Before I dive straight into to the good stuff I am going to give a little back ground of where I started on saving.
Growing up I saw my relatives live check to check, no good credit and just over all did not have good money managing skills. Naturally growing up I did not want that for my life, I wanted the exact opposite. Even if it ran in the family, here is where it runs out, bad credit, poor spending habits and living paycheck to paycheck. I got my first job when I was about 16 working at the nail shop and that is when I first opened a savings account and it was at Charter One bank to be exact. At this time I just had a savings and wasn’t really saving much at all I just needed the account to cash my work check since it was drawn off of the bank. During this point of my life I was into shopping and spending a lot. I did not start saving until after I graduated and I got my first car. I was excited about saving. In my mind I wanted to get to $500 that was a lot of money for a teenager my age back then. I could never reach that goal because life just started happening every single time and I would have to dip into it.
Fast forward to me going to the Army and being stationed in Korea. During this time I was getting a full check twice a month and I did not have any real bills. I had started saving again and I had two accounts attached to each other a savings and a checking. I would have my direct deposit set up to go to my checking account and I would transfer some to my savings. Living in Korea I would withdraw money from the ATM to use American money instead of Korean money for whatever reason. I knew someone back at home who worked at Charter One at the time who would reverse the fees for me if I overdrew my account from all the transferring back and forth between my checking and savings account. The last time I over drew my account over $200, no big deal right, I will just call up my girl and she would take care of it for me. FAIL! It did not happen like that, that last time, I had to call her constantly and stay up late at night because of the time difference, to make a long story short she kept saying she would do it and it never got done. That was money economy lesson 101 for me LOL, I learned that lesson really quick. That was the last time I over drafted my account till this day. I told myself I will never pay another overdraft fee again. That was a hard lesson that I needed.
After a couple of months of living in Korea, I was barely spending any money so my savings account was just a growing. I was excited to finally get over $500 and it just kept growing from there. After a couple thousand dollars you couldn’t tell me nothing. I had even paid off my first car I had back at home. That was the start of me building my credit, paying my first car off early because prior to I had no credit which is just as bad as having bad credit. Towards the end of my Military career I knew I wanted to get out the service and I needed a plan for when I got out. I had started pricing out apartments, furniture and things I would need for my transition so at this point I had to have a certain amount saved up before I got it. When before when I was saving I did not have no real motives or any plans with the money, I just wanted to save and have money put up.
After I got out the military I did just what I had set out to do, I had enough saved up to buy me a bedroom set, living room, and dining room set pretty much all I needed to furnish an apartment. I had over $8000 saved up when I got home. You could not tell me nothing at that time either, in my mind I was straight because I had a couple thousand saved up. The point in giving the back ground story was to show how my trust was in my money. “Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring” Proverbs 11:28. I had to get to the root of why I felt I needed to trust in my money and I discovered it was rooted in fear, fear of having to need people, fear of failing as an adult, fear of not being able to do for myself and the list goes on and on. Fear and worry were my biggest issues which just showed that I lacked faith and trust in God. I also felt it would be IMPOSSIBLE to ever save again after getting out of the service just because it was something I did not see happening around me often. So naturally, I wanted to hold on tight to my little savings and I had a pretty tight grip.
During this time I wanted to be saved badly. I was desperate for a change. I was going to church every Sunday and I just was not see any fruit in my life at all. I finally went to my Pastor, Curtis Grant and asked what I needed to do be saved for real. He told me what I needed to do after he had repeat the scripture “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” Romans 10:9-10 NLT, and told me I was already saved if I believed that. He told me to come to bible study and all that good stuff. I had every reason why I could not come, I stated "I have school", he stated "Excuses" and I stated "Work" and he stated "excuses" with this puzzled looked and I laughed which is pretty much my response for almost any and everything. I said "ok" and walked out of his office. Fast forward to a couple months every excuses that I had wasn’t no longer an excuse anymore, I had lost my job and I was failing a class so I just end up dropping it. I literally had hit rock bottom in this season. Everything that I knew and feared was falling apart including my savings. I could not find a job to save my life during this time for some odd reason. I was literally living off of my savings. I finally started doing the work. At this point I had no excuses standing in the way. I stumbled across Heather Lindsey blog "How to spend time with God" and from that day forward I went out a bought me a bible one that I can read, understand and that was teaching me the word of God. I began taking myself on date nights with the Lord. Before I knew it my savings was almost empty then boom it was completely emptied. During this season I learned to not depend on my savings and that Charter One does not take care of me. This was the beginning stages of me trusting God with my life.
This was the start of my journey of living a saved life for real, I mean I was a baby in Christ and on fire for God. It was then that I got closer to God that things began to work out for me in life. Soon after, I end of finding work and eventually I got accepted into nursing school. Nursing school was the toughest time of my life I was broker than broke during that time. I only had enough to live off of, but who cares my trust isn’t in my money and I depend on The Lord to take care of me. Fast forward to the last four months of nursing school and I had a balance of almost $1000 and I knew I didn’t have any money and I would need help from somewhere. Who ever was gone help me I wanted to meet them half way. Mind you in my mind I only make enough to live off I can not save right now. So, I decided to start saving $50 out of each check and I had it going to my Charter One savings account that had been empty for so long. I just had that $50 come right out of my check before I ever saw it and unbeknownst to me I was living off what I had left and I was making it. In those 4 months I end up saving $500. This moment right here is what started the shift in my mind. "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13 NLT.
It's May of 2016 and I am a nurse now, this is where I began saving again and I had started over from ZERO at this time. I just used the same mind set I had when I saved up that $50. I had a certain amount come out of each check before I ever saw it and I just managed my money with what I had left. I never transferred money from my checking to my savings. I thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE to save money in the civilian life after working and paying bills in fact I stayed with family up until 2017 because of this unbelief. I seriously started saving more money when I was living on my own. Saving money has a lot to do with how well you manage the money you have.
Know the difference between enjoying your youth and destroying your future. The importance of saving and staying out of debt. You CAN be young, you can be in love, you can be on fire for God and you can have money. You can have it ALL. I've learned that I get clearer directions from the Lord when my hope is in Him and not in my hustle or my money. This was HUGE for me in my savings. This time around saving my hope was not in my savings it was in God all alone. He had to empty me of myself and fill me up with Him.
1. Set up a savings account that is not linked to other accounts, I would suggest a separate bank if you can.
2. If you can set up direct deposit with your employer you can have your set amount of what you save go directly to your savings account. This tip really help because you never miss it and it goes directly to your separate account.
3. Save up an amount that is comfortable for you that way you don’t have to go back and forth with withdrawing because you're saving too much. Even if you have to start off small, that small amount will add up if you're doing it consistently.
4. For me, how I come up with how much I want to save is I figure out the amount of money I want to have saved by the end of the year and I just do the math that way I can reach that goal. You can have a weekly or monthly goal whichever works best for you. I always exceeded that goal because when I got extra money throughout the year (school refunds, tax return, etc) I would just add it to my savings.
5. For me, I don’t like all the extra change I like everything to look nice and neat, so I keep my savings at an even number such as $250, $500, that kind of thing. Tax return and school refunds are rarely an even nice and neat number it would be something like 848.20 and when that happens I would add the 1.80 to make it even if I could or I would just take out the 48.20 and count it as a reward. This is the OCD in me, HA!.
6. Over the years as I have got raises I would increase the amount of what I saved out of each check. The key here is when you first start making more money SAVE before you UPGRADE. Just because you get that raise or promotion, don’t immediately splurge put that extra money aside. Just because you get that extra money now is not the time to upgrade your Fushion to a Lexus keep that Fushion a little longer. Let's learn to live BELOW our means and manage money better.
7. I guess you can check on it often to see how it's growing and let it also be an encouragement and motivator to keep saving.
8. Lastly, I do not go in it. I try my absolute hardest to deal with life off of managing what I have left after I save. Whatever I have left after I save is all mines and I can spend it however I choose. If you find yourself constantly needing to go in your savings then you're probably saving too much or you're just not managing your money well. This step is not LAW, if you absolutely have to go in it for an emergency by all means do so. Just don’t make a habit of it. (When I was a little younger and I needed to go in my savings I would be trying to pay myself back if I went in it or I would ask my great grandma to borrow $20 so I would not have to go in it. I look back and laugh at this, but I say do whatever you have to do and need to do until you are disciplined enough in this area. The struggle can be REAL sometimes).
9. Ok I lied a little bit, here is the last thing. Here I just talked about saving I did not really discuss managing money well. So I will just jumble this all in this last bullet just so you can get an idea of how I manage my money because that can be another blog. I write down everything and I mean everything, I have a list whenever I leave the house. This keeps me on track that way I am not getting distracted and spending more money than I should. I pay my bills soon as my direct deposit hit. I work midnight so my bills get paid at 4 AM. LOL. This help too that way my priorities are in order. I have a TON of credit cards seriously the best thing ever if you know the ropes in managing your money especially with all the rewards you get for using credit cards. I like credit cards because you are going to spend the money regardless, might as well be able to use it and get some rewards from it. Hence, here is how I almost get my flights for little of nothing. Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you're approved! http://refer.amex.us/DEANAWTqHB?xl=cpxd The trick to using credit cards is to never use more than what you can pay off by the end of the month. I have never had to pay interest on a credit card and I never plan to.
Over the years doing all the above has helped raise my credit score. I keep my debt to income ratios low, my credit card utilization below 30% and I pay all my bills on time. I was able to walk into my new condo debt free and I paid off my car three years early. My credit score is only at 768 which is pretty darn good to me. I'd probably be in the 800 club if it wasn’t for student loans, but I'm still praying for a miracle on my student loans. I have been doing my research because some way, somehow I going to get them paid off without paying that full balance, I have that kind of faith.
Make this the last year you live check to check!
Make this the last year you don’t have a savings account!
Make this the last year you're in debt!
Saving your first $1000. Having enough discipline to save up $1,000 isn't easy, especially if you've never had a consistent saving habit before. And when you consider that 58% of Americans have less than $1,000 in the bank, you're doing pretty good to get your savings account up to four figures. Pat yourself on the back and get started on your next goal.
Going six months or more without paying an overdraft fee. Americans paid $54 billion in overdraft fees last year. If you've over drafted once, you're more likely to over draft again. Getting the hang of managing your money and avoiding overdraft fees is worth celebrating.
Gaining credit score points. Raising your credit score is hard work. It takes patience, time, and dedication. It's a good feeling seeing your credit score going up. Even if your credit scores goes from 500 to 520, you're still making progress. keep up the good work and you'll have more credit score gains to celebrate.
SERVING THE LORD AND MAKING THE MONEY!!
God doesn’t mind you making the money. He minds you serving it. He is jealous. It is the foolish idea of the acquisition of things bringing fulfillment that God hates. It is a lie. It does not bring fulfillment.
However, we must admit that having financial strength does enhance us if we are well rounded in other areas. Money is like make up. It doesn’t make the woman, but she sure looks better when she has it well applied and amply bestowed. For all of our modern coyness about Christians and finance, the Bible is filled with text that teaches the balanced acquisition of economy.
I must warn you that blessings can bring persecution. Do not fail to understand that. People never attack mediocrity, it is greatness that they envy. It is the successful who are the most vulnerable to public venom and animosity. Yet do not shy away from money just because God says do not worship it and people do not want you to have it. If God chooses to bless you, take the persecution, my sister, and get the CASH. It will enhance your life. It will give you options that poverty cannot afford. It will enable you to do things for the kingdom that the poor can only pray for.
A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for EVERYTHING. Eccles 10;19 (NIV)
A person can be financially successful and still be a good Christian, as long as the Lord is first in her life. You can have it ALL, if you seek Him first.
Love always,
De'Ana L. Williams
Thank you for your feedback Eboni! ❤️
I love this! Thank you for sharing your journey & being transparent! Being a good steward is so important. God cares about our finances. He wants us to prosper even as our soul prospers! Keep it up! <3