HOW TO CONTROL SPENDING
Spending is a habit - Does money burn a hole in your pocket? Does buyer’s
remorse set in after you have spent your money? If this sounds familiar, how
can you manage your spending so you can buy the things you need now and also
save for the things you need in the future.
In order to change spending habits, people must first understand how habits
are shaped and the ways spending behavior can be changed. In essence, they
must identify spending leaks that give immediate satisfaction but do not
help reach financial goals and, instead, substitute desirable spending
behavior that may not be immediately gratifying but will allow financial
goals to be reached.
How to change the habit
Luke 16:11 says, “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of
unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” People need to
learn to handle the smallest thing God has put under their authority—their
money. Larry believes that if the following guidelines are followed it will
help control spending.
- Establish self-discipline. Put all spending under God’s control. In so
doing, individuals become managers of God’s finances and all spending
should then be from the vantage point of whether He would be pleased
with the purchase. With God’s guidance, any bad habit can be broken.
People need to learn to recognize the drive that places them in a
spending situation and then when they shop they can avoid the spending
pitfalls produced by that drive by having a purpose for the shopping, a
time limit, and a written plan. They need to make a list before they go
shopping and then stick to it. In addition, they should limit the number
of trips to the store or mall and never shop when hungry or depressed.
- How far money goes usually depends on how much people want something. 3
As such, they need to be in control of the money, under God’s direction,
instead of having the money control them by limiting what they do. 4
Once spending has been brought under control, there should be a
determination of how much needs to be spent each month in every area of
an implemented budget; and, since the basic idea behind budgeting is to
save money up front for both known and unknown expenses, there must be a
commitment to stick to the budget. Larry believes that if people are
having difficulty with income equaling outgo, they must cut some of
their outgo. As such, they need to look at their budgets realistically
and see where they can start trimming. A budget is a money plan. With
it, people can organize and control their financial resources, set and
realize goals, and decide in advance how money will work for the good of
the family. Therefore, because every purchase should be considered in
light of the established budget, buying any non-budgeted items on
impulse should be avoided, especially if those non-budgeted items will
need to be purchased with a credit card.
- People need to be accountable to other persons for a specified period of
time for everything they spend. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 says, “Two are
better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if
either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the
one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.” If there is
accountability, people will be more inclined to be more cautious in
their spending habits—more of a look now, buy later attitude. So, shop
around before buying and learn to say no. Keep a record of spending and
purchases and share these with the accountability partner.
- Establish a want-to-buy list. Whenever people feel they need to buy
something that is not budgeted, they should put it on the list, but then
wait seven days and find two additional prices for the same item, to be
sure they are getting a good buy. If they still want the item after a
week has passed, they will have thought about it and probably will be
getting the best buy on the item. However, they still should not charge
it. Finally, people can have only one item on the list at a time, so if
they find new “wants” during the week, they will have to decide between
the two.
Conclusion
A good way to reduce debt is to develop discipline in spending habits. That
may include taking away any security that might be used in case of
emergencies: credit cards or other avenues of borrowing. By committing not
to go further in debt, people begin to reverse the process that produced the
debt. Larry often recommends cutting up the credit cards and not taking out
any bank or family loans. Then, they can develop a balanced budget that will
control spending and will allow them to stay within the parameters of their
financial means.
- Larry Burkett, Counselor Self-Study Course, vol. 2, Christian Financial
Concepts, 1999, p. A-4.
- Larry Burkett, Counselor Self-Study Course, vol. 2, Christian Financial
Concepts, 1999, p. A-5.
- www.nncc.org/Business/devel.spend.plan.html
- www.tuliptreepress.com/why.htm
- www.tuliptreespress.com/why.htm
- Larry Burkett, The Complete Guide to Managing Your Money, Inspirational
Press, 1996, p. 113
