Getting Your Finances on Track
What do you do when you begin to struggle financially to get your finances on track? How can you turn a difficult financial situation into a financial breakthrough?
Life often throws us unexpected expenses and various challenges in our lives that set us back or at the very least pull us out of a place where we are confidently moving forward with our financial lives. When this happens, your financial future can be saved and you can get back on track. It may not be easy but there are ways to prevent yourself from getting stuck and regressing to a worse place financially.
Some of the best methods of getting our financial life on track is very simple but does require some wisdom & willpower.
A few ways to begin to rebuild your financial life
1) Take a hard look at areas of waste in your budget. Can you cut out extra food and beverage purchases? This is an area of excessive spending for many of us and I am no different. I find it is one of the first areas I can eliminate excess spending and begin to see results. If it is too hard to eliminate entirely start with saying no a few times and eating at home a few times instead. It will get easier the more you practice saying no and begin to see the benefits. These days you could even utilize some benefits of rewards programs you may have been a part of to treat yourself a bit along the way. Examples would be Chick fil a gives points each time you eat there and scan the app. Why not utilize the points during this time but only treat yourself to what you have available in points. For the kiddos you could do an ice cream trip utilizing their Culvers free ice cream coupons that come with their kids meal. If you are anything like me you probably have saved a stack of them from their previous kids meals. Why not take them to use these and just get the ice cream. It will still be a fun trip for the kids and will save you some money.
2) Try a no spend month. No spend months are not easy but if planned properly can be super beneficial. I love to pick a month to focus on saving more like this. We figure our budget in advance to include the obvious expenses like food, rent, bills, utilities, gas, copays for appointments, etc. Then we promise to abstain from extra spending during that time period to focus on saving money. If you stick to this it really does help to give your savings a bit of a boost or at the very least give you a month free of excessive spending to pay down some debt if possible.
3) Go through things and donate or sell items. This can benefit your budget in many ways including reminding you of what you actually have and finding items you might need but forgot about, creating more space in your home and storage area, locating items of worth that you could sell or use in a new way, etc. If you have a store that buys and sells books, DVDs, music, antiques or baby items this could become a way to actually earn some money or get credit for future purchases.
4) Plan for future purchases or vacations. During this time you could begin to find ways to save for a future vacation by creating a plan for that. You could start a savings plan that is focused on saving for a larger upcoming expense at this time. When you begin to do this you can set up your future plans for success. A good savings plan that I love to use is the 52 week money savings challenge which helps you to save over $1,200 in 1 year.
5) Focus on your health more during this month. Get outside more, eat healthier at home, walk and pray, get some exercise more, drink more water and less sugary beverages, etc. There are many important areas of our health and wellbeing that we over look as over consumers without even realizing it. It is so important to focus on our health for our overall wellbeing and for our finances. How does this directly impact our finances? If you are healthier, more in shape and under less stress generally you will not have large health related expenses and can potentially save more. Getting healthier does not have to cost a fortune either if you go back to the basics on many things you will not need to spend a lot on wellness fad diets. Focus on consuming more whole foods and water and your body will thank you. Some of this focus can cost a bit more in your budget but is worth the price tag if it helps you to improve your overall health long-term.
A health crisis can lead to a financial crisis
Over the last few years my husband and I have both had more health related issues. Some could be related to aging and stress because both are factors as we work stressful jobs and are now in our 40's. However, we are quickly discovering that the more we focus on what we eat and how we care for ourselves that we are improving overall. My health has also been challenged by the discovery that I have had Lyme Disease that was left untreated for many years. The more that I have looked into the effects of Lyme disease and many chronic illnesses on your body I have found that stress and a dysregulated immune system or nervous system help increase symptoms in your body. When your immune system is healthy & you do not live in a toxic environment (mold, chronic stress, etc.) your body can fight things better which helps it recover easier. This may not cure all illnesses but at the very least it gives your body a chance to heal and repair like it was designed to do by our amazing creator. Psalm 139 tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I believe that fearfully and wonderfully made tells us that God created our bodies, and he has given us everything that we need to heal, thrive and live a lead a full life. This does not always promise us to heal in every aspect of life as we live in a fallen world, and we will all eventually grow old and pass from this life one day. However, if we learn to appreciate the things in life that benefit us in healing more naturally we can live a more full healthy life until those things eventually happen. The healthcare crisis around us is often fueled by man made toxins, beverages and foods that are not natural and lack of stress management, good sleep and exercise. We do not have to live sick and miserable we can invest in our own health and it doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Since I have begun my journey to discover this it has been costly to correct some of the mistakes I made along the way and the consequences of my illness left untreated. However I feel that I am finally turning a corner and beginning to find healing in the simple things that God gave us such as rest, herbs, healthy foods, prayer and exercise. Focusing on these things can make a huge difference pretty quickly.
Lack of discipline causes financial distress
Sabotaging your financial success happens quickly when you lack discipline. Many of us have seen how a lack of focus on saving money can be detrimental to our financial lives. It is so easy to have what I might call a leak in your finances when you daily say yes without thinking to small expenses that drain your financial life. When this happens, you do not even realize how quickly your money disappears until you find yourself in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle once again or worse. Saying no is important, setting goals is important and neither of these are unintentional. This sort of lifestyle requires discipline, self sacrifice and determination to get where you desire to be.
Is it possible to get your financial life back on track after mismanaging it? Absolutely, but getting back on track requires someone willing to make the necessary changes & desiring to see a future filled with similar changes that remain our focus.
Living a Simpler Financial Life
Last night in my bible reading time I read Romans 12 which speaks of not conforming to the patterns and customs of this world but allowing God to transform us. I think this is an important concept to embrace as Christian's in our financial lives. When we choose to live a life that is not like the patterns of this world, we can embrace a simpler life focused on the things that God intended for us to. When this happens, we can thrive not just survive and long term this could lead to more opportunities to give to others, give to missions & bless those whom the Lord leads us to bless. It is hard to do all of these things when we embrace a life focused on the things of the world. Why? Because we have less and because our focus is in the wrong place where we are always consuming not saving and giving. Romans 12 speaks to much more than this but it reminded me of this aspect of our financial life that often gets off track when we focus on being of the world not just in the world but separate as God calls us to do. Sometimes I truly believe that we all need a reminder from God that every thing we have is a gift from God and that it all truly belongs to Him. If we see the world more this way we begin to align our lives with His will for us and we begin to walk in freedom from a world and our sinful flesh that always wants more. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, and I believe that the spirit of the Lord can also lead us to financial freedom the more we align our finances and partner our financial goals with Him.
