Feminine Friday: She Spends Wisely

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Our sixth virtue from Proverbs 31 this week is "She spends her money wisely." I think this one ties well into her husband trusting her. He provides for her and trusts she will wisely use her resources. We all know that setting a realistic budget that uniquely complements our individual family's income and expenses is a wise decision. However, writing a budget and sticking to it are two very different things.

Sally and her husband, Bob, have sat down together and organized a workable budget for their family. Each Saturday, Sally leaves the children at home with Bob and goes to run errands. This week she must drop of letters off at the post office, get the oil changed in her vehicle, purchase groceries, and she has a little while that she plans to walk around the fabric store. Their budget allows for the stamps at the post office, the oil change, and the groceries and she is left with $20 of free spending cash. She picks up her favorite coffee beverage and is left with fifteen dollars. While walking around the fabric store, she comes across an amazing deal on gorgeous fabric that would make that lovely skirt pattern at home into a beautiful new skirt for herself. She is so excited! But, to her dismay, she notices that, for as amazing of a deal as the gorgeous fabric is, to buy enough yards for her favorite skirt pattern she must spend $17.50 and that doesn't include the matching thread and zipper necessary for the skirt to be completed. Sally remembers her budget, how she wants Bob to trust her, and decides she will purchase a cheaper fabric instead because, despite the good sale on the lovely fabric, it doesn't fit into her budget and she wouldn't be wise to buy it.

Ever feel like Sally? I know I have. I've often innocently been shopping when BAM, out of no where the best deal or the perfect outfit pops out at me and I'm faced with the difficult decision of doing the right thing by either saving up the money or passing up the deal or purchasing something else that fits into my budget OR going ahead and purchasing the item with a credit card or cash meant for something else in our budget and facing the consequences. Let's learn how the Proverbs 31 woman spends wisely.

"She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her

hands she planteth a vineyard."

Proverbs 31:16 KJV

 

A key word here is that she wisely considers a potential purchase before she makes one. One online dictionary defines to "consider" as "to think carefully about." She thinks carefully before making a purchase. It doesn't matter that her purchase in the Proverbs account is "a field." We make large and small purchases each week as mothers and wives. It could be that drive-thru coffee, our homeschool curriculum, deciding between brands of diapers, or whether or not to buy that new mattress you need. All potential purchases require money that has been lovingly provided by your husband which means they deserve careful consideration before being purchased. 

 

Not only does this woman carefully think about this purchase but once she deems it a wise choice, she buys it and straight away sets out to use it wisely even profitably for her family. This could mean different things for different people but some examples could be: actually sitting down and sewing that skirt instead of just collecting fabric (guilty!), using your property to its best advantage by raising chickens and/or a garden, or using all that flour in the cupboard to make food for storing in the freezer for a busy weeknight. Maybe she uses those grapes to feed her family and maybe she sells them to help provide for her family. Whatever she does, she first carefully thought out her purchase and purposed to use it to its highest potential for the good of her family.

For more on this series: Feminine Behaviors - 1) She Is Trustworthy, 2) Helpful and Attentive, 3) She Willingly Works Hard, 4) She Is Resourceful, and 5) She Is Self-Sacrificing.

 

 

♥Shari

 

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