# Inflation is eating away $400 to $500 from the average family’s monthly budget. This means taking action to avoid falling into debt.

A [survey](https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2022/u-s-consumers-have-begun-to-make-fewer-purchases-and-are-planning-more-spending-changes-reports-npd/) by the market research firm NPD Group showed that 4 out of 5 Americans now say they’ll cut back spending and buy cheaper products or fewer of them. Whenever 80% of people agree on something, you know it’s a big deal.

We might learn a trick or two from folks who’ve always been frugal. A recent *[Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation-thrifty-how-frugal-families-save-money-11655417641)* article showed how some of these penny pinchers are taking their game to the next level to fight inflation.

For example, some are now calling wholesalers to see if they have distressed food items with damaged packaging, at a lower price.

## Another tactic is taking an entire month off from any spending that isn’t absolutely critical, such as food, shelter and transportation. They’re also overhauling their monthly budget to see if there’s anywhere they can save a few dollars.

Doing your own home fix-it projects might be one way. Examples might be fixing a leaky pipe or replacing a faucet, painting the interior or exterior of your home, unclogging a garbage disposal, hanging wallpaper or installing a light fixture.

These days you can find more [Youtube videos](http://youtube.com) than you can shake a screwdriver at for fixing just about anything. If it doesn’t work out, you can always call in a contractor, but it never hurts to try and you could save some cash that you can apply elsewhere in your budget.

Some very frugal housewives are getting sneaky to save a few pennies here and there. If certain family members insist on higher priced items, these moms are not above slipping generic stuff into brand name containers of ketchup or cornflakes. 

Another trick these “always frugal” folks learned over the years and one we’ve suggested before is __*ignoring*__ pay raises. That means not changing your spending habits even a little bit when someone gets a promotion and more money. 

Far too often people simply increase their lifestyle whenever they get a raise and the extra money is gobbled up, but holding fast to your budget when more money starts coming in would be a powerful inflation fighting tool. It requires no action, just sticking to your spending plan.

## Another cost-cutting measure is growing your own vegetables. Depending on where you live, it may not be too late to get started this year. If you need incentive, just look at your last grocery receipt and what you’re paying for veggies.

Some of the easiest vegetables to grow yourself include tomatoes, peppers, radishes, lettuce, spinach, green beans, carrots and zucchini. It will take a little work and some up front costs for seeds and fertilizer, but a home garden is a great way to cut grocery costs. 

Retailers are well aware that inflation is making people cut back on spending. Expect to see smaller sizes of certain items and innovative products such as dish soap dispensers that pump out even the last drop of detergent, leaving no waste.

One major retailer has completely revamped its advertising campaign this summer, away from apparel and other high priced items. Instead they’re pushing basic commodities such as rice, beans and flour, putting them in larger bags that offer more value. 

Some big box retailers haven’t caught on quite as fast and now find themselves with far too many TVs and kitchen appliances, which they now have to offer at deep discounts just to get rid of them. If it’s in your budget and you really need it, now’s a good time to haggle on a big ticket item.

There are your tips for staying on budget despite inflation. Let us know if you have other ideas. __We’d love to hear them. Email us at [info@moneywise.org](mailto:info@moneywise.org). __

You can also __[listen](https://www.moneywise.org/search?q=Frugality%20Fights%20Inflation&videos=true&articles=true&podcasts=true&posts=true&groups=true&events=true&support=true)__ to the related podcast on this topic.

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It's taking an extra $400-$500 in a family’s monthly budget. This means taking action to avoid falling  into debt.

Frugality Fights Inflation

For all kinds of reasons, people are declaring bankruptcy in record numbers. People used to avoid bankruptcy if at all possible because of the stigma of financial failure. Today, however, it has become more socially acceptable and people are filing for it in droves.

### God’s Perspective on Bankruptcy

The Bible never prohibits bankruptcy, but it does discourage it. Psalm 37:21 reads, *“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.”* We should make every effort to avoid bankruptcy. However, I believe bankruptcy to be permissible for the following reasons.

1. A creditor forces the borrower into bankruptcy.
2. The borrower experiences such extreme financial difficulties that there is no option. There are occasions when bankruptcy is the only viable option when the financial challenges become too extreme to reverse. That option needs to be exercised only after all others have been explored.
3. If the debtor’s emotional health is at stake because of inability to cope with the pressure of aggressive creditors, bankruptcy can be an option.
### 
### The Downside of Bankruptcy

Declaring bankruptcy should not be a quick decision. It remains on a credit report for *ten* years, and it often impairs the ability to obtain future credit at reasonable interest rates. Potential employers and landlords are also likely to learn of a past bankruptcy. It can haunt people for years, and although it provides relief, it is not the fresh start that some advertise.

Bankruptcy is a relatively complicated legal procedure. Since it is a court-monitored activity, several people are involved including the bankruptcy judge, a trustee, and the person’s creditors. Depending upon state law and the form of bankruptcy chosen, people may get to keep some or most of their assets.

Most people are not able to discharge *all* of their debts through bankruptcy. They are still obligated to pay child support, alimony, most student loans, and taxes they owe. Consulting a bankruptcy attorney will help you sort out all the issues.

### Types of Bankruptcy

There are three types of bankruptcy. Chapter 11 is business bankruptcy and Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are the two types of personal bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 is the more radical of the two personal bankruptcies. It provides for complete elimination of personal debt and is sometimes referred to as total liquidation. Any possessions that the law does not allow to be kept are sold, with the cash proceeds going to the creditors. The bankruptcy is then discharged and creditors can no longer try to collect payments. Chapter 7 usually takes three to five months from the date of filing to the final discharge, and it can only occur once in any six-year period.

Chapter 13 involves a reorganization plan that enables people to make repayment according to their income. Foreclosures and collections are suspended while the repayment plan is drafted. A trustee appointed by the court receives a portion of the borrower’s income and pays back all or part of the debt—usually over a three-to-five-year timeframe.

In 2005, Congress approved a new bankruptcy law that established a new test for measuring a debtor’s ability to repay. If a borrower’s income is above the state’s median income, the bankruptcy judge can require a Chapter 13 repayment plan. The plan mandates repayment of at least $100 a month for five years to the creditors.

The law also requires people filing for bankruptcy to pay for credit counseling, and restricts homestead exemption to $125,000 in those states that allow debtors to keep their homes.

Top priority among creditors is given to a spouse’s claim for child support, and there are special accommodations for active-duty service members, low-income veterans, and those with serious medical conditions. All in all, personal bankruptcy may be an option, but there are many issues you need to understand before proceeding.

### What if I’ve declared bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy can provide the opportunity for people to regain their financial stability. But here’s something important to understand: If you’ve declared bankruptcy, don’t carry a load of guilt. Learn what the Lord wants to teach you from the difficult experience. And—are you ready for this—even if you are no longer *legally* obligated to repay the debts terminated through bankruptcy, you should seek to repay them. That’s what God really desires.

Following through and repaying your debts will develop your character and you will be a godly example to your creditors. Interestingly, some of the most successful people I know in business—and in life—have made the hard decision to repay debts extinguished by bankruptcy.

__Seek counsel from a competent attorney to determine the legal way to attempt repayment. For large debt, that may be a long-term goal largely dependent on the Lord’s supernatural provision of resources.__

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For all kinds of reasons, people are declaring bankruptcy in record numbers.

God’s Perspective on Bankruptcy

A friend recently asked me if she and her husband should buy an electric vehicle because the cost of driving his truck has risen to $700 per month due to higher gas prices. The recent rise in inflation is having a significant effect on American households, and everyone is scrambling to find ways to make their money go further.

Struggling to make ends meet is difficult when the price of everything you need is on the rise. In an attempt to take a big swing at the problem, we're more prone to make a wrong financial decision that can negatively impact our finances far beyond our current financial crisis. Being fully aware of what’s happening and taking a few important steps will ensure you and your family will remain financially sound.

# 4 things you can do to make sound financial decisions in financially lean times.
### 
### *1. BE AWARE OF SOCIAL PRESSURE*

We all have dreams and goals for our lives. We have a vision for how our life should be and diligently work toward that. __Money plays a crucial role in our lives, and it's disheartening when our best efforts seem to be in vain, pushing our vision and goals out of reach.__ What makes it worse is seeing people who appear to be living the lifestyle we desperately seek. It doesn't seem fair. How are they doing it, and why can't we?

__Social pressure is real, and it's always present.__ Our family, friends, co-workers, social media, and advertising exert significant influence on us. Some are stronger than others, but they are all in some way influencing us to spend money directly or indirectly. In normal circumstances, when we're not stressed or anxious, we can be objective, consider the cost, and resist their influence, but that's more difficult when we're under financial stress.

My friend's question about buying an electric vehicle didn't surprise me. Going green is in vogue now and constantly in the news, and since this couple is spending a LOT of money on gas each month, an electric vehicle seems like the answer to their problem. Fortunately, they did something most people fail to do when faced with these kinds of decisions; they sought counsel. More on this later in this article.

### *2. DON'T IGNORE YOUR EMOTIONS*

__Lack of money stirs up all kinds of emotions__. If you're a man, you may feel shame, inadequate, and at some point, angry at the situation, yourself, or both. If you're a woman, you'll experience some worry and fear. __It's essential first to acknowledge that these feelings are normal__, discuss them with your spouse if you're married, and then with someone else who can validate and help you talk through these emotions.

A few months ago, I met with a young couple desperately wanting to buy their first home. They had been diligently saving to put twenty percent down, but house prices were outpacing their saving. At the rate things were going, they didn't have a lot of hope of buying a home anytime soon. All the emotions associated with their desire to buy a house yet not being able to spilled out during our meeting.

I listened, we looked at the numbers, and I offered my thoughts on their situation. There was nothing I could do to make their dream of home ownership a reality. What I was able to do is to validate their feelings and remind them that God had been and will continue to provide for their family and that one day when it made financial sense, a house would be available for them to purchase.

### *3. DO THE MATH*

Every financial decision should include the initial and overall cost of the purchase and its financial impact now and into the future. You may be thinking, "no, duh!" Yet, many people don't do it due to the lack of personal finance education, selfishness, and the struggle with materialism. __The wrong financial decision can usually be traced to the numbers being misrepresented, misunderstood, or just plain ignored.__

A famous quote says," My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts." __In financial decisions, doing the math is knowing the facts, something often ignored when someone's already made up their mind about what they want.__ This attitude is revealed in Proverbs 18:2, "A [closed-minded] fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his personal opinions [unwittingly displaying his self-indulgence and his stupidity].

Making sure the financial decision fits into the current budget and will not leave some other need unmet is vital. It may be difficult to face and hard to accept, but the decision to not overextend yourself will keep you and your family free from years of financial struggles.

### *4. SEEK WISE COUNSEL*

It's not easy to ask for help, and it requires humility to consider that someone's way may be better than yours. It's especially difficult because your desires and emotions influence the decision by promising you you'll get what you want. __For the believer, life isn't about what she wants; it's about what God wants, and what God wants is to keep her safe, including her finances.__

Let's assume you're about to purchase something that's financially unwise. You're unaware of the social pressure influencing you to buy. You've ignored the unhealthy emotional triggers driving you, and you're blissfully optimistic that even though the numbers don't add up, it's going to be okay.

On your journey to this financial decision, you've passed these three signs. God has placed them there to warn you that there's a financial cliff ahead, and though you’ve driven right by them there's still hope. In front of you, there's one last barrier on which is written, "seek wise counsel." God has placed it there as a last effort to keep you safe. __Seeking wise counsel is you stopping to give God the opportunity to speak into and guide your financial decision__ so that you'll make the rest of your journey safely and arrive at the destination God has planned for you.

# Conclusion
If there's one thing we can count on is that in life, we will experience times of abundance and times of scarcity. In both seasons, outside pressures will try to influence us to live a worldly and self-gratifying life. Our emotions are fickle, and our desires are usually greater than our resources. Therefore, it's important to remember what the apostle Peter said, “Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you.” (1 Peter 2:11 CEV)

Seeking wisdom from God's word, the Holy Spirit, and godly counsel will help you overcome unhealthy worldly desires and ensure you consistently make sound financial decisions that benefit your family and honor God.

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In lean times, we're more prone to make a wrong financial decision that can negatively impact our finances.

4 Things You Can Do to Make Sound Financial Decisions in Financially Lean Times

Did you ever notice that every time you have enough to make ends meet, someone moves the ends? Many people wonder, “Will I ever have enough money?” The answer for Christians should differ from that of the world. We’ll talk about that with Ron Blue today. <ul><li>Ron Blue is a financial advisor, a co-founder of Kingdom Advisors, and the author of <a href="https://www.christianbook.com/master-money-gaining-enjoying-financial-freedom/ron-blue/9780802414519/pd/414519?en=google&amp;event=SHOP&amp;kw=family-0-20%7C414519&amp;p=1179710&amp;utm_source=google&amp;kw=&amp;mt=&amp;dv=c&amp;event=SHOP&amp;p=1221303&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwk_WVBhBZEiwAUHQCmS6rgGfhs1s7s55N-UVMQg-lIH-ZmsKrHodzYIxyO4g7D6WsHnoOExoCVZYQAvD_BwE">Master Your Money:</a> A Step-by-Step Plan for Experiencing Financial Contentment. </li><li>The very first chapter of Master Your Money
tackles the question, “Will I ever have enough?” </li><li>Blue says after achieving a great deal of success in the corporate financial world, that question and others began to trouble him. He asked, “Will I ever have enough? Or, If I do have enough now, will it be enough when I retire? And, by the way, how much is enough?”</li><li>He says everyone, rich and poor, asks these underlying questions more frequently than he or she would like to admit. These questions are constantly in our subconscious, and therefore we all deal with them somehow in our decision-making.</li><li>Either we tend to hoard our resources, or we tend to live out the philosophy of "get all the gusto you can—you only go around once:' The Christian, additionally, is confronted with the question, What Is the appropriate Christian lifestyle?</li><li>In the world’s most affluent society In all of history, very few individuals ever achieve a position of being able to live off the resources they’ve accumulated. The vast majority are dependent on the government, relatives, or charity, or they must continue to work in order to have enough income to meet their needs.</li><li>Yet there are exceptions, and Blue says he has had the privilege of meeting and working with many people who are better equipped to handle their future and the uncertainty it may contain. One of the dramatic exceptions is that of a retired pastor who never earned more than $8,000 in one year. He met this humble man because he wanted to know if he had enough financial resources to live out the rest of his life. At the time of his question, he was eighty years old; he had been retired for twenty years; and his wife had just begun to require full-time nursing care. His question, therefore, was a justifiable one!</li><li>As it turned out, this pastor had never borrowed money … ever! He and his wife had tithed, saved and invested regularly, and as a result, they had over $1,660,000 worth of cash and stock holdings. Again, he’d never earned more than $8,000 per year!</li><li>But how do the rest of us answer that question, “Will I ever have enough?”</li><li>Blue says that’s a question each of us must decide in prayer with God, Who owns everything and gives us everything we have. But practicing four key principles of money management will certainly make it easier to have enough, and we find all of them in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. They summarize what the Bible has to say about managing money. If you haven’t reread those passages lately, please do!</li><li>KEY PRINCIPLES:</li><li>1. God owns it all. Very few Christians would argue with the principle that God owns it all, but we often fail to realize that every spending decision is a spiritual decision.</li><li>2. We’re in a growth process. God uses money to test us. Money and possessions are a very effective tool that God uses to help us grow. We should always ask, “God, what do you want me to learn?” … instead of whining, “God, why are you doing this to me?”</li><li>We should remember that not only is God in control but that He’s promised to provide for our needs. </li><li>3. The amount isn’t important. In the Parable of the Talents, the master uses the same words with the servant who was given five talents as he used with the servant given just two. You can conclude then, that the amount you have is unimportant, but how you handle what God has given you is very important.</li><li>4. Faith requires action. We see how the master dealt with the servant who hid the one talent in the ground. He was thrown into the outer darkness. </li><li>Applied to us, we often know what God would have us do with His money, but we’re so bombarded by the things of the world that we become paralyzed and fail to act.</li><li>So we must always pray for God’s calling as to how we handle money and then have the courage to follow through.</li></ul>On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: <ul><li>Are IRA assets protected against lawsuits? </li><li>Are I-bonds a wise investment? </li><li>Should you consolidate a first and second mortgage? </li><li>When does it make sense to pull money out of a retirement account to cover expenses? </li><li>Should you use investment funds to pay off your mortgage?</li></ul>Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to <a href="mailto:questions@moneywise.org">[Questions@MoneyWise.org](mailto:Questions@MoneyWise.org)</a>. Also, visit our website at <a href="http://moneywise.org/">MoneyWise.org</a> where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app.

MoneyWise is a daily radio ministry of MoneyWise Media. Hosted by Rob West and Steve Moore, the program offers a practical, biblical and good-natured approach to managing your time, talents and resources.

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Did you ever notice that every time you have enough to make ends meet, someone moves the ends? ﻿It’s always be on your mind but is rarely spoken. Will I ever have enough money? The answer for Christians should differ from that of the world.

Will You Ever Have Enough With Ron Blue

Ron Blue

What Does a Millionaire Look Like? (God Owns It All Story)

The Ron Blue Institute seeks to be a thought leader with great influence committed to changing the way Christians think, act, and communicate about financial stewardship, empowering the church, and changing the world.

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Comparing the traditional worldly view with the spiritual view of wealth--what's the difference?

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Will You Ever Have Enough With Ron Blue

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Join a community of believers striving to be good and faithful stewards of the resources entrusted to them.

Integrate your faith with your finances

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Grow in wisdom & knowledge

God’s Perspective on Bankruptcy

4 Things You Can Do to Make Sound Financial Decisions in Financially Lean Times

What Does a Millionaire Look Like? (God Owns It All Story)

Will You Ever Have Enough With Ron Blue

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