HOW MONEY WORKS

So I always thought I knew how to handle money until I grew up and noticed that most of my money had been spent unaccounted for and I had nothing to show for it mostly.

Some of it I'm sure, I used for very important things and I wouldn't change it if I had the chance to choose between spending the money for those things or not.

For a long time, I had heard about budgeting but for some reason, I never really came around to applying it. So near the end of 2016, I decided to consciously implement budgeting to my financial life

BUDGET 

"a quantitative expression of a financial plan for a defined period of time. It may include planned sales, volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets and liabilities and cash flows"

- To simplify this, I'd define it as a picture image of what you did with your money over a certain period of time-

So after implementing budgeting 2 months down the line, I noticed a few significant things.

1. I spend lots of my money on things I deem important but I need to do a reevaluation.

2. I spend money on things for others more often than for myself (Good or bad depending on how you see it)

3. My money could be spread out more than I am doing now.

4. I save way less than I earn

5. I could do financially better than I am now by applying more wisdom in my spending




In the end I've noticed that I'm not as good with managing my finance as I thought I was and definitely need more education in that area.

And so one of the things I've resorted to doing is to watch more online videos on money management and read more books on finance to improve, one of which is RICH KID SMART KID by Robert kiyosaki which I'm currently reading.

So some of the tips I've learnt on money management so far are, 

• Budgeting on excel- This gives you a picture image of what you've done with your money over a period of time

• Learn to save- Emergencies are inevitable and you want to be ready for whatever may come your way as stated in Matthew 25 about the 5 wise virgins who had enough oil in their lamps and were ready when the bridegroom arrived. 

• Build an emergency fund- 1 to 3 months savings which you build over time and will only touch when the situation is dire, e.g. Job loss, etc. It doesn't matter how small the money is. save it, for "little drops of water make a mighty ocean"

• Whatever God gives you, make good use of it. don't waste it. Plant it with your actions so that it can bear fruit. The same can be said with money. Use it wisely and it'll grow, waste it and you'll lose.

So hopefully by the time I'm done I'll have a more improved view of the importance of money, how it works and what I can do to manage mine better.

I hope this post is helpful.
Thank you and have a lovely day.

VISIONS with GOD

Happy 2017 Everybody,

Its been 3 years since I wrote a post on here. A lot has happened within that time. Been through a lot, grown through a lot, and learnt overtime to trust God through them all. God has been good throughout. I have learnt more of him along the way than I had before and I'm hoping to share with you my experiences as we go along.

I decided to revisit my blog and found a few things that encouraged me to start paying more attention to it.

So today, I would love to share with you the topic of VISION

The common bible verse regarding this topic is found in Habakkuk 2;1-2

"I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint
vs 2- Then the Lord said to me, "Write MY ANSWER plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others"

I read this bible verse a while ago and realised that I had never noticed the part where God says "Write MY ANSWER"

I think it's probably because I read the versions that said "write THE vision and make it plain"

But this particular word stood out to me because it made me realise that the vision belonged to GOD and is derived from GOD. It was the Lord who gave the answer and not man who thought it.

So all these years when I've been making resolutions and all manner of goals thinking to myself that I was the one who was supposed to come up with them, it was not really the best option because then, I relied on my strength and really didn't focus on God and where He wanted me to Go that year

Either way, my eyes have been opened and now I realise that in order to know the vision, I have to turn to the SOURCE (God) to know which direction to take and HOW to RUN with it.

So here are some of the ways in which we can turn to the source

1. PRAYER
Speak to God intentionally and sincerely about what you would like to do and what you should do,
Seek HIS WILL concerning them
Ask for his guidance,
Listen and write as you pray
(Ps: AFTER prayer, wait and Hear what the LORD has to say too as mentioned in the verse previously- its a two-way conversation)

2. The WORD
Read the bible
Research from it topics on the steps you want to take

3. LISTEN OUT FOR THE VOICE OF GOD- (through others)
i.e books, mentors, video/audio messages etc

4. SEE & RUN WITH THE VISION
When you are done, remember to RUN with the vision.
Act on what God speaks.
Get rid of every nonchalant attitude towards the vision.
Visit it constantly to remind yourself of what God has said

5. TAKE A STEP OF FAITH
"In prayer, there's a connection between what GOD does and what you do"
Plan, take a step, sow by your action and you will reap the reward
If you don't take a step of faith, nothing will be accomplished

6. REMAIN IN COMMUNION WITH THE SOURCE
Continue to commune with God to ensure that your roots do not dry out and that you are constantly refreshed to carry out the vision.

John 15:5- "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing"

Lastly,

I would like to share with you something from Lisa Bevere which I feel will be beneficial to everyone since we are still in the beginning of the year and people are in the goal-setting phase.

"God wants to take you from where you are to where He's calling you to be but He needs you to be INTENTIONAL where you are.

He needs you to be faithful here and needs you to dream there.
He needs you to write things down and then put it into his hands and understand that he can take care of that........

Go ahead and dare to dream
Go ahead and write down
Go ahead and be creative

Circle around those things in prayer
Speak them out in faith and entrust them to God

And it will be just a little while before you start to see those pieces come together"

-Lisa Bevere- 

https://www.facebook.com/lisabevere.page/videos/10157436799455447/

I hope this is a blessing and a reminder to keep God at the fore-front of your goals this year as you take steps to achieve them.


Enjoy the link and have a blessed day.
Love,
Trudie