Got Oxen? – Part 01
This is the first in a series of posts containing excerpts from my latest book, Oxen, which releases on Tuesday, October 30, 2012! Pre-order your copy today and receive 20% off!
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. Proverbs 14:4 (NIV:1984)
I will never forget the day I first read Proverbs 14:4 in my Bible. My family had embarked on a journey to become financially free, and I was reading the entire book of Proverbs to find verses providing wisdom about money and money management. Many verses in Proverbs were already well-known to me and had made a profound impact upon my life. Proverbs 22:7 (The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender) motivated me to pursue debt freedom. Proverbs 13:22 (A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children …) challenged me to think generationally, ensuring I leave a financial legacy, so I could position my descendants to prosper.
Proverbs 14:4 never registered on my radar until that day. Its wisdom gripped me and stopped me in my tracks. Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. I read several Bible translations for this verse to ensure I fully understood its message.
- Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. (NIV:1984)
- Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests. (NIV:2010)
- Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. (KJV)
- Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. (NKJV)
- Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. (ESV)
- Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. (NASB)
I grew up on a small farm. We raised or grew just about anything and everything. We had pigs, cows, ducks, and chickens. Our crops included corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. I loved growing up on a farm. It is where I learned the value of hard work, about sowing and reaping, the cycle of life, and how everything in God’s creation is interconnected and dependent upon each other.
Maybe Proverbs 14:4 connected with me so strongly because it was talking about a life I knew that included farm animals, farm equipment, and a harvest, but I think the real reason it connected with me is because it described my financial situation – my manger was empty.
QUESTION: Do YOU have an empty manger financially?
Read the entire series (available after October 30, 2012)
Budgeting And Saving Tips
Looking for ways to save money? Here are a few that can help!
- Coupons.com has a lot of great coupons that you can print out
- MyCoupons.com has a lot of great information on deals that are being found at various stores
- Buy off-brand items. Yes, some will taste like sawdust, but others are identical to the name brand. If you have an ALDI grocery store in your area, it is worth the drive to purchase groceries there. We save at least $50 a month by buying our essentials there – milk, bread, canned foods, eggs, etc. As a side note, their eggs can be somewhat non-uniform – I get double-yolk eggs, oblong eggs, and wobbly eggs. It is really interesting.
- Skip the grocery store for one week. Put together meals from stuff that is in the cupboards and freezer! You will enjoy some concoctions you have not had in awhile (or never), AND you will be able to save a week’s worth of grocery money to put toward your emergency fund!
- Have the kids mow the lawn and maintain landscaping instead of paying someone else to do it. Pay your kids and teach them how to save, give, and spend their money! Can you spell, “LEARNING OPPORTUNITY?”
- Cut your kid’s hair. This will save many families $20 – $40 per month!
- Visit consignment stores, Goodwill, or Salvation Army Thrift Stores. You can find some great deals on clothing!
- Shop your insurance for quotes (US Insurance Online). Get at least three quotes and obtain one of them from an independent insurance agent. You may be able to save $100 – $500/year on your insurance!
- Take a low-budget vacation instead of a $3,000 one. Using creative options, you will discover just as much fun, and you may be able to save $2,000 – $2,500 which can then be used for debt reduction, emergency fund, or retirement fund!
- Wait one day before making a major purchase decision. This will really help you to avoid “impulse” purchases like a new car, a pricey vacation, a new plasma TV, etc.
- Eliminate the home telephone. So many people have cell phones that the home phone has become virtually obsolete. For basic home telephone service you will pay $25/month, and it will not come with basic features of a cell phone such as free long distance, caller-id, call waiting, voice mail, camera, text messaging, games, etc. If you need a basic phone for emergencies, I like the MagicJack.
- Get rid of the movie channels on cable.
I would love to hear more ideas on how you can save money!
First-Time Budgeting
I remember our first-ever budget. It was in July 2003. My fine bride, Jenn, came into the living room with a budget scribbled on a piece of lined paper. She had been trying to get me to budget for the past 6 months or so, but I was not playing along (because I’m a spender!).
I believed budgets were controlling, restricting, live-in-a-Maytag-refrigerator-box pieces of trash. They made me say the word “no”, and it interrupted my flow. I wanted no part of it.
But let’s consider a snapshot of my family’s financial situation when Jenn walked in:
- I was managing the money
- We had $4.13 in our checking account
- Our credit cards had a huge balance on them again – for the third time!
- We had a 105% financed car and a 100% financed truck
- There was nothing in our short-term savings account
- We were B-R-O-K-E
- I was in COMPLETE DENIAL!
I can not write this strong enough: I was B-R-O-K-E and telling my wife, “NO!” to doing something different with our finances! But, for some reason at that very moment, something happened that changed my life and marriage forever. I turned off the TV and looked at the budget she had prepared. It actually showed we could live for a month without incurring any additional debt!
LIFE-CHANGING does not describe the next few minutes. I moved into the computer room and started entering the expenses into Microsoft Excel. As I was putting together the formula to subtract expenses from the income, I realized that all of this time I could have been managing my money with the math skills possessed by the average first-grader. INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO! After a few minutes, we had a budget that was EXACTLY ZERO.
My life and marriage have been changed forever because we discovered that a budget is NOT restricting. It is freedom! It is merely telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it all went. It allows you to pay off debt, save up for known, upcoming expenses, save money for emergencies, and fund your dreams.
The first budget was tough because not everything went according to the plan. Every month we had been spending an enormous amount at Wal-Mart and did not clearly know what we had spent it on. As a result, our first month was a little rough. Month two was a bit easier. Month three was even easier.
Listen to your feelings as I write this next line: We don’t worry about money ANY MORE. We did something different. We applied God’s word and Grandma’s advice to our money and our lives have never been the same.
You CAN do this! You CAN get through the 1st month’s budget! Click on “TOOLS” at the top of the page or click HERE to download your FREE budget form and get started!
Need further help? My book, I Was Broke. Now I’m Not., provides the exact tools my family used to win with money. It will help you do the same. Learn more HERE.
How Do I Get My Spouse To Work With Me On Our Finances?
“How do I get my spouse to work with me on our finances?”
This is a very common question I encounter in the world of personal finances! The non-participative spouse problem is real, and it can be extremely frustrating.
First, let me say these two things:
- Finances are one of the top causes of marriage fights and divorce.
- Until both spouses are on the same page financially, it is impossible to maximize your financial potential.
So, recognizing how important it is that you work together, I submit the following strategies to bring the reluctant spouse on board with planning the family’s finances.
1. Plan out your conversation
- Take time to write down the reasons you would like to have your spouse’s active help in managing the family’s finances. The Financial Planning Checklist can help you with this. Include your dreams in this list. That 25th anniversary trip you have always dreamed of, the boat you’ve always wanted, paying for your daughter’s wedding, paying for your children’s college, etc.
- Look into some potential ways to improve your financial management. I highly recommend putting together a monthly spending plan BEFORE the month actually begins. You can find FREE copies HERE. Complete a personal finance study like the I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Study.
2. Talk with your spouse
- Arrange for a babysitter to watch your children, and schedule a night out with your spouse. Go to a nice dinner and then to a coffee house. Tell your spouse you have something you want to discuss that is VERY IMPORTANT to you. TRUST ME. When you tell them you want to discuss something VERY IMPORTANT with them, you WILL have their attention! This sort of statement is NOT something your spouse hears every day.
- Share your concerns with your spouse. Explain in terms of unrealized dreams. Here are some examples:”I am concerned that if we do not work together to plan our finances, we may not get to go to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary” and “The children are growing up so fast, and we have not started saving for their college yet” and “We have earned over $500,000 over the past ten years, and we only have $1,500 in savings.” DO NOT PUT THEM INTO A DEFENSIVE POSITION. IF YOU DO, THIS WILL NOT BE A PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION. Don’t say terrible or hateful things like, “Our finances stink because of your ignorance, and this is all your fault.”
3. Take Action!
- You have had the discussion. It might be appropriate to back off for a little while to let your spouse process everything you have shared. At some point, however, you need to take action! Sign up for the class. Set up an evening for you both to prepare a budget once the children are off to bed.
By the way, marriage is grand, but divorce is at least a hundred grand! I’m convinced that if most people knew how much divorce would really cost them, they would be much more willing to spend the money to figure out a way to work together!
Stop Living Paycheck To Paycheck
Questions:
- Are you living paycheck to paycheck?
- If you missed one paycheck, have you saved enough money to pay your bills on time?
Statistics continue to show that somewhere between 50% to 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
Bankruptcy is a very close relative to paycheck to paycheck living. People who choose to live this way are just one illness away from disaster. Just one job layoff away. One paycut away.
Marriage distress and divorce is a very close relative to both bankruptcy and paycheck to paycheck living.
If you are living paycheck to paycheck, I must ask:
Why would you put yourself in this position?
The stress is not worth it! The energy required to determine when each bill will be paid is exhausting. Why would you allow your marriage and financial future to be jeopardized?
If I can not give money away and save each time I am paid, something is broken. Having a car payment, a student loan payment, a furniture payment, and credit card payments might allow me to look good, but there is no way it is worth the stress of paycheck to paycheck living.
Financial margin allows you to stop the stress and despair.
If you are stuck in the paycheck to paycheck life, here are some practical steps you can take to get OUT of the madness!
- Pay cash for all future purchases. No more debt. It is the first rule of holes – When you are in a hole, stop digging!
- Spend all of your month’s money on paper BEFORE the month begins. It is called a budget, and it is AWESOME! Apply the basic rule: INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO. You can get started by clicking on “TOOLS” on the top of the page or by clicking HERE.
- Refuse to believe the lie that you must have debt. You do not HAVE to have debt. I have personally seen hundreds of people accomplish major improvement in their personal finances. Many have went all the way to total freedom of debt (except the house – some including the house!).
I want financial freedom so much for you! I feel a HUGE WEIGHT on my heart to help you achieve financial freedom! I want to help you! It is why I wrote I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. – to help you prosper! You CAN do this!