Living Well Spending Less by Ruth Soukup l Living Well Spending Less l Ruth Soukup l Financial Advice

We All Have a Sweet Spot

“Our sweet spot is that place where our greatest passions and our talents or abilities intersect. Is that special place where we are able to do whatever it is that we feel most called to do, that thing we love, that thing we are great at, that thing that makes life worth living. Living in the sweet spot means having the courage to follow our dreams, take risks, and work harder than we ever thought possible in order to accomplish our goals.”

“I think sometimes we become so fearful of making a mistake, of doing something wrong, of having someone else laugh at us, that we become paralyzed with indecision. I thought quitting law school would be the end of the world, but it wasn’t. Instead, the experience forever changed me. It taught me that failure is almost never fatal, and that life does go on and sometimes you just have to put one foot in front of the other until the new path becomes clear. But even more importantly, quitting law school opened doors to a whole world of possibilities, and the bold act of quitting gave me the bravery to try things I would have never considered before. Eventually I was able to find my sweet spot, not despite my failure, but because of it.”

Less Stuff Equals More Joy

“Stuff isn’t bad or dangerous in and of itself, but in a world where we are constantly told that what we have isn’t quite good enough, the love of things can so easily consume us. The pursuit of it all—more toys, cuter clothes, a prettier house, a nicer car, a newer computer, a fancier phone—makes us forget all the things that actually matter. Not until I observed firsthand the real and immediate changes in my kids after getting rid of their toys did I truly begin to understand. My lesson to them was really their lesson to me, one I wish I would have learned a long time ago. Less stuff equals more joy.”

“There are many gifts I can give my children, but the gift I don’t want to give them—or myself, for that matter—is the gift of just more stuff. Instead, I want my gift to them to be a life filled with the things that matter most, things like faith, joy, peace, fellowship, contentment, gratitude, and compassion. If living well means having less but appreciating more, then I can’t help thinking this is the best gift of all.”

We Need to Spend Less Than We Think We Do

Shutterstock.com

“How we spend our money matters a lot to God. We aren’t simply advised to use our money wisely; we are called, in no uncertain terms, to be good stewards of the resources we have been given, regardless of how much we have. Our money is not our own.”

“With many blessings comes much responsibility. Simply being born into a country with access to education and health care and transportation, and living in a home with electricity and heat and running water, puts us, regardless of income, in the top stratum of the world’s population. Poverty in the United States looks a whole lot like wealth in other countries. Buying whatever we want when we want it, spending on credit when we can’t afford it, and trying to keep up with the Joneses just because it seems like the thing to do are not signs of being good stewards of God’s money. While our popular culture would have us believe our spending is all about us, the truth is that what we spend is really all about God.”

The Best Things in Life Are Free

“Too often we make the mistake of thinking that hospitality is all about showing off our beautiful homes or Pinterest-perfect party preparations or fancy cooking skills….What our guests really want, at their core, is not a five star hotel or an elaborate spread, but to feel at home—to feel they are wanted and that they belong. All the money in the world can’t buy that kind of hospitality, because it comes from the heart and not the store. True hospitality is sitting down with our guests to ask about their day and about their lives, looking them in the eye and letting them know, from our words and actions, that we are glad they are there.”

We Get More When We Give

“A world that glorifies greed will always want us to be selfish, but Christ calls us to a different path. And the secret the world doesn’t know is that Christ’s generosity will always be far more abundant than anything we could ever offer. The more we give, the more we are filled with his love, his joy, and his peace.”

“While giving of our time and talents is essential, I often think the hardest thing for us to give—especially to those closest to us—is our own hearts. For whatever reason, whether we are scared of being rejected, angry at past wrongs, or simply too busy to even realize we are doing it, we withhold our love and kindness and encouragement from the friends and family closest to us. We forget that when Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves, he wasn’t necessarily talking about the stranger on the side of the road or the child in need half a world away. Our neighbors are the people right in front of us.”