Tag: Money management

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Two Masters, Really?

By Felix A. Montelara

Author & Host of the Potential Millionaire

Matthew 6:24

English Standard Version (ESV)

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

 

In the last episode of Potencial Millonario, I talked to you about the strange taboo that exists about money- in that money is a topic that many people will avoid discussing until they are really in trouble with it.  Most financial problems could be solved early on with appropriate planning and budgeting, but because of the money taboo, many people will not ask for advice and will make dangerous decisions, such as taking out title loans, skipping payments, or hiding the problem from their family.  It is often only when a person becomes desperate that they will finally ask for help, and usually I find that most of the problems could have been avoided if they had asked sooner.  These financial problems can bring ruin to a marriage and destroy a family, causing people to lie to each other, hide the issues, and bring huge amounts of stress onto relationships.  Debt is a terrible master, and serving debt is like signing yourself over to servitude.  So I ask you, is money the problem, or is it the fact that people won’t talk about money, and therefore don’t understand money, that is the problem?  Friends, that is exactly why I began this radio program and website, this is why I wrote the book Potencial Millonario:  to help you understand your money and make it work for you!

In Matthew 6:24, it states, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”  Let me make something clear: Money is not your master.  When you take my advice or follow my golden rules, or when you decide that you want to be financially free, or that you want to start saving money, or that you want to become wealthy, you are NOT serving your money.  You are NOT making money your master.

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On the contrary, when you decide to have a responsible lifestyle in which you have a budget, an emergency fund, a savings account, when you save for what you want to buy instead of using credit, when you discuss money with your family and involve them in this process, when you do these things you are NOT serving money.  You are making your money serve you.  You are making your money work for you.  You are being a good steward of God’s bountiful gifts, you are taking the opportunities the God sets before you.  You are following God’s word as written in the over 100 verses in the Bible that deal with money.  So, my friends, when you are financially free you can serve God.

If you are in terrible financial trouble, if you are worrying day in and day out, if you are lying to your family, if you feel guilty because you cannot get a handle on these things- you need to ask yourself if you are serving money or serving God.  Is there time in your day, amidst your money worries and stress, to give time, thanks, and devotion to God?  Or do you instead find your discussion with God always starts with, “Why me?”  Friends, as Matthew 6:24 states, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”  Be the boss of your money, make your money work for you, so that you can do God’s work.  You will love the financial freedom, you will love the relaxation that comes from knowing that you have control of your money.  This will free you to do the wonderful things that you are capable of with your God-given gifts and talents.

Footnotes: Matthew 6:24 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions

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The Potential Millionaire On Savings

By Felix A. Montelara

1 Corinthians 16:2 ESV / 18 helpful votes

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV / 13 helpful votes

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

In the last episode of Potential Millionaire, I not only discussed the importance of saving money, but also exactly how much money to save and where to save it.  Let’s be certain to understand that we save money not to hoard it or lord it over others, but actually to act as good stewards and thankful recipients of God’s bounty.  There are a number of Biblical Scripture passages that support my point.  First, let’s take 1 Corinthians 16:2, which states that “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”  1 Corinthians is advocating exactly what I discussed last week- that we must diligently set aside money to save each and every time we have income.  No matter the size of the amount saved- it is the action of  retaining that piece of our income before we do our spending that really allows us to accumulate wealth.  The Bible instructs us to live by conserving what we have, not only in times of distress, but every day.  When we save daily and weekly, we grow our savings so that in our times of need we can rely on ourselves.  We can help ourselves because we have an emergency fund, and we can enjoy life to a fuller extent because we can save for our goals and attain them.  Would you like to go on vacation? Buy a new car?  A television?  These are things that can be saved for too- so that when the day comes that we have enough, we can proudly purchase these items using God’s bounty- and not the credit of a lender.

2 Corinthians has more to instruct us with about saving.  2 Corinthians 9:6 states, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Iphone 040813 308  The Bible is telling us that we must make a conscious effort to care for, save, and then yes, use, God’s bountiful gifts.  But only those who put in the time and effort will see the fruit of their labors.  There is no get rich quick scheme that is sustaining- there is no magic pill for success.  Friends, what I am advocating is nothing more than good, honest work both outside and inside your household.  It takes work to make a budget and follow it.  It takes work to work to save money.  It takes effort and discipline to do these things.  Yes, everyone has millionaire potential, and the Bible provides us with the directions on how to achieve it:  Carefully saving, diligently working, and gratefully watching over our households and money.  These are the keys for unlocking our millionaire potential.

 

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The Potential Millionaire Golden Rule # 5 Save 10 to 15 %

From: The Potental Millionaire By Felix A. Montelara Author of Potencial Millonario

In episode 4 of my radio program, Potencial Millonario, I discussed the various types of debt and the importance of budgeting.  Budgeting means that you know exactly how much money comes into your household, how much you spend, where you spend it, and how much you waste.  In other words, creating a budget means you track every cent you make and spend, so you can discover all the money leaks in your household.  Once the money leaks are discovered, they can be stopped.   When we stop wasting money, we start saving money.  This money can then be applied to outstanding debts, or saved in an emergency fund.  The key idea is: stop spending what you don’t have, stop creating new debt, know where your money is, and use every penny you have to pay off old debts.  Only then can you begin on the path to financial freedom.

Proverbs 27:23-27 describes what I have been discussing in the last few episodes of Potencial Millonario: “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds, for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.”  This passage from Scripture encourages us to watch over and really know our ‘flocks,’ which in today’s  society might be interpreted as households.  How can we hope to be financially free if we don’t know where each dollar comes from and where each one goes?  The Bible instructs us to pay attention; to be good stewards of what God provides us with.  This passage also comes with a warning for those who will not take care of their gifts:  “riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.”  This warning lets us know that life is fleeting, and we must try to be prepared for what lies ahead.  However, we don’t always know what is ahead of us.  It is only through a careful stewardship of our households that we can hope to weather these storms.

In Biblical times wealth was measured in livestock.  In these modern times, we define our wealth with money.  Knowing our modern “flocks and herds” means having a working budget and a real understanding of how we spend and save our money.  Once we truly understand how we spend our money, we can undertake the difficult task of making changes to our bad spending habits.  These spending habits are what make us poor, and we must correct them in order to become financially free.  We can replace bad spending habits with good savings habits- then we begin to accumulate wealth and notice the difference that having money, rather than wasting money, can have in our lives.

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