Ever feel lost and just flat-out tired? I know for me I’ve struggled more times than I can count with money – in various ways. 

Back when I was 21 and nearly evicted and bankrupted, I was struggling from a complete lack of self-control and allowed my money to rule over me.

Then as a newlywed, I had to figure out how to relinquish control and work together with my husband on how our money was to be used.

And now, as a nearly debt-free, family of five, and business owners we’re once again struggling with money. We’re struggling to figure out how to 1) save the most for retirement, 2) what boundaries we need to set now that there’s significant wiggle room in the budget due to us not having debt and 3) how we can better use our money to fulfill God’s good deeds.

It’s a Tool

The thing with money is that it’s a tool. It’s tool that we can and should control, but just like with anything in life, when we keep it on autopilot too long it has a way of going out-of-control once more.

When you start treating your money like a tool, you’ll gain a financial impact, as well as a spiritual, relational, and emotional impact from managing your money well. 

The financial impact happens when you gain control over your money. You go from feeling like you’re drowning in your money troubles to feeling like you just a pay raise. 

The spiritual impact happens because by gaining control over your money and using it wisely, you will experience a sense of peace because you now have a plan. As one of my favorite Bible verses when it comes to money is:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first, and count the cost.” Luke 14:28

It always gets me thinking because yes, I’ve made some really dumb moves when it comes to how we manage money and what we spend it on. There have been many times that we’ve purchased something without really thinking about the cost and it always takes us having to go back reassess, make a new plan, and then take a new action.

The relational impact happens because there’s now more communicating happening between you and your spouse. You start solving problems together instead of combating each other. 

The emotional impact happens because yow now feel organized and if you’ve ever organized a closet before, you know how much better it feels when you have organization in your life. It improves your over all well-being and well, just flat out makes you feel good. 

It’s not an Event

There are different seasons and stages of life that will make different demands on our money and time. And that’s why it’s important that we remember that taking control of our money is a process, not an event.

It won’t happen overnight and in fact, we’ll spend the rest of our lives working and re-working our control over our finances. And when changes happen in our lives that affect the way we manage our money, we can either fall into the “victim” mindset of thinking that it’s all happening to us and we have no control, or we can stand up and make a plan.

One of my favorite quotes to keep me going is…

“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.” W. Clement Stone

Action is what keeps fear away and is what literally makes things happen. So if you find yourself struggling with something (whether it’s money related or not), sit down, make a plan, and most importantly, take action!

What is a money win that you’ve experience recently? I’d love to cheer you on!

The post When your money’s been on autopilot too long… appeared first on Jessi Fearon.