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Mar 5, 2013

10 Days of Financial Wisdom: Day 7

Working Together 
 
When I read Psalm 31: 10-31 I feel like God is talking directly to me. I replace she and her with my name as a way to motivate myself to be the women God has given me the potential to be. The only thing I need is to value the words of my King over the words of my flesh. Easier said then done right? Does the wife in this passage have a name? NO, and I think the reason is because it can be applied to every wife. The verse says she's a diamond in the rough and I know this to be true but it doesn't mean that every day when I wake I can't pursue this goal. All the things in this passage are the qualities God admires.

Today's verse focuses on Psalm 31:10. When you read this verse you can either A: feel like you're not anything like this gal or B: think of it as a way to humble yourself and ask your spouse some hard questions. Do you possess any of the characteristics of this wife? How will he answer? Don't be offended, look at it as a way to grow in your marriage and in your walk with Christ.

Now on to the Dave Ramsey lesson:

I'm a financial person. My wife, Sharon, is not. So maybe you can imagine my surprise several years ago when I discovered that she actually had some opinions about money. But what really got me was how often I was wrong and she was right!

Sharon fits all the ideals of a genteel Southern woman. She never pushes to get her way, but she does tend to have "feeeeeelings" when it comes to big decisions. At first, I never paid much attention to those feeeeeelings. But after my personal pride left our family bankrupt, I learned to trust them.

Now, I won't make a major move without Sharon's insight. For example, in the early days of my company, I wouldn't hire anyone before they had dinner with Sharon and me because I needed to hear her input and wisdom. That's something I've passed down to my leadership team today. Our company doesn't hire anybody until they've completed a spousal interview with the department leader and his or her spouse.

I really believe Proverbs 31:10–11 is a prescription for wise financial decisions. If you're married, you and your spouse are one. If you run off and make a huge purchase or sink money into an investment without talking with your spouse, you're only operating with half your brain!
And the results are rarely a blessing. Every time I've made a major decision without Sharon's advice, it's caused me huge amounts of heartache - and cost me lots of money!

If you're single, you can rely on your accountability partner to play that role in your life. Either way, the point is to get outside your own head, share the plan out loud, and let others tell you if they think it's a bad idea.

I'll admit that talking about money can cause some disagreements, but that's normal and healthy in a marriage. Just remember that your spouse is not the enemy. In fact, God has placed the two of you on the same team to make each other better. And who knows - if you can agree on the checkbook, the only real fight left may be over who gets the remote.
 
 This is really encouraging for me. I need to stop looking to myself for financial advice because hey let's face it, I'm not doing so well. However, having conversations about money is a commonly procrastinated topic until just the last few months. Luckily my hubby and I agree that we need to talk about money and start telling it where to go but like everything it's gonna take practice. We aren't going to wake up tomorrow and become penny-pinchers but my goal is that as I grow and learn about money then I can baby-step my way into becoming totally healthy with money alongside my spouse. 

If you like this reading plan so far, feel free to join in with YouVersion. It's an app Bible for your devices and in addition to keeping your Bible with you anywhere you can read this and many other great short reading plans. Just go to www.youversion.com and look up Bible reading plans.

Grace to You,
Jenna   
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