06 October, 2022 Financial Planning

Planner’s Corner: Determining the Right Lifestyle: How Much is Enough?

This Planner’s Corner is based on the August 2022 Kingdom Advisor Study Group “Financial Lifestyle: Determining How Much is Enough.”

So how do we determine how much is enough? Starting with the Biblical principle that God Owns It All, the author of the study, Ron Blue, encourages Christians to categorize the use of money they have been given by using the Live, Give, Owe, Grow chart.

Live, Give, Owe, Grow chartAfter giving, taxes, debt, and savings the remaining category is “Live”. With regards to live or lifestyle, a key question to ask is “What would God have me do in the circumstances in which he places me?” To help find the answer, Ron encourages Christians to prayerfully seek personal direction from God.

Ron also encourages Christians to make lifestyle choices with conviction by asking the following questions: “What choice am I making?” and “Why am I making that choice?” An example would be, do I really need three cars, when I can only drive one. These lifestyle choices are a large determinant of what we can give to help others now and for eternity in word and deed. Most of us are challenged by the desire for more. Randy Alcorn, another Christian author, encourages Christians to ask the question “are we living for the dot (right now) or the line (eternity)?”

By prayerfully reviewing our lifestyle, we can foster a spirit of contentment and peace, trusting what God says in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”. What a comfort.

Jim Hummel, CFP® CKA®