash Flow Plan
• Allocated Spending Plan

Okay, if you just opened the form, you saw that it’s three pages long.  I apologize for the shock.  The goal is not to scare you away, but hopefully to make you aware of how detailed you should be with your plan.

I guarantee that once you start living on a spending plan that tells EVERY DOLLAR where to go, you’ll start seeing four things in your life:

1. Your dollar WILL go further
2. Your relationship with your spouse is BETTER, as you communicate and agree on a plan
3. You will have CONFIDENCE in your spending
4. You’ll be BLESSED, because you are managing the resources God has given you.  It’s in the Bible!  (Proverbs 3:9-10)

By controlling our stuff, instead of our stuff controlling us, we can live as King Solomon told his son towards the end of Proverbs 3:27-28. We will be able to “take care of our neighbors, not withholding good from those who deserve it”.  A direct result of telling our money where to go, “it will be within our power to act.”  Our choices will no longer be limited by our indebtedness.  Just imagine how we, the church, could encourage our country with this new found confidence and spirit of giving.