Making it Through Tough Times
Times seems to be tough and look to be getting tougher. Your SUV that has been a wonderful tool for transporting children is now a tool for making a significant dent in your debit/credit card account. Your trip to the grocery store has put a crater in your checking account and all those extra foods that were normal may now be a luxury. And then there is the cost of dining out. New menus are appearing in restaurants with higher prices; Chick Fil A has increased prices and going to the movies is a costly affair. Your summer vacation that was budgeted months ago is now costing more due to the rising cost of food and gas. The economists in the media are telling us that things are not going to change anytime soon. So your budget is tighter, there is less money at the end of the month in your accounts, maybe your credit debt is rising, your children are outgrowing clothes and sports are expensive. And in all this, the reminder to tithe and be a good steward of what He has entrusted to us floats through our minds.
How has all this happened? According to Southwood member Robert Mayes of Blue Creek Investment Partners, “The stock market is down on average 14% since the ‘emergency’ interest rate cuts from September 2007 through April of this year. Yet corporate profits continue to be forging ahead in spite of the economic headwinds of higher energy cost and sub-prime woes. The turmoil we are currently experiencing should be a reminder of how important it is for us to live lifestyles that enable us to follow God’s direction regardless of what the economy is doing.”
How do you save money and change what you are doing in order to have an adequate balance in the checking account? According to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, avoiding debt during these times is key. How do you continue to maintain a healthy account, tithe as you are called to do and enjoy the fruit of your daily labors? We have explored several options for saving money through a plethora of web sites and consolidated helpful hints. The key to all of this is planning and communicating with your family the need to trim expenses. Make it a group effort. It doesn’t have to be painful. Make it a game and see how much you can outsmart the rising costs.
Grocery Store. Convenience food is easy to buy and serve. Economists suggest you use the following tools to cut costs at the grocery store and move away from purchasing the more expensive convenience products.
-Look in the ads and find the best prices for meat and buy large quantities. You can save up to 50% by using sale pages and store specials.
-Buy in larger quantities. Purchase meat in larger portions at the sale price. Bring home and freeze in smaller quantities.
-Use retailer coupons or in-store coupons. You can often double coupon value on certain days at the grocery store.
-Use web sites to gather coupons (www.shortcuts.com for Kroger customers or www.coolsavings.com)
Gas. Myths about gasoline fill-ups include purchasing gas in the cool temperature of the day or topping off your tank. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what time of day to fill-up according to the Discovery Channel. Some experts disagree but the savings appears to be nominal. Other tips include:
-Use the slow setting on the pump handle, not the high speed setting to get more in your tank.
-If you have to sit in ‘idle’ for one minute or more, then turn off your car. Fuel injected cars are made to restart with minimal gas consumption. All car experts are recommending this procedure. So if you are at a light, have to run in the house for more than a minute, turn off your engine and save gas.
-Keep your tank half full vs. closer to empty. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine.
-Combine the number of trips you make during the day. Run several errands at once.
-Bike or walk to friends’ houses, the pool or store if you can. The health benefits are immeasurable.
-Drive the speed limit. It will save you gas and money on tickets and it is the law.
Vacation. Trips to the beach, lake or mountains can be financially draining. Take your own snacks, cook a few meals in the place your are staying and drink water to hydrate instead of sodas. Make stops minimal and drive the speed limit. Give your children money to use for souvenirs and let them budget what they want to spend their money on throughout the week.
Dining Out. Instead of eating out several nights each week, pick the nights you are going to eat out. Choose whether it will be fast food or dine in where a tip is required. Order water rather than soda and save up to $2.00 per person. Split an entree’ with another person in your group since portion sizes are so large. Bring leftovers home and use for lunch the next day. Join two or three other families and do a meal co-op. In other words, you prepare four of the same meal and deliver it to three other families. Then you will receive delivered meals on three other nights. It is almost like eating out - someone else did the cooking!
School Supplies. Begin looking for school supplies on sale now. Notebook paper, rulers, pens, notebooks, etc. are cheaply purchased at stores like The Dollar Tree, Dollar General and closer to the end of July, Target and Wal-Mart. Planning ahead and purchasing a few supplies on sale will save money that adds up.
Increasing Cash Flow. According to Dave Ramsey, putting your credit card away is the key to saving money. Using a debit card will automatically draw from your account and let you know what you are spending immediately. If you begin using cash for food, clothes, Target trips, etc., you will find how much miscellaneous expense you incur on unnecessary items. You are also saving money on credit card fees accumulating through keeping a monthly balance on the card. You will quickly see how much of your monthly expense goes to impulse purchasing. When you have cash in hand, you have to make better, wiser decisions.
Saving and Tithing. Continue to pay your savings account at the first of each month. Do not change the amount put in savings. Put your tithe into the offering plate or mail out of the same check. You have covered two key places of wise money distribution. Get your family involved in saving and tithing. Give your children a jar and put in the coins you save through eating at home, not buying the candy bar at the check-out counter, taking your snacks to the pool and going to the early movie without purchasing the $4.00 drink and $5.00 popcorn. The saved money will quickly add up and you can use that money to do something extra, tithe a little more, and put in savings. Through this simple system of coins and bills in a jar, your children (and you) will see how much you are saving and how much more you are able to meet your monthly tithe.
In the end, all that we have is given to us by our God who will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). It is our responsibility to pray through how our finances are to be used, how much we are to give to the local church and how we are to enjoy the fruits of our physical labors. Pray earnestly during these days ahead about your finances. He desires our requests be made known to Him. Ultimately, your income may continue to look smaller, your wallet may stay a bit emptier reflecting higher prices and your pursuits may be cut back, but you will reap the blessings of communing with the Father about that which concerns you.