Budgeting: We All Need It

"One for the Money" by Marvin J. Ashton is an exceptionally great resource in learning how to manage money wisely. It discusses twelve ways in which to finance smartly:

1. Pay an honest tithe
2. Learn to manage money before it manages you
3. Learn self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters
4. Use a budget
5. Teach family members early the importance of working and earning
6. Teach children to make money decisions in keeping with their capacities to comprehend
7. Teach each family member to contribute to the total family welfare
8. Make education a continuing process
9. Work toward home ownership
10. Appropriately involve yourself in an insurance program
11. Understand the influence of external forces on family finances and investments
12. Appropriately involve yourself in a food storage and emergency preparedness program

In the April 1975 general conference welfare session, Elder Ashton addressed what's inside this booklet.

In the same meeting, President Spencer W. Kimball stood and said, "I endorse what Brother Ashton has said. I think if I were starting with a young family, I would want to get the twelve points explained by Brother Ashton and follow them explicitly myself and teach my children and my family and everybody with whom I came in contact.

"It is basic. All my life from childhood I have heard the Brethren saying, 'Get out of debt and stay out of debt.' I was employed for some years in the banks and I saw the terrible situation that many people were in because they had ignored that important counsel.

I agree with all that Brother Ashton has said...with regard to family financing in the home. Every Family should have a budget...We have to know approximately what we may recieve, and we certainly must know what we are going to spend. And one of the successes of the Church would have to be that the Brethren watch these things very carefully, and we do not spend that which we do not have."

I agree with President Kimball's remarks. Budgeting is one of the most important actions we can take in helping our stress filled lives become more free. The great thing is, learning how to cope with money is all about taking one day at a time, keeping track of every little piece of money we earn spend, and save. Life isn't all about how much money we make; it's about what we do with the money we have.

Often times we get stuck in the pattern of running faster than we can afford, hoping that in the end we will be able to be caught up with everything we owe. It's so easy getting stuck in a mindset that "I can pay this off later", "this isn't that much money", etc, when it just takes one choice to get us into a hole that's super hard to get out of.

As individuals, the majority of our finances and what we spend our money on is towards taking care of ourselves. In a marriage, every budgeting decision is supposed to be unanimous. All the decisions made with money in a home is affected by both the husband and the wife.Many times in marriage people compete for the resources: what's important? what isn't important? when should we use this money to go on vacations or see a movie?

Cooperation is key. It's hard, but it's worth it. "One for the Money" is seriously a great resource for information on leaning the smartest ways to finance. I encourage all of you to read it. If you click on the title, it's a link that will bring you to the September 2007 conference talk on lds.org that addresses this very booklet. Everything in the booklet is in that talk.