More Fun with Less Money

This last weekend, I felt I spent a lot more than I should have on entertainment. I have learned that the more you make, the more you spend.  As a Christian, we need to be good steward of our money. But on the other hand, God doesn’t want a boring person. He doesn’t want us to live a life of all work and no play. In order for me to spend less and still be able to enjoy life, and be able to keep extra cash for the more important things, like ministry or blessing a family in need. Here are a few things I have learned.

1.  Start now. Start today. Go into your phone calendar and have it remind you every morning to: “Cut Costs, Earn More, Optimize Spending.” I got this from Ramit Sethi, this 20 something genius who wrote “I Will Teach You How to Be Rich”.
2.  Direct Deposit. With every paycheck, I have automatic deposits for the following accounts:       
      a)  God gets the first chuck out of the paycheck, 10% = Tithes

b)  My 401K gets 10% (Since my company gives me 9%, my total is 19%). I would give more, but at this time, I don’t trust the Stock Market, nor do I trust our government.

c)  For Life, such as rent, food, gas, car payment = 60%.

d)  Most people don’t do this, but if you want to advance in your business, you need to keep your education up, so 5% for Education. 

e)  You deserve to Reward Yourself for the hard work you do, 5-10% for vacation, clothes, whatever.

f)   The rest, you should use it on Others; either you give it to someone in need, or take someone out for coffee to build a relationship/network.  God is all about relationships – why else do you think He didn’t wipe us all out even though He knew were would sin. Even though we hurt Him, He loves us so much that He would rather experience the hurt and have us around than be without us and have just Him and His Angels in 3rd Heaven.

 3.  Don’t pay full price when you don’t have to. I love coupons. Some people are embarrassed to use them, but why should you pay more than the next person? Subscribe to online discount companies like: Groupon, Google Deals, Living Social, Coupon Cabin, Coupon Sherpa and and/or RetailMeNot. There are so many of them out there. There is Zozi if you want to learn something at half the price.

I love to share what I have learned, so stay tune for more life lessons! Be blessed and prosperous!

Written by Linh Dang   {Photographer, Artist, Writer}

Founder of FreedomCollage