Coach's Corner

Money Makeover (Spending)

“What do you mean it’s all gone?!” She said with a distressed look clouding her normally calm features.

“I, uh … well … I’ve been waiting for this thing to come on sale for months and, y’see, I figured I had enough left from this paycheck to spend but …” He trailed off as his eyes searched the ground as if looking for a hole to crawl into. As he finally caught her gaze again, he looked for signs of sympathy and thought he found a flicker of something … “I’m really sorry babe, I definitely forgot about our date night.”

Have you been there? I sure hope not. These types of situations are to be avoided at all costs … or so I’ve heard. The following four tips are designed to help you spend your money with all the wisdom of a Christ follower. So, without further ado: Spend, Spend, Spend, Spend!

1. Spend Less than You Make

Now, this may seem like a no-brainer, but if we’re not thinking about our expenses in relationship to our income, things can easily get out of hand. Sometimes, even after just our tithes, monthly bills, and the necessary groceries, spending money is almost non-existent. Add in a few unforeseen expenses to the mix and we’re losing ground – even a few months like that in a row and you can suffer setbacks that reach beyond the financial realm.

Notice, overspending happens when ‘we’re not thinking about it’. If we are aware of exactly what’s coming in and what our expenditures are, we can make informed decisions that give us room to breathe. There is no shame in living with frugality. The shame comes down hard when we live outside our means. Some people call it being cautious, others say that you’re being ‘thrifty’, still others say, “Woah, you’re cheap!” But if we learn to make a budget and live within it, spending begins to take its rightful, relative place.

2. Spend Someone Else’s Money

This second ‘Spend’ does not, I repeat, does NOT advocate stealing in order to supplement your available spending money – it is, instead, a shift in perspective that shapes our intentions when it comes to spending.

Regardless of the label we put on it, the spending money we have is not ours. The same can be said for all of our financial resources, our possessions, or even ourselves! All we have, including the very breath of life in us, has been given to us by the grace of God. A reminder that we are entrusted as stewards of God’s resources causes our spending habits align themselves to that bigger picture.

For example: If my Aunt sends me on an errand and supplies the required cash for this purchase, there’s no question I’m going to make sure I spend it just as wisely as I can. The money’s not mine in the first place, and I want to do the best I can with what I have. God has sent us on a mission, to be salt and light in the world. If we are living with the mindset that all we have is on loan from God, even our expenditures bear witness to the God we serve.

3. Spend with Compassion, not necessarily Cash

In Mark 6, Jesus feeds well over five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. There’s no way that could happen without some sweet otherworldly influence. It’s not natural; it’s supernatural. God’s economics aren’t bound by the physical world. When the disciples are asked to give the massive crowd something to eat, they say, “That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

Well, no. But offer what you do have in the face of need and watch as others are more than satisfied by the offering in partnership with our compassionate God.

4. Spend What You Must – Invest the Rest

Now, I spend very little time thinking about spending. In fact, I almost don’t think about spending at all. That’s because I’ve done the same thing for spending that I’ve done for giving and saving – I’ve created a budget. If I happen to have some additional coinage left over at the end of the month, I have options! And, as a Christ follower with a deep sense of commitment to the otherworldly Kingdom we persistently pray for to break into our present, the options are sweet! I can invest the money wisely for a return, I can invest in missions projects and even individuals that carry with them the promise of making this world a better place. Instead of being bound to my debts, I’m able to make the decision to invest.

Spending is necessarily a part of our everyday lives. With God’s help it can be, not only necessary, but a very healthy and worthwhile practice when we have a bigger picture shaping our intentional and compassionate designation of resources. So, go with God’s grace and peace and spend, spend, spend spend!

Posted August 01, 2009