A New Look At a New Plan

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

This verse takes on a special meaning to one who, through Him, has conquered debt. It bears repeating, when one determines to become debt free, one experiences a renewed relationship with God. Once one actually becomes debt free, there is a joy and a pleasure that rivals even that. The whole world is new - the chains of the slave are cut off.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

The new ‘plan’ budget looks something like this:
1. Giving
2. Pay Off Debt Pay Self - Save Money
3. Mandatory Expenses
4. Expendable Expenses
5. Slave Expenses Unchained Expenses
6. Exigent Circumstances Expenses

What are the new goals of ‘financial freedom’? Repeating again, the first goal of being debt free is not to fall back into debt. As good stewards, it is a responsible decision to ‘save’ money. How much should one save? There is an ‘old’ financial rule called the 10-10-80 rule, the goes something like this, “Give 10% to God, save 10%, and spend the rest with thanksgiving”. This quote is often attributed to John D. Rockefeller. (Having found no reference to this quote by Sr. or Jr. at the Rockefeller Archives - we will just say it is an ‘old quote’.) It is not a bad strategy. One could ask if ‘10%’ is enough to save. Personally, using the ‘old’ debt relief budget and saving the rest, after giving, sounds like a good (maybe better) plan.
One has ‘learned’ the indigent attitude and ‘good stewardship practices’. The question really becomes, why is one saving money?

Realistically, in today’s society, saving for retirement is almost mandatory. It is almost a necessity. While we earnestly yearn for the return of Christ, we have to look again at the ‘house of the wise’ in Proverbs 21:20. There are four things one ‘needs’ to save money for.
1. One needs to have a fund for emergencies and ‘exigent circumstances’.
2. One needs to plan and save for the future.
3. One ‘should’ have savings to pay for the replacement of ‘needs’ (like replacing that 15 year old car).
4. One ‘should’ save for ‘want’ items (like that new big screen TV or computer).


Emergency funds in savings should include:
One should have 3 - 6 months total expenses (rent, food, mandatory expenses, etc.). That is unless one has a ‘guaranteed’ income (stipend, retirement, etc.) that ‘covers’ these expenses. This money should be ‘available’. These funds need to be accessible, not like Treasury Bills or others one can not immediately access. Additionally, one should have the total of all ‘deductibles’ for car and health insurances.

Funds for plans for the future:
These funds are retirement funds and college funds for children. This author is not an authority on such funds. One should consider ‘reasonable’ advice from learned people and make those savings conservatively. Ideally, any ‘long-term’ funds should grow at the rate of inflation (7-8% annually). These funds do not need to be ‘readily accessible’ like emergency funds.

Funds for replacement of needs and wants:
These funds are just that, replacement funds. One needs to prioritize needs and wants and allocate ‘savings’ accordingly. Consider short term and long term goals for replacements/wants. A new TV can cost as much as a replacement vehicle, but usually is considerably less. Sometimes a want can come before a replacement ‘need’. This is a matter of prayer and weighing costs. Like the toaster in “When ‘Want’ is Not Sin”, the cost of the toaster was considerably less than the cost of replacing a car. The toaster came first. Ensure one reviews the ‘principles of wants’ as one saves for ‘wants’. One may find, as personal experience has shown, that sometimes, once the money is saved for a want, one no longer ‘wants’ it. Other things then become priorities.
If one has not paid a mortgage, one may ‘want’ to buy a house. This is a long term goal. Saving 10% of every paycheck to buy a house will become a very long term goal. If one saves 10% of a $2000 a month income, it will take 83 years before one can buy a $200,000 home (not including inflation). One may have to save more than 10% of one’s income to accomplish goals.

As one looks at the new plan, use the principles of ‘want’, the principles of ‘good stewardship’, the “5 ‘P’s’”, and then the planning model. This seems like a lot of work just to ‘save money’. Remember, not so long ago, one was a slave to debt. It takes practice to become a wise or ‘savvy’ spender. All the principles and practices used to get out of debt are smart practices to become a ‘lender to the nations’.

Here are two ‘great promises’ for one that is keeping the command of living debt free.
“The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” Deuteronomy 28:12

“For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.” Deuteronomy 15:6