Bless Your Nest: Financial Blessings

Past Weeks:

Spiritual Blessings

This Week:

Financial Blessings!!

Hi all! I'm so glad to be back with part two of this series! Today we will be talking about how we as wives and mothers can be a financial blessing to our families. Let's get started!

1. Tithe and Give Regularly - The most important thing to remember about money is that it isn't ours in the first place! Everything we've been given including our money is a gift from God and we are to be wise stewards of each and every one of those gifts. God tells us to give at least ten percent back to Him and so I suggest praying about this and discussing it with your husband if you aren't tithing on a regular basis already.

"One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much,

and one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much."

-Luke 16:10

"Give and it will be given to you.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, 

running over, with be put into your lap. 

For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

-Luke 6:38

"Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the

 least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

-Matthew 25:40

2. Generate Extra Income - One of the most obvious ways a wife can be a financial blessing to her family is to figure out ways to bring in extra income. The Proverbs 31 one woman did this by making and selling linen garments and sashes to the merchants (Proverbs 31:24). Bringing in extra income will look different for each woman because we are all gifted with different talents and abilities, for instance I clean my mom's office once a week with my husband and I keep a 20 month old during the week for extra money. There are many things we can be doing to try and raise our families monthly income. Here are some ideas to get you started:

-Write an e-book and sell it

-Sell advertising space on your blog

-Create handmade items and sell on Etsy

-Buy nice products at the thrift store and resell on Ebay

-Open a flea market booth (requires upkeep and a monthly fee)

-Become a secret shopper

-Write articles for Associated Content 

-Babysit

-Clean an office or house in your area

-Sell clothes to resale shops

-Have a garage sale

I am definitely no expert and this is by no means an exhaustive list, but I would encourage you to try and think of one thing you can do this month that will earn your family some extra income!

3. Live Resourcefully - In other words, learn how to be thrifty or frugal as a way of life. I believe that woman have a huge opportunity to be a blessing to their families by being wise with their money and resources. Being resourceful may come more naturally to some than others, but it really is a mindset you have to get into in order to be successful. Here are some practical tips to get you started:

-buy used when possible (clothing, furniture, household items, etc)

-make do with what you have or simply go without

-keep unused appliances unplugged

-keep lights off whenever possible

-consider burning wood heat or turning down the heat in the winter

-consider using fans and opening windows or turning up the air conditioner in the summer

-wash and reuse ziplock bags

-consider canceling "extras" such as cable, magazine subscriptions, etc.

-check out books and movies from the library

-eat at home as much as possible

-pack you or your husbands lunches

-make meals with potatoes, beans, rice, pasta, or eggs instead of meat

-menu plan, use coupons, shop at discount stores, and keep it simple to save $ on groceries

-grow a garden (beware this can end up costing a lot of money if your not careful!)

-stay home to save on gas or consider walking or riding your bike

This list just scratches the surface on ways that you can live resourcefully. I would encourage you to really think about what you can start doing now to save more money in order to be a blessing to your family today! Watch this video for a healthy and inexpensive recipe from the great depression era:

4. Stick to Your Budget - Budgeting is a great way to plan out where you want your money to go each month. If you aren't already doing it then you should start ASAP! If you don't know where to begin I suggest reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover as a starting point. If your already on a budget you probably know the hardest part about it is simply sticking to your plan! Here are a few tips for sticking to your budget:

-use cash and when it's gone it's gone

-don't go into stores or you will be tempted to spend

-write out a few short term goals to keep you motivated or on track such as paying off debt or going on vacation

-practice a few "no spend days" per week where you aren't allowed to spend any money

-have a little "fun" or "blow" money each month that your allowed to spend on whatever you want

-learn to be content and thankful for what God has blessed you with (easier said than done)

5. Pray for Your Husband's Work -  Did you know that you can be highly influential in the life of your finances and your husband's work simply by committing them to prayer? It would be wise as wives to be in prayer daily for our husband's work. Some good things to be praying for would be wisdom, strength, fulfillment, success, opportunity, blessing, favor, development of skills, etc. Of course just because we pray for these things doesn't mean we will all be rich and never have a need again, but God hears the prayer of the righteous (Pro. 15:29) and we should trust Him to work everything out according to His will. To learn more on this subject I suggest reading The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian

I hope you've been refreshed and/or encouraged on ways to be a financial blessing to your family! I'd love to hear any additional tips or advice that you may have on the subject! 

Join me next week for Organizational Blessings!