Balanced: SpendingSample

UNHEALTHY SPENDING HABITS

Have you ever met anyone who has gotten themselves in trouble by irresponsible spending? There’s probably not a person on this planet that would answer “No”. Chances are the first person you thought of, was you! The unspoken philosophy of this world is, “as long as I have it, why not spend it?” And there’s a slightly worse statement that also seems to permeate our society, “As long as I have credit, why not spend it?” These views give prey to some very unhealthy spending habits.

Read these descriptions of unhealthy spending habits and consider if any of them describe you:

1. Impulsive Spenders –These people may have a financial plan and get excited about it, but soon they’ll be shopping, and they'll see a deal that they just “can’t pass up." And isn't long before they accumulate unnecessary stuff.

2. Compulsive Spenders – Compulsive spenders are people with an unmet need in their life. They might not even know what it is, but instead of determining what the need is and dealing with it, they do a defense-mechanism thing and try to escape it all by spending money. This may be you if you shop when you’re sad or when you're lonely.

3. Boredom Spenders – Some people get bored and just go shopping. This one is pretty ridiculous when you think about it! There are so many wonderful things to do if you’re bored! What if serving in your church or in your community was your go-to instead of spending!?

The list can go on, and we will consider some more unhealthy spending habits in tomorrow’s reading.

Today, consider how contentment can guard our hearts against unhealthy spending. The Bible says much about the idea of contentment. Contentment is more than simply being happy with the things you have. Biblical contentment is finding ultimate satisfaction in Someone much more valuable than things or other relationships. There’s a relationship with our Savior that can fill our void in a way that nothing else can. Pursuit of this kind of contentment will have a positive effect on unhealthy spending like nothing else. In other words, spending time with Him will change your spending in a very healthy way.

Ask Yourself:

-Which unhealthy spending habit do I most identify with?

Pause to Pray: My Lord and Savior, nothing on earth compares to You! Thank you for giving me the gift of You! Please help me to understand more and more what it means to be satisfied in you. Amen.

Take a Next Step: Memorize Romans 12:2- write it on a notecard, create a lock screen for your phone, or listen to it multiple times a day.