Ponder: Why is managing money so hard—and so important?
“First Things First!” (No video? Read the next page .)
Discuss: What did you learn from these children? Why should we keep track of our money? Why should we save money?
Read: Statement from All Is Safely Gathered In; Doctrine and Covenants 104:78 (on the right)
“Pay tithes and offerings, … avoid debt, … use a budget, … determine how to reduce what you spend for nonessentials … [and] discipline yourself to live within your budget plan.”
All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances (booklet, 2007), 3
“And again, verily I say unto you, concerning your debts—behold it is my will that you shall pay all your debts.”
Practice: Here are four steps you can take to manage your money so you can better serve others. Read these steps. As a group, talk about how you can make this a habit.
Prove to your employer that you work hard each day. Prove that you are valuable. Be honest.
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Pay Tithes and Offerings
When you earn personal money, pay tithing first. Then God can bless you.
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Spend Less Than You Earn
Set a budget. Record what you earn and spend. Avoid debt. Earn more. Spend less than you earn.
Save money every day for more peace and freedom.
Commit: Commit to doing the following actions during the week. Check the boxes when you complete each task:
Practice managing your money every day.
Teach this principle to your family.
Continue to practice the previous foundation principles.
“There seems to be a sense of entitlement in today’s culture. … When we become burdened with excessive debt, we have … placed ourselves in self-imposed servitude, spending all of our time, all of our energy, and all of our means to the repayment of our debts. … It is essential that we … develop a spending and savings plan—a budget—and distinguish between wants and needs.”
Robert D. Hales, “Seek and Attain the Spiritual High Ground in Life” (Church Educational System fireside, Mar. 2009), 6–7; speeches.byu.edu
Ask someone to share how these principles are blessing his or her family.
If you are unable to watch the video, choose roles and read this script.
SETTING: Young boy and girl, dressed in adult clothes, acting like their parents.
BOY: I’m home, dear.
GIRL: Welcome home. Oh my, you look tired.
BOY: You do too. You work very hard, don’t you?
GIRL: Well, we’re supposed to work, aren’t we?
BOY: I earned 10 today.
GIRL: Oh, what a blessing. So, first things first. Let’s pay our tithing, shall we?
BOY: But what if we don’t have enough?
GIRL: That’s where faith comes in!
BOY: Okay. So what’s next?
GIRL: Well, we’ll need to buy food and bus fare, and pay rent. And then, it would be nice to buy a chair. …
BOY: But we can’t. See? We don’t have enough money.
GIRL: Could we borrow some?
BOY: They say debt is dangerous. We don’t want to get in trouble.
GIRL: Okay. You’re right. So what do we do with this?
BOY: Let’s save it! You never know what will happen.
GIRL: That feels right. But there’s nothing left for fun.
BOY: We have each other! And I’ll try to earn more.
GIRL: I’ll try to spend less!
BOY: That way we can be happy—and self-reliant!
GIRL: Right! That wasn’t so difficult. Why do grown-ups make it so hard?
BOY: Oh, you know. That’s just how grown-ups are!