© Kyria Baker

Luke 16:10-12 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"

Because I've been asked several times how we manage our money, I'm sharing with everyone. We're not currently debt-free, but because of the way we've managed our finances, the mistakes we've made haven't left us in too much of a hole.

We had been putting our gas expenses on a credit card and paying it off every month. This resulted in a feeling of an unlimited supply of money and when we needed to replace tires or repair the truck in some other way, we put it on the card, too. See, nothing frivolous, but still putting us deeper into debt.

We came to our senses early this year (2000) and started living on a cash-only basis.We use an envelope system similar to what Larry Burkett recommends, but we've never bought his books or kit on the subject. We just started writing each bill on the calendar on its due date when it came in and paying all the ones due before the next paycheck came. We labeled envelopes that came in our junk mail with categories like gas, groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc. We determined how much we needed to take out of each paycheck for the envelopes and when we had an expense, the money came out of the appropriate category. When the envelope is empty, no more spending!

The commitment to pay cash for gas came just when gas prices started to rise for the summer. We had to raise the amount we took out by only a little and now we've dropped it back down. We can already see the reward for being faithful in this area. When the truck needs repairs, we use the repair envelope and if it costs more than we have, then we try to take it from a category that we could do without for a while.It's important to pay yourself first, so we have a savings envelope, a "personal" envelope, and an entertainment envelope.

Sometimes, these get shorted when the bills overwhelm us; as they did when our daughter had a two-night stay at the hospital and then two weeks later, my husband had to spend a few hours in the ER due to an allergic reaction to a scorpion sting.

We spend about $90 every two weeks for groceries for our family of four, which includes our two young children. This amount also includes non-food items like toiletries, engine oil, a/c filters, etc. This is actually more than enough for us, so we try to save up and buy in bulk a few times a year. We only need to supplement our supplies with perishables. With the hospital bills right now, we are spending less than $60 every two weeks.

Rarely do I use coupons. I don't have the time or inclination to fool with all those little pieces of paper. We mostly buy generic brands. Occasionally, we come across a product that we don't like as a generic, but not very often.I cook almost everything from scratch. This doesn't have to take any longer than using mixes if you handle it right.

I don't like to cook or spend lots of time in the kitchen, so I've learned how to save time by cooking a large batch of something ahead of time and freezing it or simply using recipes that are quick and easy. It also helps speed things up when you keep all your baking supplies in one cabinet. You can stand at the counter and reach everything you need to put in the bowl without walking around your kitchen several times.

Now, I'm sure you've heard these methods before. I'm not advocating anything new. Whatever method you use to manage your money and control your spending, the key is to discipline yourself and to be faithful to your plan. You must be willing to change and adjust it if some areas don't seem to be quite right. Larry Burkett stresses that your budget must work for both the husband and the wife, or it's not a good budget.

So, here's a summary:

1) Write the amounts of your bills on the calendar to make sure they get paid by the due date. It's important to keep your credit clean.

2) Use an envelope system to pay for most expenses with cash. Usually, we only write checks for those bills that have to be mailed and for our tithe.

3) Save money by using "tightwad" techniques whenever possible. There are so many books and articles available on this subject that I won't try to cover it here, but my personal favorite is Amy Dacyczyn's set of books : The Tightwad Gazette, Vols. I, II, and III.

4) As a stay-at-home mom, I can bring in a little extra cash by writing for Themestream and selling things on web-sites like Ebay and the Vegsource homeschool bulletin board. Besides de-cluttering my house, I can sometimes find things on clearance or "free with rebate" that I can re-sell like this.

5) Another important tip is to check all your bills carefully for errors. Stand on your rights as a consumer to be charged accurately and fairly. Don't let yourself be intimidated and be aware that a lot of companies make it their policy to give you the run-around in hopes that you'll give up and just pay the bill.

6) Try generic brands and learn to cook from scratch.These are our money management techniques in a nutshell. I hope they inspire you to try to manage your money better. We didn't begin doing all these things when we were first married. Through the years we've added new methods that fit our lifestyle as we've discovered them. Don't neglect to do something because it seems overwhelming. Take it in small steps and let each success encourage you to take the next step.

Kyria Baker is a stay-at-home mother of two children, a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Her family is just starting to home school and looking forward to the adventure with excitement. She lives in  Texas and loves reading, sewing, riding horses and rodeos, and no longer has Fibromyalgia! Her driving passion is to learn more about the Lord and how to serve Him better.