Is this even possible, let alone should it matter to Christian? I mean this is not Joel Osteen’s blog right, or Brian Houston’s Sunday column is it? Well, as a matter a fact there is a way to not get rich as such (this should hardly be a Christian’s goal), but be better off is a better way of putting it, relative to others who are on the same income as you.
And before you say; we should be trying to get richer than our neighbours which I agree with totally (comparing oneself to one’s neighbour is the cause of most unhappiness in the western world the researchers have ‘discovered’ – why didn’t they just read the 10 commandments – Thou shalt not covet?), what we are really aiming for is making what we do have go further in relation to our wasteful selves and neighbours.
Why does making our money go further matter?
I think it matters because we are called to be good stewards with our money and I see so many people (including myself sometimes) who are unappreciative and frankly wasteful with the money they have.
It Works Because Other People Aren’t Doing It!
This is a similar principle to inflation; when the government prints money you become poorer because you’re money is worth less. In the same way as other folks don’t look after their pennies – the little money you have carefully preserved or invested and not wasted becomes more valuable by default.
Let’s get real; this method of making our money go further only works because others cannot be bothered to do it. What do I mean? What I mean is, if others did it too and we all did it, other people’s money would go further meaning they had more spare cash to spend meaning producers could then raise their prices without fear of falling out of the market – making what is currently affordable to us no longer affordable and the value of our money would then go down as the prices of goods went up.
So that’s why I called the article; ‘get richer without doing anything’. Because simply but virtue of the fact that others (and possibly you at this point if you are reading this article) don’t take extra care with every cent – stop being lazy in other words (another Biblical no-no) and spend a bit of time looking for better prices when you do need to buy – your money ‘grows’ in relation to theirs in the sense that theirs is actually shrinking far more than it should. So relatively what you have becomes worth more – goes further if you like.
I proved this once when I was on a meagre income, by being extra careful – not throwing away that last bit of food and sticking it in the fridge and eating it tomorrow – buying the slightly cheaper shoes or going to the thrift store to pick up a bargain – I was still able to by the things my ‘rich’ friends did when I wanted to like a quick holiday or a hi-fi and pretty much live the same lifestyle as them even though they were earning far more. Not only that – I noticed they were always complaining about being broke and it used to amaze me how someone on their wage would say such a thing – given that whilst I was not swimming in affluence – I was fairly comfortable.
I used to think; if I was on their wage and save as I do I would be filthy rich and have several mortgages. Not that any of this ‘money’ talk should be first on a Christian’s mind – I believe we do need to find ways to make your money go further. Not only that – if you have saved more – you can put more of your money to a much better use than buying a new hi-fi – you can give it away to someone who really needs it and can’t make ends meet themselves!
More Money To bless Others With
Now I know all this sounds very materialistic but let’s remember what the Bibles also says – not just being careful with what we have as good stewards but we must also know that; “he who can be trusted with a little can be trusted with much.” This is reason number two why we want to make our money go further.
Pride
Yes it’s true. Can you believe we waste tonnes of money each year because we are all scared to let our friends see that we have white label tea bags in our cupboard. This is madness and in complete contrast with what the Bible says. We should not care about what others think of us – Jesus was no respecter of persons. So I urge you to seek out the stuff which is not packaged so smartly and sports top ‘brands’ – this is often what you are paying for. I know how fickle and vacuous the marketing and branding industry is because I used to work in it and I tell you it’s little more than conning people into spending money they don;t have, on things they don;t need, which usually aren’t better than other cheaper products – and often worse!
Beware of 2-for-One Deals
Now this can be very difficult when you see what are rapidly become 3 for 1 – 4 for 1 and Im sure 10 for 1 will be next. Why is this a red-herring? Because – the advertisers and supermarkets well know the age old proven fact; the more someone buys of something – the more one uses.
Only Buy What You Need
Take milk. I will often buy a pint and make it last a week by only using what I need. Buy a 2 -pinter and I start sloshing it in my tea… slurping it all over my cereals and chucking the unused stuff down the sink. It’s daft but true, and if I’m doing it with milk, I’m probably doing it with everything else that belongs to me and other people – not good.
Not only that – too much milk in the western diet over prolonged periods may well be linked to high rates of prostate cancer in relation to say China where they hardly touch milk and have hardly any prostate cancer. Another reason why less is sometimes more. I guarantee you – if there is a 2 for 1 bacon deal – whist I will kid myself in the store I will save the extra round for the following day – thus saving myself the cost of one meal, I promise you I will end up having have BOTH rations next day for breakfast. It’s just human nature! So only buy what you plan to use and I know you will star to have more spare money.
The Bible Says So
Did you know in the Bible it actually tells us not to go for 2-for1 deals?!!! Yes – in Proverbs it says almost unbelievably; DO NOT BUY SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE IT IS CHEAP! This is where God first showed me how I could save money – by NOT falling for the supermarket trickery! And the reason the Bible says this? It’s simple – because if you make a habit of ‘saving’ money by spending more on 2-4-1 deals – soon you will end up with a house full of 2-for 1 deals and no cash left – and you still need to pay the bills and you will find you use up the extra goods almost as fast – if not faster once you get hooked on larger portions of everything than before!
Beware when Buying Sale, Cheap or Reduced Goods
Only buy what you need, and only buy reduced, cheap or on sale goods when you are absolutely certain you need it there and then – and – were going to buy that or a similar item anyway for more money elsewhere because you need it. That is the ONLY time when buying on sale goods make sense. Don’t fall for the; “Im saving money because I am buying more goods cheaply.” You will end up skint!
Finally – watch but BEWARE!
As Christians We are not looking to get rich – however this guy has some very good advice for saving and being a good steward of your hard-earned money!
https://youtu.be/zmAsQX2nwqM?t=1m59s
