One of the most basic money management principle I always mention is this: Distinguish wants from needs.

Most of the time, what we want isn’t what we need. And if we’re honest, we’ve been given far more than we actually need. We need food, clothing and shelter. We want everything else.

So how do we find joy when we can’t get what we want? Contentment is contingent on our attitudes, not our bank statements. If we’re always looking to make more money, gain more resources and acquire more wealth for ourselves, we’re not using money how God designed it to be used.

Money is a tool to provide for our needs, to provide for the needs of others and an opportunity to give back to God as an act of worship. By giving to God, we’re declaring that we don’t find our satisfaction in money, but in Jesus. Jesus is the one who provides for us. Loving money more than God leads to pain, letdown and sin. But when we trust God will provide for our needs, we can find our contentment in Him.

Money will run out, but God is a generous giver who is with us through everything, no matter what. He provides for us, above and beyond what we expect. When we trust and obey Him with our money and our lives, we receive His rich love and the transformation it creates in us.
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“But godliness with contentment is great gain”  — 1 Timothy 6:6

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Once you get a job and start earning money, that’s the time you should begin sorting your finances and thinking about where you can invest your money to grow. Whatever stage of life you are in right now, there’s a type of investment vehicle perfect for your current financial situation and goals.

As you move from one life stage to the next, your goals, financial status, expenses, and priorities change. For instance, as a young employee, you’re goal is likely to start building your wealth. When the time comes that you get married, your goals begin to shift and expand—your expenses start to grow, you begin planning for home ownership, and open a joint savings account with your better half.

For many people, evaluating and creating an effective investment strategy can be a bit overwhelming. It’s a lot to take in, but what’s a little strain for a secured future? Whether you’re looking at family insurance or a unit-linked insurance plan, there are various instruments you can choose from to get started with investing.

To help you find the suitable investment option based on your financial goals and state right now, here’s a visual guide I got from BPI-Philam that breaks down each life stage’s cash flow, considerations, and investment instruments you can ponder on. Hope this helps you build your investments wisely!

Over the years, I have had the privilege of mentoring and discipling a number of people that has grown leaps in bounds with their profession and their life in general. I believe that teaching others is something we should all be espousing and investing in others will truly bring exponential returns in one way or another.

One of the people I was privileged to meet just a few months ago whom  I was at awe seeing his passion and drive to have a positive impact on others — Ian Dilla, the founder of Wise Peso. I have been reading a lot of his posts and they are truly insightful. I also have the privilege of now being a good friend to Ian and I asked him to do a guest post for my site. Enjoy Ian’s thought provoking and heart warming post…

Where should my focus be?

After going through the first No Nonsense step of Mr. Randell Tiongson, improving cash flow, the tendency for a lot of us is to abandon our focus on it and shift to investing for the future

It is the first step for a reason, and it is not something that we should abandon. It is, even, not something that can be finished

When God created man, He put him in a garden to cultivate it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

Work is part of God’s design for man, and in the Bible, it is mentioned right after the creation of the first man, Adam. So, to cultivate and keep the garden He planted for us and put us into is to fulfill our purpose.

I used to think that when I pray, God answers it by giving me what I specifically prayed for. But when I realized that God planted a garden for each and every one of us, I understood that God answers prayers by giving us everything that we need to realize what we have been praying for.

When God planted the Garden of Eden, it had everything that Adam and Eve will ever need. The only thing they have to do is cultivate it and keep it. We can see here how God is a very practical God. Cultivating and keeping the garden is not a prerequisite that God gave Adam and Eve before He sustains them. Cultivating and keeping the garden is necessary because, simply if they don’t, the garden will die and will eventually be unable to give them sustenance.

We pray for financial freedom, a good retirement, a huge house, or a nice car. These are our goals. God does not just give us what we asked for, he answers our prayers by giving us everything that we need to realize our goals. The moment I understood this, I prayed and asked God, “What is my garden?”.

What did He give me or where did He put me to realize my goals?

His answer to me is my job and the organization I am part of…

Each one of us is currently working in the organization we are with or on a business we put up for a reason

It is not a coincidence that the first No Nonsense step, improving cash flow, is the direct result of being excellent in our job or business. Improving cash flow is the direct result of cultivating and keeping the garden God has given us

If you ever had the chance to visit provinces around the Philippines and countries around the world, you will know that there is no standard size for a place before it can be called a garden. Your backyard and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay are both classified as a garden.

All gardens are not made equal, just like your “garden” is not as big or glamorous as your friend’s. But this doesn’t mean that your friend is better than you or God is biased towards blessing him more. This only means that God is still dealing with something in you to prepare you for your next garden. Cultivating our garden also means being excellent gardeners by improving our abilities and character.

God gives us what we need, but He also only gives us what we can handle. Imagine if you are given a huge garden but you are simply not ready for it, the pressure might destroy you and God is protecting you from that. After all, God will not keep us within the confines of our current garden if we have proved our abilities and character ready, fulfilled our mission, and cultivated the garden for Him. He Gives us a bigger Garden which also entails more challenges, but because He gave it to us, He knows that we are ready.

This is how we should approach improving cash flow. We should not abandon it when we feel like we’ve done it once or a few times. We should keep improving it by cultivating the current garden given to us by God.

Getting out of debt, setting up emergency fund, getting protected from life’s risk, and Investing for the future are all what God wants us to do. These are also found in the Bible. But improving cash flow is the product of excellent work, and work is one of God’s first and main design for man.

Ian Dilla is a Financial Adviser from Cardinal Buoy Financials and founder of the Facebook page Wise Peso. The Facebook page was able to accumulate over 20 Thousand followers in less than a year because of Ian’s distinctive and pragmatic view on personal finance.