The Matching Jar

Money is a huge issue for me. I struggle, wrestle really, with how to spend my money well. It wasn't so much a problem when I had a stable job, no debt and more than enough money to both pay the bills and give away. I no longer budget because I never have enough money to budget period. It is a pray, wait and see sort of thing. To make matters worse is that I struggle over issues of tithing and giving money away when I'm technically not bringing in any money.

After my the ideas from the Advent article and an email from a friend with a similar idea, I have decided to make a matching jar. In the eyes of many folks, I live on a fairly minimal budget. I am a penny pincher. But the issue of money is still eating me up inside. I have discovered that the idea of the matching jar not only helps me to commit to giving money away, but it also helps me to see just how much I'm still able to rationalize for myself even when I have such a small amount of money to live on.

The idea is this, when I buy something for myself, go out to eat, buy a gift on a friend, spend money because I didn't plan well (ie. pay to park at school vs. walk or take the bus) then I match the dollar amount to give away. Rather than become a huge black hole of guilt, I feel much freer to confess my idolatries toward stuff. Already I am blown away at how much money I spend frivolously.