For Richer, For Poorer (Pt. 1)

The F word. Finances. The scariest part of starting a new life together. If you are a college couple, you are most likely experiencing the "poorer" part. As freelance and traveling musicians, budgeting is sort of this vague concept rather than a strict set of rules. His brother and sister-in-law got married before we did, and they have done great things with their budget. I asked her to write a little bit about her view on finances, and this is what she said:

"Right before we got married a mentor of ours was talking to us about finances and pointed out this verse. Malachi 3:10 says: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
So we really base our finances on it. We decided in our hearts on a percentage of all our income to go to whatever cause or church we think it should go to. I usually keep a record of it in my purse, so when we hear of a cause or want to make a contribution we know how much tithe we have at the time. Besides that we set ourselves caps for the week for food and gas and individual choice expenses (so that we're not asking for permission from each other to buy things for ourselves). We think it's probably a good idea to have a savings account, just in case. But it all goes back to the tithe really; we have never found ourselves wanting, and he has always provided for the big things and the small things."

She hit the nail on the head. My mom said it like this: "God can do more in your life with 90% of your income than you can do with 100%." Tithing gives God an opportunity to bless you like none other. Look back at that verse, Malachi 3:10: "'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'" All over the Word, there are warnings that you should never "test the Lord your God." Here, however, is a different story. Try it for a month or two. Tithe. Give out of faith that God will take care of you. I will agree with my sister in law that when you tithe, you are never found wanting. It is almost scary how effective this is. One month we gave out of faith, knowing that we probably couldn't afford to spare the $50 tithe. The next morning, I checked the mail and found an $800 check from financial aid that we were not expecting. I was overwhelmed with the love and power of our Lord.

Note: My pastor has led a majorly college aged community for 20 years, and advised us against giving out of student loans. Don't do it. Don't tithe from a credit card. Only tithe from your actual income, not from debt. If your budget starts to get really tight, pray about tithing 5% or less for a little while, but don't stop. Our God is so loving, He won't let you starve.

Try as hard as you can not to get into credit card debt. A few bad mistakes can take you years to recover from, and can put a big strain on your marriage. Next time, I'm going to talk about corners you can cut to live the good life without "becoming a slave to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7).

Most of the college couples I have talked to went through a "rice and Ramen" period right after their wedding. We had the same thing happen, where we got down to $200 in the bank at one point. Everett's car got hit on our wedding day, and the small dent and broken taillight only cost $40 to DIY fix. The man who hit it, however, was an elderly man who had never been in an accident, and insisted on paying us what the body shop quoted. Without that check, I don't think we would have made it through the summer. If you are in the R&R period, don't give up! One day you will miss the romance of eating beans and rice off a TV table in your living room. Lean times can make smart budgeters. If you're lucky like me, you will always feel a small pang of anxiety when you spend large chunks of money. That is a healthy fear and respect for spending, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

These are the best of times.

--Caroline