When I was a little girl, my mom put me on her “envelope system.” Long before Dave Ramsey or Susie Orman came along with their money philosophies, my mom had hers. Every time I would come home with money (whether from a lemonade stand in the front yard, or cash from babysitting the kids across the street), she made me put it immediately in my “envelopes.” I used to hate organizing my earnings that way, but even to this day, I find myself organizing our paychecks into separate “categories”…. similar to the envelopes I used years ago!
The envelope categories I used as a little girl were as follows:
Tithe - 10%
God’s word tells us specifically to set aside 10% of what we make to give back to Him. When you think of it carefully, it really is obvious that without His influence in our lives, and without His provincial leading, we really wouldn’t have a job to earn money in the first place, so it only makes sense to give the first part of our money back, as a happy Thank you, to Him. It hurts my heart to think of the churches today that are floundering simply because their members are not following a simple commandment given to us in Scripture. Psalms 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains…"
and then again in scripture, we find Paul asking, "And what do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 4:7. Remember, the money belongs to God anyway…so we really need to give it back to him FIRST.
Bank – 50%
Half of all of the money I made went straight to the bank into savings. I used to hate this element especially, because I would have to work twice as hard before I could buy the things I wanted, and HALF of all of the money I was making would go into what I thought was an empty hole called the bank. Needless to say, when it came time to pay for college years later, I was EXTREMELY GRATEFUL that this “empty hole” was waiting for me!
FUN! – 40%
This envelope was my “left-over” money. This was the money I could use to go see a movie with friends, buy that Barbie-doll I wanted so badly, or treat my Grandma to a blizzard at Dairy Queen on a hot summer day! This was my favorite category (obviously!), and this was the envelope I used to buy the things I really wanted, because I had to work so hard to get money into that envelope. This envelope taught me about waiting for the things I really wanted, rather than buying the things that intrigued me and screamed at me to buy them when I walked past a store shelf!
Today, the “envelopes” in our home look a little bit different, and the percentages aren’t even close to the same as they once were. We still do have a “Bank/Saving’s” element, as well as a “Tithe” and “Fun” element to our monthly budget, but there are quite a few others that we’ve added. “Groceries”, “Eating Out”, “Date Nights”, and standard “Monthly Bills” just to name a few!
Here’s my challenge to you for the week: Sit down as a family and map out your monthly income into categories. (Remember! Don’t add money you don’t already have!) Start with your tithe, and then the things that are unchanging. (That monthly mortgage, groceries, and electric bill!) Then, set aside what’s left into still important, but less mandating “envelopes.” (Eating out, Dates, and Fun!) Last, but not least, STICK TO IT! It’s easy to take some time to develop a plan, but it’s a whole different thing, sticking to your plan. Commit your family in the next 3 months, to try living out this strategy. By the end of these 90 days, if you’re not in a better financial state for it, then I give you complete permission to give it up without any guilt….but I bet you’ll be surprised, where you find yourself at!
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