Delaying Gratification so that you can save money

Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay 

“One day Jacob was cooking stew when Esau arrived home exhausted from the hunt.

Esau said, ‘Boy, am I starved! Give me a bite of that red stuff there!’ From this came his nickname “Edom,” which means “Red Stuff.”

Jacob replied, ‘All right, trade me your birthright for it!’

Esau said, ‘When a man is dying of starvation, what good is his birthright?’

Jacob answered, ‘Well then, vow to God that it is mine!’

And Esau vowed, thereby selling all his rights as the eldest son to his younger brother. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew. He ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the rights he had thrown away.”
—Genesis 25:29–34

Today, I want to discuss something practical: developing the habit of saving money.

Saving requires one of the most important virtues we can develop, patience. It requires us to resist the urge to satisfy every immediate desire so that we can preserve something valuable for the future.

In the passage above, Esau surrendered his birthright because he was hungry. He made a rash, life-changing decision that affected his future, all because his immediate appetite clouded his judgment.

Esau treated something valuable as though it were worthless because it could not satisfy him in that particular moment.

Many of us can behave like Esau when it comes to money. We allow our appetites, impulses, and temporary desires to determine how we spend. We exchange future security for present satisfaction without considering what those small decisions may eventually cost us.

Years ago, I would walk into a store and shop impulsively. I often felt that I had to purchase something immediately or I might never have another opportunity to get it. In my mind, either someone else would buy the item, or an unexpected expense would arise and prevent me from purchasing it later.

That fear created a sense of urgency where none was needed.

Last year, however, I decided that if I wanted to become financially secure, I needed to develop the discipline of saving money. I began with a small amount, but consistency caused my savings account to grow.

With every paycheck, I put money aside. As I watched my savings increase, I began paying closer attention to how I was spending and identifying areas where I could improve.

I created categories for my needs, wants, savings, and investments. Once I began tracking my money, I quickly recognized where much of it was being wasted.

One of my greatest unnecessary expenses was eating out during my lunch break at work. Some days I purchased a quick sandwich, while other meals were more elaborate. Those lunches usually cost between eight and seventeen dollars a day.

By the end of the month, I could easily spend more than $250 on workday lunches alone.

Once I began packing my lunch, I had significantly more money available to save. What appeared to be a small daily purchase had actually been consuming hundreds of dollars over time.

This taught me that financial progress does not always begin with earning a much larger income. Sometimes it begins with controlling the appetites that continually consume the income we already have.

Deuteronomy 28:13 says that God will make His people “the head and not the tail.” Many of us confess this verse, but we do not always adopt the habits necessary to live from a position of wisdom, stability, and responsibility.

Being the head is more than a verbal confession. It is also reflected in the way we manage what has been placed in our hands. It requires discipline, planning, patience, and the willingness to make decisions that serve our future rather than merely satisfying the present moment.

Repeating a Scripture does not replace applying its principles.

We must learn to save, budget, prepare, and practice self-control. We should ask ourselves whether the thing we desire today is worth sacrificing the security we are trying to build for tomorrow.

Esau traded something lasting for something temporary.

Let us value our future enough to resist that same mistake. A momentary appetite should never be allowed to consume the birthright of financial stability we are working to build.