Four Things I Want To Share About Financial Freedom

Hey CenterPointe, here are 4 things I want to share with you about being faithful with your finances,

#1 Tithe—yuck. Who wants to talk about this? I can’t imagine very many people raising their hands for this question. God is the source of EVERTHING we have. We came into this world with NOTHING. Our pockets were EMPTY (well, if you were born with pockets we definitely need to talk, just work with me). God gave us LIFE. God gave us GIFTS and TALENTS. God BLESSES us—this isn’t just for a select few; this is for EVERYONE. God entrusts us with a little (some more than others) and all He asks is that we GIVE BACK 10% (emphasis on “give back” because before God we had nothing). That means for every 10 we GET, we GIVE BACK 1. He doesn’t say check your bank account and see if you CAN, He says trust Me. He doesn’t say create a budget and see if you CAN squeeze Me in, He says trust Me. It’s not about CAN; it’s about TRUST. Chances are you’ll NEVER feel like you can afford to tithe, but the truth is you can’t afford NOT TO. The first step is simply to tithe.

#2 Create A Budget—how much money is coming in? How much money is going out? Where is your money going? How are you spending it? Can you actually afford your lifestyle? The first step to being faithful with your finances is start tithing. The second step is to create a budget AROUND tithing. A budget isn’t used to determine whether or not you can afford tithing, it’s used to determine if you can afford everything else you’re doing and allocate funds accordingly. How much money can you afford to spend each week? How much are you spending on gas? How much can you afford to spend on groceries? If you’re not a numbers person find someone who is. If you need help creating a budget, email: info@centerpointe.tv and someone will be in touch with you to further discuss creating a budget.

#3 Get Out Of Debt—if you’re IN debt, it’s time to get OUT of debt. You’re living on BORROWED money. That means the money you’re spending isn’t even YOURS! You can’t live generously while in debt because you’re just giving away someone else’s money. It’s time to sit down and figure out how much debt you have. Start with the SMALLEST bills and work toward the BIGGEST. Dave Ramsey talks about implementing a DEBT SNOWBALL (which radically change our finances and get rid of debt after debt). The debt snowball knocks out your smaller debts first, rolling their payments into the next debt. It works because we have a tendency to look at a debt going away as money being FREED UP, but it’s not… it still belongs to someone else! Trust me when I say you CAN get out of debt! It IS possible!

#4 Save, Save, Save—think of your net income. Find that number. Write it down. Take 10% out for tithe. Now, using that same number, take out another 10% for saving. That’s right—your tithe and your saving are equal. 10% to tithe, 10% to savings. God wants us to be smart about our finances. We live in a crazy world where bad things sometimes happen. The tire blows on the car. The kid(s) need a visit to the emergency room. We lose our job. It’s not a matter of IF bad things will happen, but WHEN will they happen and when they happen will you be READY? Saving is preparing. Saving doesn’t show a lack of trust in God’s ability to provide; saving shows you’re a good steward with what He’s entrusted you with.