YOUR FINANCIAL LIFESTYLE GOES A LONG WAY TO DETERMINING YOUR CASH FLOW.



''show me an extravagant man who doesn't think investments 
and i will show you a man who will be be crying for money tomorrow''.

                                                            -Kenechukwu Malachy.

Three Financial Lifestyle Choices

I know there are things you would like to return or even charities you would go get back if I ask you to submit list of your spending last 11 months, that has affected all of us in one way or the other,but if we could improve in our financial lifestyle, things will go a long way to improve for better.

Read meditatively and be wise in your daily money management ensure steady cash flow, the most effective way to ensure proper use of your money is to think twice before spending on values, and my best advice to you goes in three ways viz

1. Invest your money before anything you will do with it.

2. Save after investing or reinvesting part of it.

3. Spend especially on things that will not become liabilities.

We really have three lifestyle choices financially, regardless of our income level. 

1. Living above our means. This lifestyle will mean increasing debt and stress to be sure.

2. Living within our means. This is what we
all assume is the right way to live. It will result in a steady,
balanced cash flow and will give a person freedom from the bondage of
debt and significant financial worries.

 3. Living below our means. This is the
lifestyle many Christians have never considered, but need to. It will
also result in a steady, balanced cash flow and freedom, but it also
accomplishes more. Living below our means really prepares us to
experience some additional blessings.

Why should we consider living below our means? First
of all, it’s the key to contentment – because we constantly realize
there are things we choose not to buy. I learn daily what I can live
without because I actually have the ability to get them, but I don’t.

Secondly, when we spend less than we earn, we are
free to give more than we even planned. When I spend less than I have, I
discover that God has allowed me more money which He wants me to
manage. Then when opportunities arise, I am free to give as God leads
me.

Thirdly, when I spend less than I earn, my
stewardship has a good chance of outlasting my own life. For one thing,
if I’m a parent, I can be an example to my children. Many young adults
and families struggle financially in their early years because they are
used to the lifestyle of their parents. But our adult children may or
may not be able to live at the level we live. Maybe the larger problem
often is that children follow the philosophy of their parents that they
should spend all the money they get. But if we as parents consistently
demonstrate contentment by limiting our lifestyle, that’s the principle
they can learn. And we are doing them and our grandchildren a huge
favor.

The other way that our stewardship can outlast the
years we have on earth is by leaving money to ministries. Indeed leaving
an inheritance to children is a good thing (Proverbs 13:22),
but leaving some of it to serve God’s kingdom purposes might be even
better. The only way to gather an inheritance is to spend consistently
less than we earn.

Let’s assume that God is challenging you and me to
either live within or below your means. Is that a pretty safe assumption
– that God is not trying to teach us how to live beyond our means? If we want to be stewards living within or below our means, we have to handle the spending issues.