You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change. Les Brown

Walking in God’s Favor: But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills?  Otherwise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh! Luke 14:28-29

You must begin with the end in mind. If you plan to become faithful stewards of your wealth in this life you must be willing to pay the price. You are going to have to develop the habit of planning and setting goals.

Years ago, Ardella and I began planning to save a certain amount of money from our income so that we could have the flexibility to follow our dreams,  passions and opportunities in life during our golden years.

One of our passions is sharing our life experiences with newly married and engaged couples. We share practical tips we have learned in our own marriage and from other married couples like Les and Leslie Parrott www.lesandleslie.com who also enjoy their marriage and have a passion for mentoring married couples.

Let’s face it, as you gracefully age, you generally have less energy and your health slowly begins to decline. As a result, you need to manage the amount of physical activity and maximize the results, so you don’t injure or prematurely kill yourself.  In other words, you have to work smarter not harder.

While you are young and healthy you must develop the practice of planning for your golden years. Otherwise, your golden years will not be so golden.   Many employers are no longer contributing or providing retirement plans for their employees. Therefore you must become  personally proactive  in saving and investing money for your golden years.

With that in mind, what is your plan? Do you have an emergency fund for the storms of life that are sure to come if you live long enough? Have you begun setting aside money for your golden years?

The Joseph principle is the ability to look around the corner and anticipate life’s challenges you may or may not face one day.  In the Bible, Joseph wisely counseled Pharaoh in the book of Genesis to plan and prepare for the future.

” And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of  Pharaoh  and let them keep food in the cities. Then the food shall be as a reserve for the land for seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt that the land may not perish during the famine.” Genesis 41:35,36  (NKJV)

Joseph was divinely given the principle of saving for the storms of life, and saved the entire Egyptian nation and his family.   There are many lessons you can learn and practice in your life from the Joseph principle. Most importantly; begin with the end in mind.

We invite you to visit  our Financial Peace University Class, Monday 6pm, November 11th www.firstsdachurch.www as we share the blueprint for developing smart money habits.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord help us to plan wisely for our future.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive  with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is  a gifted educator and  a Master Guide in the Pathfinders  Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people.  The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.