As a follow-up to Ed’s teaching on how Terra Nova views generosity – I’ve received some follow-up questions about how we can analyze our personal levels of generoristy and practical budgeting.  I thought it might be helpful to post this in case others were interested in this as well.  I am always available for more personal help if the need is there as well.  My God bless each of you in desire to reflect His generosity more.

In regards to establishing personal budgets there are several tools available depending on your personal desires.

• Many folks find the budgeting tools that are available on several personal budgeting softwares helpful and useful.  These include Quicken Money, iCash, BankTree and others.  Two downsides are these software programs are (i) they cost money and (ii) they may not be customizable enough.
• Web-based options that are generally free and do many of the same features of the above software packages are popular too.  There are some neat features of these programs including the ability to automatically download and aggregate your financial information from your banks, credit cards, lenders, etc.  You have to be comfortable with identity security however to use these.  Mint.com is the by far the most popular and is a great website to explore and learn.  Here is a link to a website that compares 6 different web based budgeting tools.
• If you are hands-on, don’t desire downloading of information, and prefer very customized budgeting tools – Excel is unmatched in this regard.  Biggest downside is you need to be comfortable in excel.  I’ve attached a few excel sheets that I’ve helped others set up.  Feel free to explore these and follow-up with any questions.   [Note that each file has several tabs to explore]

Above any tool out there – it is important to remember that budgeting, and tracking a budget, is a discipline.  No tool or software will do this work for you – it should be an active part of your living.  Technology can make it more efficient and easier to use, but it cannot replace our intentionality toward the work

Also a budget is just that, a tool.  Not a strict guideline.  However here are three valuable steps in understanding the purpose of a budget in my opinion.  It might help to think through a budget in this order:

1.       Figure out how much you feel called to give consistently and regularly?  This is the intentionally piece Ed mentioned Sunday.  God is intentional with his generosity – so should we.  In order to figure this piece out – seek out God through prayer, scripture and what others are doing too.

2.       Determine how much you need to live on – and then live on that.

3.       Any income received above the above 2 figures could  be:

a.       saved for future needs (retirement, child schooling, house purchases, debt reduction, etc.).  Proverbs teaching us the wise man saves for his families needs.  But we are also taught in the New Testament to not store up treasures on earth.  So we need to save wisely, but not find comfort or reliance on our savings accounts.

b.      give more away.  As God blesses us with more than we need, we should likewise reflect that generosity toward others.

c.       Discretionary Spending.  God also is pleased when we enjoy the toil of our labors and find pleasure in life – We should find ways enjoy what God richly provides us – but not to excess.

Then regularly, perhaps annually, review the above steps and adjust your generosity, your living expenses, your savings as you feel appropriate.

In order to do this the most effective way, and be able to be the most generous we can – It is important to have good records of how you allocated, or spent, your resources.

Above all else, don’t forget to commit your efforts to God in prayer – it is the offering of your heart that matters most.

Would you be interested in a class on managing personal finances if Terra Nova offered one? Let us know.