Money has long been recognized as the medium of exchange for goods, and services that are necessary for our survival. However, there are the haves and the have nots? What causes this great disparity between these two groups? It all starts with knowing the art of money, appreciating its value, and learning how to manage it. Money management starts with creating a simple budget where you write all your income and expenses for a fixed period such as weekly or monthly.  It is often said; it is not the amount of money you make but what you save. Some people live from paycheck to paycheck every week and despite the amount they earn they never seem to have money. This is tantamount to selfish and reckless living. God expects us to use wisdom in the handling of our finances so that we do not become a burden to anyone. Everyone can learn the art of managing their money and it starts with what is in your wallet now.

 However, those who have mastered the art of managing their money are experiencing great successes in their lives and, to them, money is a powerful tool. 

Money – Good or Evil

Money answereth everything. Ecclesiastes 10:19. It means that we need money for everything; food, housing, transportation, education, medical expenses, etc. Without money, these services would be off-limits to us. Money is not the root of all evil because it is important to the functioning of societies around the world. 

Those who understand how money works put their money to good use by investing, giving to charity and carving out a good life for themselves and their families.   However, money is deemed evil when we get to where we covet it and will do anything to get it which amounts to greed. Those who are struggling with managing their money can become ensnared by it and this can lead them to commit deadly crimes to satisfy their obsession. Some gain their riches illegally and have used them as weapons against the poor. Oftentimes they are engaged in human trafficking, money laundering, sex trade, especially against children, and other illicit activities.  These heinous crimes result in gross physical and psychological damage to their victims and also result in exorbitant costs to economies around the world that funnel billions of dollars each year into fighting these money crimes and bringing their perpetrators to justice.

Managing Money

Everyone can learn how to manage their money. It doesn’t matter how small or large your income is. The first step is learning to live within your means. This means if one earns a hundred dollars weekly, that is what one should expect to live on. Avoid spending it all at once. Instead, make a budget and determine an amount for savings weekly, however small, and stick to it. Money appreciates over time, and with compound interest on saving accounts, the amount saved will soon add up. One can save for short-term or long-term goals. For example, buying a piece of equipment, appliance, cars, houses or college education for your children.

The summary below is a prime example of good financial management.  

Dr Ben Carson’s mother only had a third-grade education and worked as domestic help. Yet she successfully raised two boys on a minimum wage; one of whom became one of the world’s prominent neurosurgeons. How did she get to become such a financial wizard?   

• Her relationship with God. 
• She didn’t sit back and fold her arms.  
• She worked hard and returned a faithful tithe
• She was thankful for what God had given her. 

 God multiplied it and all their needs were met. Ben shared a story in his book, “Gifted Hands” – of when he became a teenager and started noticing that his peers were all wearing the latest fashions. He demanded that his mother got them for him, too.  In her wisdom, she handed him her paycheck and asked him to pay the bills and then buy what he needed with the rest.  To his astonishment, her wages barely paid the bills. At that moment, he recognized her struggles and a deep love and appreciation filled his heart for the woman who loved him so much.  He also had a new admiration and respect for her and from that day forward, he labelled her a financial genius. 

Sonya Carson had learned the art of living within her means; hence, it was easy for her to prioritize when it came to her family. This is a lesson that some of us need to learn and practice daily. It requires the discipline of budgeting and committing to it.  If something is not in the budget, you simply cannot have it. You must be willing to sacrifice the fleeting pleasure now for the substantial things later on in life. Set financial goals and stick to them.  Life’s emergencies will occur therefore it is necessary to put aside set amount of money to cover periods of unemployment, sickness or even death.  

Managing debts

We are to owe no man nothing but to love them, Romans 13:8. Unfortunately, many of us are saddled with unnecessary debts because we fall victim to the “eye see, I get mentality”.  We covet others for their discipline with money,  while we are bent on living the high-maintenance life. That’s the sacrifice you have made for yourself and you must be willing to accept the consequences of your actions, which is just several depreciated items, whether, high-end fashion, cars, gadgets, or entertainment at the end of the day. When the debt collector knocks, we become stressed and depressed, which can lead to other chronic illnesses later in life.  The antidote to this is to develop a healthy mindset about money and you will have money. Think about money as a friend or foe. When you learn to appreciate money, it becomes your friend because you will spend it wisely.

On the flip side, money becomes an enemy when we spend it foolishly.  

For those of us who have fallen through the net and are way over our heads in debt, there is hope for you.  You can begin to tackle your debt on your own or with the help of financial advisors.  First, you need to know the total amount of debt owed and to whom you owe them. Secondly, contact your creditors and work out a payment arrangement. Determine how long it will take you to pay off your debt and make a commitment to pay them off and stay out of debt. Sometimes this might mean taking on another job or a side hustle that will bring in the extra money you need to put yourself in a favourable financial position.

How  you spend your money matters

Everything we own comes from God, the greater giver: our money, time and talents. He expects us to use them for the greater good of humanity. Are your investing your money time and talents wisely or do you squander it on this world’s goods? I am sure that many of us have blown an entire paycheck on a shopping spree and then regret it later. I too have done some spontaneous spending, and I suffered from making those rash decisions. Think carefully before you open your wallet.

What a wise friend taught me about money?

I remember when I left college I got my first job early. I ended up at the same company where a friend of mine in management worked.  My hiring was not influenced in any way by him because he didn’t know I had applied for a job there. I rented a furnished apartment that was very pricey and I paid about 65% of my salary at the time on rent.  I was always in a bind each month.  One month I asked my friend for a loan.  He started by asking me a series of questions. How long have you been working with the company? What are your expenses? How much have you saved? My response to the latter was nothing.  He said I should have been saving at least 10% of my income every month. He politely said goodbye and hung up.  I was left fuming! I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me although I had graduated with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting.  It bothered me he didn’t help and for a while; I was mad at him.  After a while, I gave our conversation some thought, and I finally understood the principle behind his decision.  He would not enable me to continue to squander my hard-earned money because he wanted me to become financially independent. A friend will always tell you the truth.  I not only learned a valuable lesson, but I put it into action and when I was ready to purchase the first car I had saved up 50% and only needed financing for the rest. I have made many mistakes, but; I am now at a place where I strive to live within my means because I feel that when I manage my money; I am honoring my creator, God!

In recent times the news has been a buzz about self-care because people are realizing how important self-care is to their well-being. Self-care means you’re present and doing the little things that nurture, nourish, and makes you feel great about yourself. It could be as simple as carving out the time to take a shower, groom your hair, brush your teeth, and eat a healthy meal or include at least one healthy food in your diet at each meal. Self-care is about managing yourself and your emotions. 

Self-care is so important because it is the first step in defeating depression. When we take the time to care for ourselves, we are loving ourselves and when we love ourselves it is harder for us to become depressed. Self-love is also the pathway to accepting God’s love and love from our families, friends, and fellowmen. Self-care contributes to a healthy boost in self-confidence which empowers us to create the future we want and the discipline to set goals and stick to them. It also helps us to make the right choices and tough it out when life gets challenging instead of folding under or running away. It inspires us to expect more from ourselves and others, creating our opportunities by looking for the open doors and walking through them right away. However, sometimes it is necessary to pry the door open so that we can get noticed or promoted to better jobs we are qualified for. 

Self-care helps us feel better about ourselves hence we show up looking and feeling good and this brings an abundance of light into our soul which chases the darkness away. Did you know one sign of depression is a lack of self-care? When we do not love ourselves, we show up looking anyhow and it is extremely difficult to care for ourselves. Many of us secretly suffer from depression because we have lost the will to be kind to ourselves. Self-care is simple all it takes is a willingness to do a bit of the hard things every day. Some are clinically depressed and will need help through therapeutic interventions or even medication. However, it takes effort to get to where you want to go and you must turn up to counselling, take part in therapy and take the medication if necessary. 

According to Psychology Today (2021), self-care is doing the things that you would rather put off because they make you uncomfortable. It’s about accepting personal failures, and relationships that let you down and becoming determined to find new strategies. It’s about forgiving those who wronged us, letting go of that which you cannot control or change with acceptance. It’s also about being willing to disappoint some people by ending toxic relationships. Self-care can also be about putting your life on hold to care for someone in need and at other times just putting yourself above those who are very demanding of your time. Ultimately, it is about living the life you choose on your terms instead of sleepwalking through it.

Self-care is taking it easy on yourself instead of always pushing yourself to be perfect. It’s about letting your house remain messy when you are tired of cleaning or don’t have the time. It is about knowing yourself and understanding what drives you to decide what changes are important for your life. Self-care is not about believing that you must be constantly busy to feel important as this will lead to burn-out and lead to self-sabotage. It is about taking the time to care for you when there is brokenness in your life that needs fixing. When you care for yourself, you realize that loving yourself and being compassionate might help you solve most of your problems Psychology Today, (2021).

When you care for yourself, you are the winner instead of the loser. You create a life you truly enjoy instead of the one that you hate. It is not creating a fake life but one that aligns with who you are. Sometimes it will mean giving up some of your goals to live a more balanced life. It’s choosing to decide from a place of calm and peace that will be long-lasting. It is looking to yourself to meet your own needs instead of others Psychology Today, (2021).

Self-care is living an authentic and meaningful life. It’s having an awareness of the benefits of a nice massage or green juice to enhance life but not as escapism. 

Reference

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-emotional-meter/202104/what-it-really-means-take-care-yourself

According to Napoleon Hill, “you’re the total of your most dominating or prominent thoughts. If 90% of your thoughts are negative, you will be negative most of the time. Our thoughts can make us or break us. They can also help us stay committed to our goals, and relationships or sabotage them. Our thoughts can make us sick, and they can help us get well. They can make us rich or poor. Although material wealth can come about, I am referring to that richness of spirit that gives you a sense of calmness, peace, and trust that makes you feel rich though poor.

Our mental health is under constant attack, especially since the onset of Covid and all its derivatives. People are still walking as though they are on tenterhooks, waiting for the next disaster to strike or fearing the inevitable. This was a very traumatic experience for most of us, and many are still reeling from its effects especially those who fell ill from the virus and the long recovery path. Several are still carrying holes in their hearts from the loss of a loved one while some are still struggling with survivor’s guilt. People were already feeling the pressure and on top of everything, prices have skyrocketed on almost all consumer goods and services, leaving them to bear the heavy burden. Also, many are unemployed, which has resulted in the loss of income and adds to the stress of daily living. It takes a toll on individuals and families everywhere as they struggle to stay alive. The world has drastically changed in the last few years, and we are all feeling the pinch. With everything that is going on, it is hard to stay positive when everything appears to be gloomy right now.

Satan is incessantly trying to destroy our minds by relentlessly bombarding us with useless side chatter. We must learn how to tune them out by focusing on the main talk, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit. How many times have you found yourself in a church, at a meeting or at a lecture where you are trying to focus on the speaker, but there is so much side talk it is almost impossible to hear the message? Have you ever thought that there is something you could do about it, or do you just give up? This goes on in our minds daily. The simple answer is to focus your attention on the voice of the key speaker and make it your priority. This can be difficult initially, but over time it gets easier as the mind become trained to tune out the unpleasant things and focus its attention on positive things. The devil wants our minds, and he is constantly waging battles against our mental health. Let us strive to put God at the forefront always and His Holy Spirit will help us guard our thoughts by filtering the lies that the devils tell us about God, others, and ourselves.

HOW DO WE GUARD OUR MINDS?

• Planning our day wisely by starting with the word of God and meaningful prayers (Psalm 5:1-4).
• Pray for wisdom from the Holy Spirit to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to discern, hear, and understand the word (Psalm 119:18).
• Apply the word of God to our lives daily relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us in interpreting scriptures (Psalm 143: 8-12)
• Resist the desire to think or speak negative thoughts
• Keep a joyful song of praise in your heart and a smile on your face even when you don’t feel like it.
• Love and forgive everyone because it is the right thing to do.
• Let the mind of Christ dwell in you. Philippians 2:5