Simply Junior

Saving money and investing it in a profitable vehicle like a savings account or in stocks and mutual funds is an art by itself. Most of us find it very difficult not to spend and save. One needs to perfect it the hard way.

I seem to have perfected this art over time. When I was young, all that I could think of was spending on fancy items that I did not need but felt the urge to do so. Many times I would spend recklessly without giving any thought to saving or investing my money.

With age, as the responsibilities and priorities changed, I became more aware of cost of living and pressures of utility bills and credit card charges. With this came the realization that I needed money for future security too, mine as well as my family’s, and I started giving a serious thought to investing my money so that it would grow, slowly and steadily.

If you come down to considering the bare facts, savings must precede investment. I came to realize this very early in life, that it is only after I save enough that I can think of investing my money.

With credit cards making it easier by the day to spend even from the comfort of your homes, it becomes all the more imperative that we make a conscious effort to save and invest. To make matters worse, the tempting advertisements being telecast to lure you into spending, make it all the more difficult to resist meaningless expenditures.

For saving money for investment, one has to be cognizant of the fact that there are alternatives to practically all urges to spend. A plain cup of coffee will probably give you as much satisfaction as an expensive espresso would. Grabbing a sandwich every time you feel the urge seems mundane and a necessary expense because you are hungry. If you pause a bit and think whether a packed lunch would have sufficed instead, you will easily realize that it would in almost all cases. Joining a library to read a book is a cheaper option than buying it. As it is, after you have read it, it is going to remain in the attic for long and ultimately you are going to consider a garage sale to dispose it off or donate to a library.

That is the hard way I came to a conclusion on the ways and means to save and invest my money. I would suggest the same to all who feel that it is futile to satisfy urges, strong or mild, to spend carelessly now and repent later.

Being a Christian means following Christ in every aspect of our lives. So how does our faith translate into our spending habits? It may seem that Jesus never wrote a book about successful non-profit management, but I believe his sermons and parables teach us a great deal about money management! In this respect, the Bible is as good a management manual as any other ever written.

Think of the story told in Matthew 25:14-30. The story tells us of a wealthy businessman going on a trip. Just before he leaves he calls in three servants and gives each a portion of money to invest. Upon his return, the businessman meets with each servant. The first servant had received 5 talents and invested the money. He now had 10 talents to return to the businessman who was very pleased and promised to put him in charge of additional money. The second servant had received 2 talents and invested the money. He now had 4 talents to return to the businessman who was well pleased and promised to put him in charge of additional money. The third servant had received one talent and was fearful. He buried the money in the ground and had only the one talent to return to the businessman. This angered the businessman who not only took away the one talent, but also called the servant lazy and cast him out.

I have often wondered about this last servant who didn’t invest his money, but instead hid it. Was he truly so afraid of losing the money that he choose to do nothing? This seems strange to me, as the businessman who gave him the money judged him to be wise and responsible enough to manage it. Or did he fall victim to comparing himself to the servants who received 2-5 times as much as he did, and decided his little bit of money was not important enough to invest. Either way, the servant lacked faith and his inaction resulted in the loss of all of his money and possibly his life.

All too often we are like the third servant. Instead of investing the money God has given to us, we hide it where the money becomes useless. Although most businesses aren’t throwing money into a literal hole and burying it, many non-profit organizations I encounter use all of their resources to simply pay the bills with no thought for the future. In Matthew 25, we see that God is most pleased when we invest our money and take action to make our future years even stronger and better than now. Investing in your business may include capacity building by providing training for your board of directors or developing a plan to diversify your funding sources. Investing may mean embracing your vision to expand your services or purchase a building. Or investment simply may mean using your time and money to apply for grant funding and, like the wise servants, increase the money you already have.

At some point in our lives, all of us have prayed for increased finances to meet our goals. And how many of us have wondered why God has not answered our prayers with increased funding? Perhaps like the wealthy businessman, God will increase our material blessings when we wisely manage what God has already seen fit to give us.