Effective organizations, and effective people, develop a set of guiding principles to help guide their decisions. Individuals that want to be effective in managing their finances need to do the same.

We provide an example of a Guiding Framework for managing finances on GrowMyMoneyNow.org that highlights some key principles or elements you need to consider while building your own personal financial strategy. However, this does not replace the need for you to develop your own personal guiding principles that should not be limited to finances but rather define how finances fit relative to broader aspects of your life.

I will share an example of my personal top three guiding principles.

1. Serve God
2. Serve my wife
3. Serve my children

You notice that finances and career are not even on the list as a stand-alone priority. That is because for me money is a tool to achieve my guiding principles rather than a value in and of itself. (By the way… the pursuit to maximize money with no other objective is called greed and you will never have enough.)

Clearly identifying these principles ahead of time helps me make good decisions when I am confronted with tempting opportunities that come along such as opportunity to make more money. I consider that opportunity but must weigh it against whether it will help or hurt my ability to live according to my guiding principles.

If “making more money” were high in my guiding principles, then I would make a different decision. The guiding principles you set should steer your decisions.

You should periodically revisit this personal framework (e.g. annually). If you are married, you should involve your spouse.

If you set these principles meaningfully, you are setting the foundation upon which you build the rest of your financial strategy relating to income, spending, debt, investing, etc.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .