Sticking to a Budget
The foundation principle for sticking to a budget is to solve problems. As a Single Saint I only have to answer to God and my cats. I’m trying to set realistic financial goals and I’m saving $60 a month. Eventually I want to get Cool Sculpting done and that will cost me $1500 but it’s a realistic goal to set for health and beauty.
I’m sorry to say that I’ve been letting personal stuff interfere with my blog. I live in Toronto Housing and I’ve been being terrorized by my landlord and some malicious neighbors. Knowing I’m in covenant with Heavenly Father is the only thing that’s been keeping me sane but now I’m ready to catch up.
The challenges I’ve had with keeping my commitments is that I haven’t been diligent in writing down everything I earn and spend. My neighbor is agoraphobic so I do her shopping for her, earning ten dollars on each shopping trip. I usually give in to my natural man when I do and spend money on impulse purchases at the counter, usually a Cottage Country Surprise package or Coke Zero to keep up my caffeine cravings while also heeding the Word of Wisdom.
One thing I learned while creating a budget is that now that I’m sober and living the principles of recovery I spend entirely too much on takeout food. PArt of it is my new freedom with money. As an addict, my cheque was gone the night I cashed it, blown on cocaine and alcohol and cigarettes. It’s hard to believe I’m less than ninety days sober: it seems like a lifetime ago that I posted Religious Hypocrite.
I counselled with Heavenly Father as I created my budget and of course my tithes and offerings come first. Kenneth Copeland’s The Lsws of Prosperity is a trememdous benefit to anyone looking to know how to tithe properly.
I always spend time tithing my tithe. I pray over it and I ask Heavenly Father to look down from Heaven and BLESS my tithe. Of course in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we don’t pass the basket in our meetings but we give our tithes to the Bishop directly. I spend time at home tithing my tithe as well as my offerings. Not to brag but I give ten percent from my gross, not my net, and that’s my tithe. My offerings are another five percent of my gross income, so altogether the Church gets fifteen percent of my income. I always do better that way. I don’t know how Heavenly Father BLESSES my income so I do better on eighty-five percent than I did with one hundred percent but He does and that’s all I need to know. The farther along you go, the more trust you gain in the process.
Heavenly Father will allow us to face problems and challenges because it’s how we respond to those challenges is what will enable us to grow in the covenant. I currently am being forced by an illegal agreement to give up seven of my nine cats. Jake was rehomed to a beautiful woman named Nancy who he adores. Fred, Stacey-Ace, and Frieda were turned over to rescue because they were semi-feral. I called the Temple and had their names put on the Temple Prayer Roll, saying they were foster children. To me they were foster children and their lives are worth the life any human being. All I can do is pray they got into the Barn Cat Program and weren’t euthanized. However, a section D&C says the animals go to a filial spirit world when they die so I have the LORD’s guarantee that they are safe. Toronto Animal Services are coming on Monday for Clare, Tigger, and Gwen. I’ve raised Clare for ten years and raised her from a four week old mite to a sleek and gorgeous cat. I rescued Gwen and her sister Stacey Ace from the outside and bottle fed them from the age of three weeks. My heart is being torn out and Toronto Housing knows this. However, their malicious attempts to drive me into a mental health crisis will not work because they don’t know the power of the Covenant.
As Tempted as I’ve been to purchase a Death Unto Mine Enemies Candle and Double-Cross Oil I’ve chosen instead to obey Heavenly Father and let vengeance be his. I know my Father in Heaven will repay my enemies seven-fold for what they’ve taken from me. I also know that forgiveness and praying for those who have spitefully treated me brings me closer to Jesus Christ.
So what’s the real problem in the story above? Obviously, the two men aren’t making a profit since they sell the melons at cost. The could sell the melons for a dollar fifty each. They could haggle with the melon farmer to buy in bulk at a lower cost. This lesson is to get us to look at our own budgets and see what it is we could do without and how to solve our own money problems
My December budget is short because this December I’ve budgeted out $360 on Avon products. I know that sounds like a lot but I haven’t had a new dress in literally YEARS. I’m also getting their full line of skin care products at $50 each when normally I would have had to pay over $100 for each line of skincare. I could never have afforded them at full cost and now I’ll have several months worth of skincare. There’s nothing vain about a woman of God taking pride in her appearance. I’m a Bride of Christ and a daughter of my Heavenly Father. I’m going to look the part as well as act the part.
This leaves me with $117 to buy groceries so I’m going to buy them at bulk barn and Dollarama. I also qualify for the St. Vincent De Paul and Salvation Army Christmas Program so I know Heavenly Father will take care of me as long as I remain worthy.
Nephi didn’t build his ship according to the manner of men but according to what the LORD showed him. We have to be the same when creating our budgets. We have to look to our Father in Heaven and not to to the world. I’m not buying a new dress to impress the world, but because I’ve lost weight and need a new size. My LDS counselor has taught me there is a difference between self-compassion and self-indulgence.
I currently don’t have a gym membership although as I pay down my debts I might go for a YMCA membership. Walking is free and it’s a wonderful exercise. I also need to cut down on my food budget anyway. Having only two cats has also cut down on my grocery and litter budget although I always found a way. Losing my fur children is not from Heavenly Father but I know that He takes my hurts and turns them in harvests.
D&C 93:24 says that “truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as thy are to come.”
Knowing where your finances stand is essential to financial stewardship. I am currently in debt but I have a financial vision and as I obey the laws of tithing and giving plus I work on getting suitable part time work in the New Year. I am learning to live within my means and as I do I get BLESSED.
Now which system of budgeting will work? Let’s check these out:
I find for myself paying directly from my bank account is the best way to do it. I get Air Miles every time I spend over $40 with my BMO debit card and those Air Miles add up. That’s why I shop at Metro and other places. Then when my budget is low I can rely on my Air Miles to help me get things. This month I budgeted to be certain I could get a ticket for Joel Osteen’s “A Night of Hope.” I adore Joel and with the grief and uncertainty I’ve been through over my corporate landlord terrorizing me I need the comfort of a whole stadium of God lovers on my side. Also, having cash at home often tempts me to get things I don’t really need, like take-out pizza when I’ve got a frig full of food. There’s also the fact that I’m a sober addict. Having too much cash in the house could tempt me and I know that by doing things through my debit card I won’t be tempted to purchase drugs.
My current priority is to pay down my debts and then to get to my crdit card debt. I’ll have to open a new bank account to do that and that means spending $35 on an Ontario Photo ID which is a birth certificate with your photograph. It’s used in place of a driver’s license. Paying down my debts is my top financial priority because Romans 8 in the Amplified Bible says “Keep out of debt.” The general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also counsel us to keep out of debt and live within our means.
Being a wise financial steward is getting me to change lot of my perspective and habits. I’ve always been an impulsive person but now I’m thinking with an eternal perspective. I haven’t yet started to save for family emergencies but I’m going to make a point of that now. While I pay my tithes and offerings in cash I’ll do all else through the debit card system. I leave money in the bank to come out through Payor Agreement Debits.
The most meaningful thing I’ve learned from this is that I can be self-compassionate without being self-indulgent.
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