Turn Your Finances Around with These Three Steps

Have you ever seen the music video for Abba’s song, “Money Money Money?”

I feel like my life would be made if Jimmy Fallon redid it as one of his skits on the Tonight Show alongside Paul Rudd, Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Wiig. COME. ON! If you’ve never seen the video just humor me… CLICK HERE.

Can you see it?? LOL

Did I spend like 3 hours putting that terribly edited picture together? Absolutely.
Am I upset about it? Not one bit…

But back to the point… Can we just agree that Abba’s lyrics are so relatable? Check it out:

I work all night, I work all day
To pay the bills I have to pay
Ain’t it sad?
And still there never seems to be
A single penny left for me
That’s too bad

Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever feel like you work a lot but don’t have a lot to show for it? The reason why the lyrics are so relatable is because:

We’re literally working to try to pay our bills, and just like Abba says, “There never seems to be a single penny left.”

What’s the solution? Or is this just the way things are?

Most of us think our only hope is to continue working and pray things change. Maybe we’re holding out for an inheritance. Maybe we play the lotto each week in hopes that we’ll win big and finally catch a break.

In my dreams I have a plan
If I got me a wealthy man
I wouldn’t have to work at all
I’d fool around and have a ball

Would you though? Did you know that 70% of lottery winners end up broke? I find it pretty interesting that 80% of Americans are in debt and 70% of lottery winners have no money after five years. Those numbers are too similar to be a coincidence, and it begs the question:

What if our money issues are less about how much money we have and more about how we view money?

If you’re like most people you think that money is something you earn to spend.

I remember being in middle school economics and having to put together a budget. The first thing we had to do was decide what kind of lifestyle we wanted to have. Then, we had to choose a career that would help us get all the things we wanted.

My imaginary life consisted of being an attorney, driving a Lexus, and owning a condo in New York. It wasn’t until my first year of college that I realized I wanted nothing to do with being an attorney. It’s crazy to me how much a simple exercise in middle school could drive the trajectory of my life for so long!

WHAT IF THERE’S A BETTER WAY?
What if instead of viewing money as something we own we started viewing it as something we’re loaned.

Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
– God (Job 41:11)

The reality of the situation is our money is not our own. Money is not just something we earn to spend. It’s something we’re given to steward. That means instead of letting our desires for stuff drive our spending habits we should:

Look to God’s Word for financial wisdom.
Pray to God for financial direction.
Put together a budget to hold ourselves accountable.

Trent + I did this back in 2009, and by 2019 we became 100% debt free, as in no student loans, no credit card debt, no car payments, no mortgage. And we did most of that on one income. If we did it, then you can too!

Imagine for just a minute what it would do to your family to get out from under all the debt. No more fighting about what bills to pay. No more thinking every phone call is a debt collector.

FREEDOM.

If that’s something you’re interested in, we’d love to help! Below are a couple resources that will help you start your journey, but we’d love to personally walk you through it all, so reach out.

Whether you’re sitting under a mountain of debt or just want to make sure you’re honoring God with your finances, we’re here to help ?

Trent + Sarah
kalowaycoffee@gmail.com

FINANCIAL RESOURCES:

Creating a Zero-Based Budget : Trent + I have used Mint for over a decade and it’s an incredible resource! And a zero-based budget is the only type of budget you should have.
Creating a Budget You Enjoy : I know that seems like a weird thing to say, but for real. You can enjoy your budget, and this will show you how.