By Gian Carlo Villatoro
Pastor, Victory Church
Gian, tell me: How can I improve my finances? — Silvia P.
Dear Silvia: I am going to talk to you, presuming that you are broke and having financial difficulties. The main reason you have bad finances is because you don’t have a budget.
I assume you have a job, that somehow you have an income. Because if you don’t, my friend, the first thing you need to do is to get a job. But assuming that you have some kind of work, and a source of income, what you need to do is to have a budget where you can see what is going on with your money.
In this link, vchurch.us/budget, you can download a PDF file, which you can use to write your budget and make your calculations.
Do not “imagine or visualize” your budget. No! That is a mistake. You need to see it, you must face the reality. It is like going to do your annual medical checkup. It is like going to the scale to see your weight. Face the reality.
The budget itself will not perform a miracle. It will simply help you understand where you are in your money management. From there you can take it to the next level, which is to learn to manage the money every month. Read and study my one page form.
For us who believe that God’s promises in the Bible are true, we participate in the process of giving to the Lord (via our local church), 10% of our income. We do it with joy, because we love the Lord and we believe that it is an act of faith and obedience. That is the reason why in our budget we put the Lord first.
I don’t know if you are a believer, or what you think about the Lord’s promise given to us in Malachi 3.10-12, but millions of believers throughout history have discovered that the good Lord is not just full of mercy and compassion, but also powerful to bless His children, not just spiritually, but materially and financially. Now, what do we do with the other 90% of the income? This is what makes the difference in each person, family and company. Live within your budget.
Feel free to email your question to [email protected] or call 432-614-9798 if you prefer.
