How You Handle a Little is How You'll Handle a Lot

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

About a month ago, I had a reader leave the following comment to my post titled How the Rich Go Broke:

I believe that if you can manage a small amount of money well you can also manage a large amount of money well. If you can't manage a small amount of money, having more money isn't going to solve your problems. It might just get you in over your head faster.

It made me think of this quote from the Bible:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" Luke 16:10-12

A couple thoughts on this:

• If you do handle your money right when you have a little, you will eventually have a lot. It's simple math. How can you do this? See my three steps to becoming rich.

• I've heard people say many times, "If I was well-off, I'd give money to help others," "When I'm rich, I'll give," or something similar. This may be true for a person here or there, but it's not true for most people. Having more money simply allows people to do more of what's already in their hearts. If they were really the giving kind, they'd be giving now -- even if it was only a little bit here and now. But if they're spending it all on themselves now, when they get more they'll do the same (spend it all on themselves). This is fine by me -- it's their money -- but they shouldn't fool themselves thinking they'll be generous at some future date when they're not generous now.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Comments

[RDS]

This is so very true.

Managing money well has nothing to do with amounts. If you manage a small amount well, you can manage a large amount well. If you manage a large amount well, you can manage a small amount well.

The "if I had more money I would do X" mentality never seems to play out in real life. As you say, we all already display what is in our hearts through our spending decisions. But if you are waiting for a higher income, you are aiming for a moving target. It is amazing to me that as my income rises, what once seemed like a huge amount of money, seems much, much smaller now that I am earning it.

RDS

[Kevin @ The Money Hawk]

Boy is this the truth. Everyone thinks the answer to their problem is more money. Really, the answer to their problem is personal responsibility, behavior modification, focus; you know, all the boring stuff!

[Carrie]

Very true. Didn't Dave Ramsey say something to the effect of "more money reveals who you are"?

[Sarah]

Well, I do think it's easier to handle a large amount than a small amount. When I made roughly one-tenth what I do now, every expenditure was important. There was no margin for error. An improvident trip to the movies would leave me with nothing to spare for the month. Now, while I still have a budget, if I choose to go to an extra movie and thus contribute $X,000-$20 rather than $20 to my super-accelerated loan repayment account this month, it's not that big a deal. People comment now that I seem to have a much better grip on my finances these days, and it's true that I budget more thoughtfully and stick to it more consistently--but it's a heck of a lot easier not to exceed a few hundred dollars' entertainment monthly allowance than it is not to go through forty dollars'.

I think your last point is very true, though. There is a small group of folks who have so little that it would be unreasonable for them to give to charity, and their behavior might well change when they get on their feet. (A startlingly high percentage of recipients of Modest Needs grants turn around and contribute something themselves to the program once their emergency is past.) For everyone else...there will always be a reason you don't have quite enough to give. If you don't inculcate the habit in yourself now, you never will.

[anna]

I agree. But I think that when people get a lot of money quickly (like the lottery or a big raise) there's other pressure/expectations that they might not have had when they were less affluent. I think that's one reason why people go astray there. But I agree -- if you're imprudent with a little, you've got a bad habit to break when you've got more.

[Poor Boomer]

70 percent of my income goes to rent a room in a house with nine people, 15 percent for student loans, and 12 percent for medical expenses.

How much should I be giving?

[FMF]

Poor --

How much would you like to give?

[Shaun Connell]

Hehe, nice answer FMF. It's all about the heart.

[Mary@SimplyForties]

Yikes, I hate to put that bible verse into the context of many of those who responsible for spending our tax dollars!