Finding time to manage personal finances

 Lets face it, taking care of our finances is time consuming. It's much easier and faster to just check the bank balance. I have talked with many of my friends who have asked me to help them do stuff that just isn't so time consuming. They don't want to spend a lot of time on it. I get that. Managing money takes time. A lot of time in fact. Since I have been at home not working I have had the time to find a lot of money. I have lowered our expenses on medical, dental, prescriptions, home insurance, and our home mortgage interest rate. That's a lot of money! God calls us to be stewards, to be accountable, and to be faithful. Matthew 25: 14-29, 2 Cor 5: 10, 1Cor 4: 1-2, and to be at financial peace. It is the blessing of the Lords that makes us rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. Proverbs 10:22. So why is it such a struggle to set aside time to manage it carefully? Larry Burkett once said that money management reveals the priorities of our hearts and our spiritual maturity. Hmmm, wonder where I fall in this? Financial bondage often occurs by hasty decisions, not counting the costs, and operating without a plan. Proverbs 21:5. So what can we do? We must start with a monthly spending plan. When I first started my financial freedom journey I wrote a spending plan. I quickly realized it had to be revised all the time. I wanted to do it once, and be done with it, but this is one of those things that take time, and constant evaluation. You must schedule time to not only manage your current finances but also make plans for the future. Being at home and not working has made me realize that I spend a lot of unnecessary money because I'm not taking enough time to take care of it. It has to be scheduled in just as the other things in my life, like meal planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. In my opinion poor planning is one of the biggest issues that foster debt, but by making it a priority and setting aside time to deal with it your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3.
Here is a good article I found on finding the time to manage your finances.