Financial Vision

2/18/2011

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.” - Proverbs 29:18 NASB

You may have heard this scripture before in relation to goal setting and vision casting. It simply means that without some sort of revelation or vision, people run wild. They do what they want to do. They say what they want to say. And they are not bound to anything, which means that anyone and anything can get them off track. They never had a track to begin with.
When I think about this in relation to our financial lives, I see that there is a direct correlation between having a financial plan or financial vision and getting too off track in your finances. If you don’t have an agenda for how you want to use your money, you will be subject to anyone else's agenda. If you don’t create a plan for how you want to use your money, someone will. Maybe you will fall prey to the media’s attempt to advertise products you don’t actually need. Maybe you will be swindled by someone who tells you about a great investment that you just need to have. Maybe you will be taken by a phony nonprofit organization who begs for money for their non-existent project. Who knows? You didn’t have a vision for how you wanted to use your money, and so maybe everything looks good.
Until you have created a vision for your finances, you are subject to everyone else’s agenda. It’s not about being slave to a plan, it’s about not being slave to everyone else’s plan for your money. You have nothing guiding you when you don’t have a plan in place. Have you ever had a goal that you were saving for? Remember how you would turn down certain things to spend money on because you knew that you were going somewhere? Maybe you saved up to buy your first house and had to say no to a few pairs of shoes along the way. Maybe you had to save money to go on vacation and had to forgo a few nights out. Or maybe you wanted to save up to start that business of yours and had to eat a few packs of Ramen Noodles along the way. Whatever it, was, you had a vision. And that vision restrained you. It kept you from getting too far off track. It kept you from not hitting your goal. And it was so sweet once you reached your goal, wasn’t it?
It felt good for me to walk into the furniture store and pick out a living room set, knowing that I didn’t have to buy it on credit. I had the money saved. I had a plan for how I wanted to use it. And that plan kept me from getting off track. And kept me from having to get into debt in order to reach that goal. So I encourage you today, to begin to create a financial vision for your money. If you don’t, someone or something else will.