6 Frugal Tips

Temptation haunts us from the woods, ready to pounce our meek hearts. Money is no exception; God wants us to give, but we need to make something in order to give it. I wish the picture below had God written in a big bubble letter.

Here’s some tips below to help save a few bucks (and preserve the earth, too):

1. Know Your Why

Simon Sinek speaks a lot to the idea of knowing your “why.” Being frugal is not easy in a consumerist society, understanding why you are trying to save money is proceeds before getting started on any of the frugal strategies listed below.

Not sure how to figure out your why? Brainstorm. Make a mind map, scribble down any idea that comes to mind, assign point values to your brainstorm. See if you have convinced yourself of your why before you plunge into frugal living. Understand the big goal you have behind being cheap, some of the questions may help you flesh out your reason why:

a) are you trying to reach a networth of a certain value? Why?

b) If you are Christian, is your goal in alignment with God’s plan, or is it greed that is driving your motivation to save? Have you prayed about it?

c) How are going to impact the world with your savings?

d) Are you trying to be financially free, so that you can pursue other passions?

These are but a few questions you could ask yourself when embarking on a frugal lifestyle. If you don’t know why you are doing something, then you aren’t completely sold on the idea to begin with!

Last but not least, make sure you are tracking your progress. Here’s a look at my automated Excel Spreadsheet with definitions on financial terms to get you started. Please ask me if you have any questions.

Enough babble, now for the tips:

2. Reuse plastic bags

A plastic bag is offered at almost all grocery stores. Subway puts to-go orders in a plastic bag. Your Chinese delivery food probably arrives bagged in plastic. These bags can be reused. Subway bags are used to stow clumps of urine and poop from my cat’s litter box. Yes, the bag is then dropped into a garbage bin outside my apartment.

Not only did I give the Subway bag an extra life, I also try to extend the life of my Ziploc baggies. Dry goodies are typically placed in these bags, and are easy to reuse and remove the crumbs if the snack isn’t too mooshey. I have saved 10-20 dollars a year on reusing plastic.

Need a garbage bag? No problem, use a grocery bag instead! Save some money on garbage bag, and put all your trash into a grocery back that you were charged for at the store.

3. Turn off your lights!

If you aren’t in a room in your home, close the circuit. No, seriously, make a conscious effort to think about turning off the lights in your home. It amounts to huge savings for planet earth, and on your electric bill.

4. Borrow Books

Public libraries are heavily under utilized these days. Go to your school library and browse the print. Keep reading, but save a tree, and a couple bucks on a book.

5. Displace Water

Open your toilet’s tank, find a brick, or fill a water bottle with water, and drop it into the tank. It’ll displace the water upwards, causing less to swirl down with your business below.

If you are really extreme, you could use a yellow is mellow rule– I did this in university when I was living the super cheap life (I left Uni with 0 bucks in loans, and a few grand to my name to boot. Read how I did that here). Yellow mellow knocked off some of my student loans and is a reason I am debt free at the age of 26.

Displacing water saves our earth and some dollars.

6. Collect your Dripping AC Water

Air Conditioning uses a lot of water. Typical AC units dispense water somewhere. Find out where that location is, stow a bucket underneath it, and collect your prize. The water can be used for a multitude of purposes; you can even Berky filter it! Either way, don’t let those drops of AC water go to waste.

7. You get Paid Last.

Tithing is budgeted first before I pay myself. God is always paid first in my books, it does not matter if I do not make a profit that month or not, God is always paid his share. He only asks for 10%, and when I give 10%, I am still amazed at how he helps me manage the other 90%!

My point isn’t to tell you to tithe, but it is to tell you to give. You must give a portion of the money you make, you cannot become wealthy if you are blinded by greed. Show the world that you aren’t blinded by greed, and give! Give! It makes you feel good, and God has this odd way of ensuring that your giving never goes unnoticed.

I always pay 10% of my net profit for that month to God, and, to be honest, sometimes I give back upwards to 1000 dollars USD a month, because God decided to have my investments increase in value.

If you have employees, you get paid last. If you are donating to a reputable organization, you get paid last. Give and the world will give back to you (I know that for a fact).

 

 

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Book Review: The Five Love Languages the Secret to Love that Lasts

9.5/10

+Reveals and delivers on the “secret” to nurturing love in a marriage.

+Direct and to the point.

+Written from a Christian perspective with cited scripture.

+Slim volume that does not take days to shuffle through.

-Somewhat pigeon holes men.

+Quiz at the end of the novel, with surprising and thought provoking results.

Earning a 9 from me as a reader is difficult; this book almost earned a 10! It is written from the perspective of a professional marriage counselor, who has found a solid relationship with God.

This book is a must have for almost all couples who wish to maintain a healthy relationship. Even if your marriage or relationship is progressing swimmingly, I still recommenced this book with 9.5 fingers. It will change the way you interact with your spouse. The author promises to reveal the secrets to having a loving, long lasting marriage. And he does just that!

Not sure if I ever read a self help book that was not written with filler. Exposition usually gets in the way, or elongated historical references cloud the direct message an author is trying to say. Nope, not in this book!

Filler is in the text, there is some exposition, some personal anecdotes, and direct quotations from marriage sessions from Chapman’s work. Impressively, these sections make the book even more interesting. The filler is just short enough to engage, and not too long where a reader starts to feel like they are waiting for the point to be delivered. Now onto a memorable quotation (which was very difficult to choose):

“We are talking about love, and love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself.” Without revealing too much of Chapman’s succinct message, he definitely affirms that love is a choice; we have the instinct and control to choose to love our spouse or not. This message, for me, is powerful. It flips the “love is not rationale” point upside down, and perhaps even agrees with it, by saying, yes, “you can choose to be irrationally in love if you want!”

Chapman also cites Bible verse to heighten his message: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you” Luke 6:38.

I did not like how Chapman claimed that men were easy to pick the physical love category as their love language.  He then goes onto say that men are more sexually aroused than women, and make the mistake of selecting the wrong love language. In my opinion, this statement pigeon holes men as more sexually aroused beings than woman– I did not enjoy reading that section at all!

Despite the quirk in sexual arousal, Chapman’s quiz created at the end of the book really is thought provoking. I was sold that I was one particular love language, but the quiz revealed a different result. The questions are very specific (which I think is important if the purpose of the assessment is to place the taker into a certain category).

Overall, this book will change your love life (in an amazing, God-idea way). Chapman writes clean, clear, and coherent prose that delivers a powerful message; this message should be read by all couples that are either married or are thinking about embarking on the life-long journey of a lovely marriage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Draw the Circle The 40 Day Prayer Challenge Part 2 of 2

8/10

+The author delivers on his promise

+The novel teaches readers a step by step process to find their voice with God

-the author plays too much on words. It reaches a point of annoyance.

+Despite the flaw above, the author apologizes (humbly) for playing on words

+The author glorifies God for his work

-Wished to see more citations from scripture embedded into the novel

+Overall advice is strong, with even some extreme suggestions that should be done to get even closer to God

A 40 day devotional that can be consumed by a devoted reader in a few weeks, Draw the Circle is a pleasant read.  It took me awhile to get through this book, only because I wanted to percolate on the advice given and embed it into my prayer life.

Readers will meet the first sentence when they begin this novel: “The forty day prayer challenge is going to change your life.”

Ultimately, Batterson delivers on his promise: this book will alter your prayer life; this book is powerful; this book will change your life.

Here’s a memorable quotation, taken right from the pages: “Our potential is directly proportional to our prayer life, it is the single greatest indicator of our success.”

Well then, how does Batterson suggest we alter our prayer life?  I can’t spoil his insights, but I can say that Day 24, “Find your Voice” is fantastic. The author offers clear steps to find God’s voice, and for my relationship with God, I feel that this section of the book really influenced me.

Although Batterson’s content is strong, his writing is alright. He painstakingly plays a lot on words, for example: “the more we pray, the more prophetic we become. The less we pray, the more pathetic we become.” This technique heavily salts each chapter of the book, and would have knocked off a few points on this review, if Batterson did not apologize and admit to his play on words. An apology shows modesty. An apology won HUGE humble brownie points in this reader’s heart! Well done Mark Batterson–thanks for being a humble Christian!

Most importantly, I loved how Mark Batterson attributed all of his success to God. This book is a living and breathing entity of God’s work, or so I think Batterson would say.

I wished to read more scripture citations.  It felt a little distant at times when only one verse was cited per chapter. That said, Batterson does overflow the pages with testimonies of God.

The advice in this book is strong, and after successfully embedding some of the strategies discussed in this book, I have noticed a huge change in my prayer life. My prayer is deeper; my prayer is more creative; I even crack jokes with God now! There are some extreme pieces of advice in this book that are not easy to execute. That does not mean it should not be tried.

 

 

 

My Prayer Journal-March 6, 2018

Mostly this post was inspired by Mark Batterson, writer of Draw the Cricle. Read my review of this amazing book here.

A prayer journal records our prayers to the heavenly father. As worshippers to Jesus Christ, creating a  prayer journal has two distinct advantages:  When God answers our prayers (and he will), we can recall it, and then be thankful for his response. As Christians, we must always thank the Lord, even if he says no to our prayers.  A prayer journal also allows us to repeat and circle our prayer. Maybe God won’t answer the first time we pray, but he will answer on his own terms; humanity does not dictate the schedule or happenings of Him, we can only make requests.

Thus stated, please find my prayer journal numbered below. This is not an exhaustive list, I will try to update it on a frequent basis. God has already answered (my expereince of how God has answered is parenthetical):

1) Fill Soyun from head to toe with your love, as she is struggling with her faith

2) Pray for paster Ezreal when he visits Vietnam for a Vision 50 Conference

3) Tell me what to pray about, Father God (God continues to answers this prayer on his accord. Thank you father God for your continous response to this prayer)!

4) Please give me the strength and love to live an ideal Christian life in your eyes, father God.

5) Pray for the Korean church that is recieving lots of pressure from the Chinese authorites, I pray that the members will find another place to congregate and glorify you. (God answered this prayer, all the members are safe, and looking for other places to congregate).

6) Make reading about you a priority, please rekindle my passion to read a chapter from the Bible everyday, to be hungry to learn more about you and your expectations. (God works in mysterious ways: my friend, who confessed that he pastored a church in the United States, handed me a copy of Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson. My girlfriend has also leant me a book called The Reason for God. Both novels are on my reading list. My heart has also taken another direction in terms of reading, I always try to have a book about God being read in conjunction with other books, or I have a devotional readily avaliable on my phone).

7) I pray for my Holy Spirit to ignite for you Father God (I am not the same person I used to be. I have changed who I am to better align myself with God, and God has helped me through it. God has made it all possible. God helped me change).

8) Pray for my girlfriend’s Holy Spirit (this prayer has been answered time and time again, when she realizes how she can become a better Christian, when we work together to grow in our faith. God is amazing. God answers).

9) Please reveal to me whether or not you destine me to marry my girlfriend (God works in myserious ways: my girlfriend’s mom was praying for to God about her relationship with me. I am the first white guy that my Korean-American girlfriend has ever dated, and her mom was very uncomfortable with the idea of her dating a cacasian. She prayed about it, and recently a few weeks ago, God answered her prayer! She said “God has helped me accept that you are dating a Canadian. I will accept him if he gets baptized, and reads the Bible)! A triple blessing–I get to grow my faith through baptizing, and I get to read more of God’s words with my girlfriend’s family! What a great bridge to connect, and what a strong reassurance where I now feel that my feet are on the path God has layed out before me).

10). Please help me to inspire students to love reading, writing, and Project Based Learning.

11). Please heal my mom’s 4 brittle bones in her back, and heal her osteoporosis.

God has not answered all my prayers yet, but I know he will. Patience is vital for our faith to continue growing, for our love to continue developing, and for our lives to continue evolving in the eyes of Jesus Christ.