Budgeting & Hardship Strategies

For most families, food and grocery expenses are the second biggest line item in their budgets after rent or mortgage payments. While the budget bite from grocery shopping can be depressing at times, the good news is that there is a lot of room for creativity and savings for disciplined shoppers. One of the greatest advances in budget-conscious shopping is finding its way into America’s kitchens with great results: shopping for groceries online can rescue an out-of-control food budget.

It is well known that the internet provides opportunities abound to comparison shop for necessities like clothes and insurance; using the internet to find grocery bargains is a logical next step. Most grocery store chains offer online shopping options with free in-store pickup; a few even offer home delivery for a small fee. Wal-Mart and Amazon.com offer free home delivery, and allow you to combine grocery purchases with other items from the store. The end result is a great addition to any debt relief program- saving money by buying groceries online.
Shopping online for food makes sense for many reasons, especially for families trying to stick with Christian debt management principles. When you buy groceries online, you eliminate pricey impulse purchases. You buy only items from your list. This saves money and helps you stick to healthy choices. Eating healthy on a budget is easier using online shopping tools. Many grocery stores offer meal planning and recipe tools right on the site: You choose your menu for the week and the corresponding grocery items are automatically loaded into your shopping cart.

Most grocery websites list their weekly specials so you can buy from the store with the best prices for the groceries you need that week. Some even feature economical recipes using sale items to help you maximize grocery savings.

Shopping online allows you to compare grocery prices on the things you buy regularly so you can always get the best available price without driving to several stores. Big retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon give you access to economical brands and product sizes that might not be available to you at your local stores.

Ordering groceries online takes the guesswork and surprise out of your food bill. You can see what your choices are costing before you purchase them, giving you an opportunity to make changes to keep costs in line with your budget.

To start harnessing the Internet for grocery savings, begin with your local grocery chains’ websites to see what’s available. Browse the grocery offerings at Walmart.com and Amazon.com to compare prices. Other sites like ShopFoodex and NetGrocer have frequent specials offering favorite foods at steep discounts and usually offer a credit toward your first order. It may take a few weeks to get used to buying groceries this way, but you will find, with practice, that online grocery shopping can be your budget’s best friend.

With the hectic daily grind that has become a part of so many peoples daily routines, it is no surprise that eating out is one of the top budget breakers. When you are running around town and have your kids in the car howling about how hungry they are, a quick pizza run may cause the kids to cheer, but your budget will not.

Last minute dining out decisions can wreak havoc on a carefully planned budget or Christian debt management plan. For families attempting to eliminate debt, this is an added expense that can kill your dream of being debt free. Eating out is such a sneaky expense, because we can always justify needing to eat. You must consider however, food purchased in a restaurant is almost always significantly more expensive than the same type of meal prepared at home.

Why Do You Eat Out So Much?

Pinpointing your motives behind your actions is the first step toward changing those actions. Many individuals cite eating out as more convenient than cooking at home and that it saves time. Forbes author Laurence M. Holland points out that when you calculate the travel time, waiting for a table, waiting to give your order, waiting for your food, and then waiting for your bill you ultimately save no time at all. Not to mention the fact that when you are eating at home, you can also be multi-tasking on other things such as catching up email, or helping your kids with their homework. Eating at home ultimately saves time.

Other individuals may say that they eat out so often because they just don’t like to cook. This is a situation where you must evaluate how important it is that you be successful with your Christian debt management program. If you are truly committed to debt elimination, then doing something you don’t necessarily like to do should not seem like that big of a sacrifice. The truth is people eat out a lot because it is less work for them. This, however, is not a good reason to endanger your budget or your path to being a debt free Christian.

How to Ensure You Eat At Home

Make a Plan

Planning to eat at home more often takes a little organization. You must have a plan. Taking thirty or forty-five minutes once a week to make out a menu and a grocery list will save you a lot of time and money later on. Make sure your menu is specific and that your grocery list will accommodate all your meals. If you are new to cooking, take a look at websites such as allrecipes.com or the Food Network for ideas and inspiration, or do a search for “budget friendly meals”.

Stick to your list

Now that you have your list put together, it’s time to go shopping! If you made a careful menu, then the items on the list will feed your family for that week. You will not have a need to buy other items. Many parents find that bringing the kids with them to the grocery store often leads to overspending. If going alone will ensure you spend less, then go alone.

Plan for eating out.

The fact that you are going through a Christian debt management program does not mean that you cannot still enjoy a meal out on occasion. If your budget has the room for it, set aside some money for eating out each month. Every situation is unique and your personal goals are going to determine the frequency at which you can enjoy a meal out. You may find that you can actually budget for a pizza night each week. We suggest that you are careful to be eating out because it was planned and budgeted rather than because you weren’t sure what else to do for dinner that night.

If you follow these suggestions, you can prevent one of the top budget breakers from getting between you and your financial goals.

Getting out of debt is a big job and requires a lot of sacrifice if you are serious. When most people begin their Christian Debt Relief program they just assume, “Well, no fun vacations for us for the next five years.”. While there will be many things that must be sacrificed, fun does not have to be one of them. You and your family can still have fun, even without an expensive yearly vacation. Here are a few alternatives to traditional family vacations that will save some money and make some lasting memories.

Kid’s Choice Week

If your kids are accustomed to taking a week-long vacation to somewhere exciting, present a “Kids Choice Week” as an alternative. Explain to your kids you will not be going on vacation, but instead, for an entire week every evening will be kid’s choice. Your kids get to choose the meal, the movie, the game the activity. Give each child a night that can be entirely their own to plan for the family to spend at home together. Your kids will love the concentrated time with each other and the feeling of being in charge.

Staycation

This is becoming a much more popular alternative in recent years. If you are in a position to take some time off work, plan a staycation. This is a great option for families that have a little money for a vacation but not really enough for travel expenses and hotel costs. Spend some time finding the most fun activities and attractions that are within driving distance of your house. You may think there aren’t any, but you’ll be surprised what you find once you start looking. Each day of your planned “staycation” you and your family will go experience a different place or activity. It could be an amusement park, museum, hiking trails. A week full of day trips. If you have really young children, you would be shocked at how much fun they might have just staying at home and getting to play with you for a few days. This is especially true for parents that work a lot. Just you being home will seem special to them.

Freebie Weekends

If you really have no extra cash, and you don’t think it wise to take time off from work, plan a month of freebie weekends for you and your family. Each state has loads of free activities offered at national parks, museums and other attractions throughout the year. Simply Google “free fun stuff to do” for your state. Pack a picnic lunch for each outing and all you’ve spent is a little extra gas money. This is a really nice alternative because your family will be looking forward to a new experience all month long.

The term “budget” gets tossed around a lot. 

A budget can be simple or complex. It should reflect our income and our expenses, and it should be honest. One thing that is often missing is that they do not always reflect our values. Instead of merely creating a financial budget, let’s instead consider keeping God first and creating a Christian budget.

When Christian financial concepts are important to your household, there are a few twists to conventional budget suggestions. Some things will hold true, too, of course.

Many people believe that they are using one even when they have never actually put it into practice. Implementing a budget is the best tool available to ensure financial security, whether for an individual, family, or business. Creating a budget does not just mean jotting down your bills and tossing the paper in a drawer, but conducting a thorough review of your income and expenses and then taking actions based on your findings.

Why Take the Time to Create a Christian-Minded Budget?

“Every prudent man acts out of knowledge”

Proverbs 13:16

First things first— let’s understand why it is important to have a budget. Consider your budget to be the foundation of your financial home. Your budget is the groundwork for everything that you will be building on top of it. It will help you determine what you currently do with your money and, more importantly, what you should be doing with your money.

A good Christian budget will be like a solid foundation for a home. 

It should be confident and complete. No bricks should be leftover, and no empty spaces should remain. If you find that you have money left over, you will want to create a home for it in your budget.

Sometimes your new budget may show that you cannot cover your expenses or have credit card debt that has gotten out of hand. In this case, speak with a Christian Debt Advisor for a free professional consultation to learn about Christian debt relief programs that are available to you. 

How is a Christian Budget different?

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” Proverbs 3:9

Most budgets begin with your largest expense first. Generally, that would be your housing expense. On a Christian budget, we should place the tithe at the very top of the list. Even if there’s no chance of tithing while in debt, place that line item at the very top to keep everything in proper perspective. 

When we place God first, we can trust that the rest will fall in place as he intends. 

How Should A Christian Budget Should Look

The best budget is the one you will use. 

Here is where personal finance will become personal. I cannot tell you what budget to use or how it should look because your finances may be drastically different from the norm. I do always encourage simplicity! While I applaud high-level attention to detail, that can be tough to maintain in the long term. 

While your budget will be unique to your situation, there are some guidelines you can follow.

• Use your preferred vehicle: Excel, Google Docs/Sheets, a pen and pad; anything that works for you is fine!
• Expect it to evolve- add some padding to your savings if you can so that when unexpected expenses arise, you’re covered
• Follow a template, like these provided by our friends at SeedTime
• Consider the 10/45/25/20 framework
  • 10% of income is dedicated to tithing 
  • 45% is dedicated to needs (housing, food, etc.)
  • 25% is dedicated to wants
  • 20% is dedicated to savings and debt repayment

Plan and Persevere to Keep your Christian Budget Current

“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

2 Thessalonians 3:4-6

Once you understand the purpose of a budget, you should prepare for the tricky part- sticking to your plan!

Your new Christian budget will:

• Guide how you spend your money.
• Shed light on your financial blind spots. 
• Set you up for a successful debt reduction plan. 
• Bring peace to your financial situation.
• Help you automate your savings.

When you have reached your weekly limit on eating out, but your friends invite you to a meal, you’ll learn just how dedicated you are to your budget. Suppose you’ve already spent the money set aside in your new Christian budget. In that case, determination and perseverance will keep you on target.

Allowing small cracks to form in that foundation now can result in an entire collapse in the future.

Stay Aware

“Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds”

Proverbs 27:23

A regular review is the final component in keeping your new Christian budget in tip-top shape. Life is ever-changing, and our finances change right along the way. If anything has changed in your life, update your budget immediately. Otherwise, take some time bi-monthly or quarterly to review your situation. This regular review will allow you to catch any trouble areas in advance so that you can keep from straying too far off course.

Creating and implementing an honest Christian budget will provide you with awareness of your financial situation that will pave the way for a stable and predictable future. It will allow you to see trouble coming months in advance so that you can prepare. You will be able to spend your money confidently, as you have prepared and anticipated every dollar that you spend.

Complete the simple form below for a free budget review and to explore Christian debt relief programs that will have you debt-free faster than you ever thought imaginable.