iQuit living from paycheque to paycheque - Part II

Merry Christmas! I hope that this Wednesday fills you with joy and peace as you are reminded of the greatest gift of love given to you in the birth of Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that the practice of gift giving will remind you of all God first gave to you and that it will encourage you to be good stewards of His gifts. In the same way that you would want your tokens to others to be treated well, God wants us to regard all we have as gifts from Him and use these blessings for His honour.

Today, we end our series ‘“iQuit’, and we are looking at how we can quit living from paycheque to paycheque. God is the one who gives us the ability to make wealth and provides financial opportunities for us. However, this blessing often causes us stress and leaves us in debt, which is not God’s will for the gift that He has given.

Most books of the Bible cover the topic of finances because God wants us to apply His strategies towards wealth so that we will never again be in a place where we have to feel stressed about our finances. So, let’s look at a few more tips that we can apply to QUIT LIVING FROM PAYCHEQUE TO PAYCHEQUE:

1. GET PRIORITISED

The Bible teaches that we should prioritise our money and use it in a certain way: tithing. This is a practice that even persons outside the Church have begun to support. For them, it is an unexplainable benefit that comes when they give 10 per cent or more off the top of their income. For us, the benefit is clearly explainable: it is a promise from God to bring blessing when we tithe. Studies show that Christians who tithe have healthier finances than those who don’t. For many of them, they have no unpaid credit card bills, owe nothing on their cars, own their own home, and some are completely debt-free. Tithing is not only a blessing, but it is a tool to teach you to always put God first. When you prioritise God, you give Him room to work miracles with the rest of your money and stretch it in ways that you could never do.

After that, put the next 10 per cent towards any debt you may have. With the third 10 per cent, invest or save. This leaves 70 per cent to live on which is the key to lasting wealth. It might be difficult, and the debt won’t go away overnight, but be encouraged! Proverbs 13:11 (NCV) says, “Money that comes easily disappears quickly. But money that is gathered little by little will grow.”

2. GET AUTOMATED

Once we decide that we are going to prioritise, inevitably, all the reasons to procrastinate start showing up. We may not have the willpower to stick to our plan without some help. So our next step is to get automated. With today’s technology, it is easy to set up automatic payments so that it all happens without our input or need for restraint.

3. GET STARTED

When it comes to our money, we often have good intentions, but it remains just a desire. That ends today! This is what the entire iQuit series has been about. Don’t wait until January 1. Start today with little actions. Share your intentions with someone and ask them to help keep you accountable. Get the facts on your current situation and use technology to your advantage.

This Christmas, I want you to receive every gift available to you – that includes financial freedom. Let’s QUIT living from paycheque to paycheque today.