HoHum:
A husband and wife named Stumpey and Martha went to the state fair every year, and every year when Stumpy saw the antique bi plane he would say, “Martha, I’d like to ride in that airplane.” And Martha always replied, “I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs $10 and $10 is $10.” Well, year after year they had this same dispute until finally one year at the fair, Stumpy said, “Martha, I’m 81 years old. If I don’t ride that airplane I might never get another chance.” Martha replied, “Stumpy, that airplane ride costs $10 and $10 is $10.” The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word, it’s $10.” Stumpy and Martha agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but he didn’t hear a word from the couple. So... he did all his tricks again- flips and dives and rolls- but still, not a word was heard from his passengers. When they finally landed, the pilot yelled back at Stumpy and said, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to cry out, but you didn’t. I’m impressed!” Stumpy replied, “Well, I was gonna say something when Martha fell out of the plane after that first roll, but... $10 is $10.”
WBTU:
Studies show that the #1 source of conflict in marriages today is money. George Gallup reports that 67% of all couples worry regularly about money. Of the couples who divorce, nearly 80% cite financial problems as a leading cause of the marital demise. One way to improve our marriages is to discuss and agree on financial matters.
This is terribly unromantic but to have a great marriage there must be financial agreement. Money can destroy a marriage relationship quicker than any other source of disagreement.
How can we avoid money conflicts? How can we deal with our money so that it doesn’t damage our marriages? How can we manage our money instead of it managing us?
We need to look for answers in God’s Word. Leave much of the finer points to Dave Ramsey and other financial advisers, but my job is to preach the Word. What does the Word have to say about money matters? Too much to cover in one sermon.
Solomon is the wealthiest man in the Bible. He was the wisest and richest man in the world during his time. He had a great deal of experience managing money. Much of the Proverbs were written by Solomon.
Thesis: From Proverbs, 5 principles of money management
For instances:
Keep Track
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure for ever...” Proverbs 27:23, 24, NIV. In that day, a man’s herds were his assets and the shepherd’s job was to keep track of the size and condition of the flock. Solomon is saying that the first thing we need to do to solve money conflicts is keep track of what we’ve got. We must constantly be aware of the state of our accounts. Ever said, “I don’t know where all my money goes!” If we don’t know where the money goes, then we are keeping bad records.
“Every prudent man acts out of knowledge...” Proverbs 13:16, NIV. Spouses need to know about our money. The financial record keeping must be set up so that it enables us to know 4 things: 1) What we owe 2) What we own 3) What we earn 4) Where it all goes. Many software programs and even paper systems to help us today.
One spouse is in charge of this, but this spouse should share this information with the other so that spouses can both know where their money comes and goes. Both spouses need to know basic information about the finances even though one spouse keeps the books.
Plan ahead
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5, NIV. Financial freedom is never determined by how much money we make but rather by how we spend what we make. Solomon would have us follow a budget.
Many spend too much because they shop too much. The average American spends 6 hours a week in shopping related activities. Now shopping isn’t necessarily bad, much wisdom to shop carefully so we find the best values. The problem is many of us don’t do that. In fact, recent surveys show that 9 out of 10 people don’t shop carefully, they shop impulsively. “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” Proverbs 21:20, NIV.
Few people would consider driving their cars without a gas gauge, because they know the dangers and inconveniences associated with running out of gas. But many couples operate their personal finances without a spending gauge. They impulsively spend from day to day, and when they run out of money by the middle of the month they say, “Oops! I’m out of money- now what do I do?” Need to make budget as husband and wife.
Save consistently
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8, NIV. Solomon reminds us that even ants are smart enough to save. They don’t consume all their resources, they save some for the future.
Need to start with an emergency fund of $1,000. An emergency fund is for those unexpected events in life (Murphy’s law) that we can’t plan for: the loss of a job, an unexpected pregnancy, a faulty car transmission, and the list goes on and on. It’s not a matter of if these events will happen; it’s simply a matter of when they will happen.
Then start saving a full emergency fund. Ask, “What would it take for me to live for three to six months if I lost my income?” The answer to that question is how much we should save. Use this money for emergencies only: incidents that would have an impact on the family. Statistics reveal that 80 percent to 90 percent of the people in North America live “paycheck to paycheck”-that is, they spend all their regular income and have no savings. Many people believe this is okay. However, this is foolish. God’s Word is clear that a wise man prepares and saves for the future. ““Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” Luke 14:28-30, NIV.
If we have some cushion in our budget, when the car breaks down our marriage relationship will be saved the stress of worrying about how to find the money to fix it. When we plan ahead we can take a great vacation. If we have money stashed away, then when Grandma dies and we have to go out of town to attend her funeral, we can put the credit cards away and simply be with our family without worrying about how we are paying for this.
Eliminate debt
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7, NIV. Nothing will cause more misery than the burden of debt. All debts are talked about in this verse but I am especially talking about consumer debt- credit card debt, debt that is non secured, kind of debt that can pile up and haunt us and our spouse every day of our marriage.
The average US household credit card debt stands at $15,611. Think about how that eats into the household budget. Statistics show that when we shop with plastic we spend 23% more money than when we use cash. This is because using a credit card doesn’t feel like we’re using real money, that is until the bill comes and then it feels so real!
Buy it now and pay later. Only $50 a month. $50 here, $50 there and soon nothing left.
Many of these companies say something like this, “We do not sell debt, but freedom to buy what you want when you want it!” Anything but freedom.
Stop going into debt. Then start with small bills and pay them off working to larger bills. Called debt snowball.
Give Habitually
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;” Proverbs 3:9, NIV. Solomon is talking about a tithe, 10%. Why?
An act of obedience. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house...” Malachi 3:10, NIV.
An act of gratitude. “How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?” Psalms 116:12
An act of priority. ““You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3, NIV.
An act of faith. “God I’m giving this trusting that you will take care of us.” “Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10, NIV.
Solomon also echoes these thoughts. “then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:10, NIV.
This is a starting place. Enables us to give to others. “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31. “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.” Proverbs 19:17, NIV.
Conclusion- “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10
