Reactive And Proactive

“...Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it” Pr. 21:20 [GN]

God is saying, stop spending your money as quickly as you earn it; then you are wise. I know this is hard to take in, yet the truth is, if what will pull you out to financial freedom were easy, you would have already done it. When I first read this Scripture, it made me uncomfortable. But I had to let this truth work out greatness in me. I had to deliver myself from impulsive buying. You do not encounter the truth and brush it aside. You have to let it do its work in your life.

So I see something and I feel that urgency to buy it. I say to myself, wait! Some of those things I end up buying but I end up not buying most of them. The first thing I do is to wait! Waiting stops that adrenaline rush that makes you take a decision without thinking. The second thing I do is I say to myself, what is the justification for this? This question makes you think logically. Should there be a justification? Why can’t you just enjoy your money? You need to choose whether to enjoy now and suffer later, or to inconvenience yourself now and enjoy for a longer period. The choice is yours.

So the way I deal with impulsive buying from a reactive standpoint, is to talk to my legs. I say to myself, stop! The shoe is not going to run away, and if they sell out, then it is not mine. Walk away; try it – put one leg in front of the other and keep moving. Do not look back; just keep going. I know it is funny but I do that for myself. The proactive response is B.U.D.G.E.T. It does not have to be anything high-tech. Just take a piece of paper, put down your inflow for the month and how much you can spend.

So you have allocated your money to ‘ABCDEFGH’ on paper. The moment you budget, you have already said no to the things that are not in your budget. So if you come across ‘IJK’ and it is so important, put it in view for  next month’s budget. Budgeting is planned spending. Budgeting is telling your money where to go rather than wondering where it went. My wife and I used to argue a lot about money. But when we began to budget, we stopped arguing about money. The stress completely dissolved.

Thought: Write a budget. You can use an excel sheet, a notebook, or a budgeting app.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, let this truth I have learnt today work out an even greater glory in my life and my finances, in Jesus Name