Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Balance The Budgeting

Stingy. It's an ugly word.I know that you, nor I, nor anyone we would ever know anywhere in the world would ever fall prey to this word. No. Never. I know no one like that.

If we aren't careful, after we start budgeting, that ugly little word can pop into our lives leaving us as a shadow of our former selves.

According to Merriam-Webster,  'Definition of STINGY. 1: not generous or liberal : sparing or scant in using, giving, or spending'.

We want to be sparing or scant in spending, we call that wisdom. But what we don't want, is to become sparing or scant in giving. I'm certain you've heard the many scriptures on giving and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and ruuuuuunning over. Right now, I am not talking about the spiritual aspect of giving. I am talking about the mental aspect of it.

Sometimes without us knowing, we can start eliminating the giving out of our life through justification. 'This month we can barely pay the electric so I won't be giving to my church' or maybe 'I can barely afford groceries, let alone a present for a baby shower'. These have run through my head at times. Over the course of 10 years of budgeting, I have been on both ends of the spectrum, ranging from giving everything to giving nothing monetarily. I think my mom was relieved when I quit giving away all the furniture that was given to me. But it was a gift that I could do what I chose with.

It's a balancing act that we have to learn. An art, to be able to give when we feel like we have to cling to every penny that we come in contact with. One way to avoid this nasty shift, is to give. Yep, you read me right. Give! Give of your time to a local food bank or nonprofit organization. Organize a week's worth of food for a new mom that's coming home from the hospital. Make a double batch of a meal that is inexpensive but tasty for the friend who's going through a difficult time. Be the ear that listens to the one that needs to talk.

Giving is not only money. In fact, the most important giving is not money. It is of yourself.

So budget with balance. If you have a little extra that you can give, then do. But never budget the giving out of your life.

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