Growing up, I'm not sure if we had a budget or not but I do know my mom was quite meticulous when it came to the tracking of finances and I think if I gained anything from her it was attention to details.
I can be a little bit nerdy when it comes to basic math, I enjoy creating a budget, crunching numbers and balancing the "check book", maybe not on the top of most people's list. Before my husband and I even got married we began looking at our finances together and created a budget. In our early days of marriage and ministry, we had a very modest income and it forced us to truly evaluate what was important. We decided early on we would not have credit cards or put ourself into debt. There were fewer than 5 times where we purchased something with a loan (on one occasion a used car for less than $3000) or with no interest financing simply to build credit. In almost every instance we could have paid cash but chose to keep the cash on hand for emergencies and build credit without paying interest. Two years into marriage we were able to buy a home, currently our only form of debt.
My husband and I have worked very hard to exhibit self-control when it comes to material things. We both preferred for me to stay at home with our children and live on one income and many of our decisions early on were a reflection of those desires. We refuse to be caught up in comparing ourselves with others and what they have, we truly are content!
In a recent series at our church called "Enough" our pastor talked about the principal of living within a 10/10/80 budget. Tithing 10%, Saving 10% and Living on 80%. He gave us homework to evaluate our monthly income, expenses, giving and savings. Now because we do already have and live within a budget I knew we were at least giving 10% but I was not sure what the other percentages were. Although we are not quite there I was not disappointed to report that we are at a 12/7/81 budget and working to improve.
So what does all this have to do with discipline? I would start with saying that when you learn that your budget does not define you but you define your budget, it is easier to stay disciplined in your spending. Before anything else is even considered you give the first 10% to God (it's all His anyway) and then you set a budget and live within your means. When you do this you are setting yourself up for God's blessings instead of wreaking havoc, stress and tension into your life. We have found time and time again that God has always been faithful to provide for our needs when we truly seek Him first (Mt. 6:33).
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