Actually not completely true. I believe we are stewards of what God has given us. However, on an earthly daily basis, you have a choice when it comes to your money. Too often, people are passive with their money. They aren’t taught or equipped to know what to do. They are swamped by past financial choices. Then perhaps they buffer and ignore where they are now, as a way of escaping reality. Unfortunately, that will not make the struggle go away or make money magically appear in your account!

You do have a choice today to look at where you are with your money. You do have the choice to decide where you want to be in the future. You do have a choice today to set some financial goals. You do have a choice to use what God has given you to bless others. With taking that into account, how are you going to get from where you are today to where you want to be? Too often when we run from the reality of our finances, we wake up 20 years from now shocked at where we are or how we got there.

I am probably a little too obsessive about tracking my finances. I make sure my receipts are added into my budget app/spreadsheet within 24 hours of spending the money. So if I have to run up to the grocery store on the 28th of the month, I know exactly how much money I have to spend. I am a numbers person by nature and an accountant by degree and honestly this just works for me. However, that would seem overwhelming for some of you!

When it comes to time or money, being proactive is key for me! A Sunday-afternoon planning session is a great weekly reset. Looking at what I want to get done for the week and what I absolutely have to get done. What appointments I have scheduled versus leaving some margin for relationships as well. This would be a great time to glance over your accounts, enter your stack of receipts, or look ahead and see what expenses you have for the week.

I am also one of those people that pay their bills when they are received versus when they are due! This helps keep you in a state of reality about what money you “actually” have. You can avoid paying your bills and think you have thousands to spend…but in reality, a lot of that money is already committed. Additionally, since we are self-employed, we pay ourselves once per month, so it would be super easy to think we have extra at the beginning of the month and be panicked at the end of the month when we have over-spent some categories!!

What holds you back with facing your finances? What are some habits or hang-ups that get in the way of your goals? If you need tips or suggestions or coaching, let me know! Would love to chat $$ and solutions with you anytime!