Financial Freedom Series: The Floor Phase

Welcome back to our Financial Freedom Series, where we’re looking into God’s Blueprint for Building Wealth and Managing Your Money Well!

We dive into biblical principles and cutting-edge money management wisdom to help you…

• Honor God with your money
• Build wealth
• Shrink your debt
• And build toward financial freedom

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5) 

Are Your Priorities Messed Up? Are You Managing Your Money the Wrong Way Around?

I want to encourage you to prioritize your life and financial priorities properly. 

Over the last two weeks, we looked at IMPORTANT PRIORITIES IN BUILDING TOWARD FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

Do you know what a priority is?

According to the dictionary, a PRIORITY is “a thing that is regarded as more important than another.”

If you are building a home, you cannot start with the roof. 

You need to start with a solid foundation. Then, you need to construct the floor before you build the walls with doors and windows. Finally, you can put on the roof. 

If you do not start with a solid foundation and then build up, you will be left with a dilapidated, dangerous, and disjointed home.

From a financial planning perspective, there is also an order of priorities. These priorities flow into each other, and today, I want to take a brief look at the 4 IMPORTANT PRIORITIES IN BUILDING TOWARDS FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

Last week, we looked at the importance of building on a solid foundation…

Level One: FOUNDATION PHASE:  

• Start with building your life and financial foundation on God.

Look at what Jesus says about building your life on a solid foundation of God…

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Honor God with your best, and He will take care of the rest…

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10)

When you build your life on God’s foundation, He looks after you…

“Once I was young and now, I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25) 

Remember, it is God who gives you the ability to generate wealth and be successful…

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

When you put your trust in God, He will plant you on His riverbank and take care of you…

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8) 

“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8)

Live with Jesus at the center…

Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) 

Get your priorities in the right order.

Is God first in your life?

Today, we are going to drill deeper into the floor phase…

Level Two: FLOOR PHASE: 

Before you spend money, you need to ensure you earn enough to cover your basic needs.

Before buying luxury items, you must ensure that your essentials are covered…

• Rent
• Food
• Water
• Electricity
• Transport
• Schooling

During the floor phase, you must ensure you can provide for your family.

Your budget is, therefore, an important starting point.

Do you have a budget?

Your budget will show you where your hard-earned money is going. 

It would be best if you lived within your means. 

To do so, you may need to cut wasteful expenditures and eliminate debt. 

You also need to ensure that you live on less than you earn.

In other words, it is also vital that you have more money coming into your bank account than leaving it—your INs need to be more than your OUTs. 

If you do not earn more than you spend, you will be in serious trouble and will never achieve financial freedom.

You may need to tighten your belt. 

Before you pursue your dreams and the nice-to-haves, you must fully cover your basic needs.

Once you have BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION ON GOD (FOUNDATION PHASE) and have COVERED YOUR BASIC NEEDS (FLOOR PHASE), you can move on to the next level.

“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

Make sure you look after your family’s needs before recklessly spending money on other things.

Be diligent. Be wise.  

“The wise are cautious and avoid danger. Fools just plunge ahead with reckless confidence.” (Proverbs 14:15)

Don’t be reckless. Put your family first. 

You cannot spend money on entertainment and non-essentials if you cannot afford to cover your basic needs with your income.

It is essential to cut short-term debt, as this erodes cash flow. 

By cutting your short-term debt, you can use part of your surplus funds to take care of your next phase and build towards financial freedom. 

You need to BUDGET.

You need to live within your means!

Next week, we will examine the WALL PHASE and help you establish the essential building blocks for managing your money well. The wall phase will help you develop a vision and create doors of opportunity for you to move toward financial freedom. 

You can pursue your dreams, but you need a solid foundation first. 

YOU CAN TURN YOUR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS AROUND. IT STARTS BY GETTING YOUR PRIORITIES IN THE CORRECT ORDER. 

“To change your life, you need to change your priorities.”  – Mark Twain