Little by Little

By Shamico J. Winger

In order to defeat debt; you must first face the fact that you are in debt. If you are living from paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet, juggling one bill to pay another and dodging your creditors; you need help taking control of your finances. Ignoring your debt will not make it disappear; you have to face the giant in order to slay the giant. You need to know where your money is going. You need to know how deep in debt you really are. You need to know your debt to income ratio. If you are spending more than you are making; that is a huge problem! You cant keep doing the same thing expecting different results. It is time to become proactive in controlling your finances. It is our responsibility to know where we stand financially. Wisdom is the principle thing; in all our getting we are to get an understanding.

Good people sometimes make bad decisions. A few poor choices and bad decisions do not mean we cant recover. It is never too late to make a change for the better. It is never too late to make a U-turn. Little by little we can be released from the prison of debt. Little by little we can rebuild our credit. Little by little our finances can be restored. God never intended for us to be held captive by debt. He called us to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, lenders and not borrowers. With faith, hard work, tenacity and diligence; we can be restored to our rightful place as lenders and not borrowers. We have to do more than talking, wishing and hoping, In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty (Prov12:23). We have to do the work that is required to get us out of debt and back on the right track. Faith without works is dead! Show your faith by your works. Faith requires action on our part, For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead (James2:26).Wrong decisions got us into debt; right decisions will get us out of debt. We have to be doers of the Word and not hearers only!

Just the thought of budgeting causes stress and anxiety for many people. The task of budgeting can seem insurmountable. We oftentimes have no idea where to begin, so we give up before we ever get started. Little by Little was written to help the average person who doesnt have a large checking or savings account change their perception of debt, budgeting and saving. If you can change your thinking, you can change your life! Each generation should progressively get better; the only way we can accomplish this is by not repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Make the decision today to break the generational curse of debt and poverty from your life. In this book youll find easy to use worksheets that will allow you to maintain your budget, track your expenses, build your savings and note your progress. Youll be encouraged throughout this book by the Word of God. Scriptures are strategically placed to help you stay motivated throughout your journey to becoming financially responsible. Do not despise small beginnings; you didnt get this deep in debt overnight and you wont get out of debt overnight. Be patient in the process; we want a permanent change, not a quick fix! May God bless the work of your hands!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481705363

Shamico J. Winger

Shamico Winger (Meko) is a wife, mother and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing brings her greater joy than laboring in the Lord’s harvest. Meko has a heart for helping God’s people. Her motto in life after salvation has been, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I received of the Lord Jesus to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts20:24). Her life’s mission has become to do the work assigned her by the Lord Jesus; the work of telling others about the grace of God! She has an evangelistic anointing and believes in Kingdom building; not just church building. Meko feels her call in life is to build up everything that the enemy has torn down. In 2004 she began an outreach for women called D.I.V.A.S. 4 JESUS in which she provided care and biblical counsel to broken and hurting women. She is a survivor of sexual, mental and emotional abuse. She has had to overcome many obstacles, trials and tribulations. Her first book, Poems from my Storms, tells of some of her struggles and the struggles people in general go through. Poems from my Storms has blessed the lives of many women (and men) who are going through or have survived abuse. Meko is neither afraid nor ashamed to share her life openly and honestly with the hope that someone will be helped through her testimony. She strives to be acceptable in God’s sight; not the sight of man. She is a diamond in the rough who has never been afraid to think outside of the box. She marches to the beat of a different drum and has never been afraid to leave the pack to follow God. She is a woman of faith who walks in what she believes in. Meko studied communication at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tn. She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi and raised in Memphis Tennessee. Her hobbies are reading, writing and creating. If you would like to contact the author please visit www.divas4jesus.com or www.booksbymeko.com

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© 2013 by Shamico J. Winger. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/16/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0537-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0536-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013900441

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Wisdom Nuggets For Your Faith Bucket

Planning for Prosperity

Common Sense when it comes To Dollars and Cents

Mastering Money

Act your age and your wage

Wise Women Walk in Wisdom

Do Not Entertain Envy

Don’t Feed Greed

Owning what we owe

Give Generously

Enjoy the fruit of your Labor

Retail Therapy is a stumbling block to becoming wealthy

Budget Buddy

Preparation and Anticipation

Vision

Saving!

Checkbook Register

Year in Review

What must I do to be saved?

Dedicated

To men and women everywhere bound by debt; little by little you will be set free!

Acknowledgements—

First and foremost I have to give thanks to Father God for being Jehovah Jireh(my provider), Jehovah Shammah (always present), Jehovah Shalom (my peace), Jehovah Nissi(my protection), Jehovah Tsidkenu (my righteousness), Jehovah Maccadeshem (my sanctifier), Jehovah Rohi (my Shepherd) and so much more: He’s been everything I’ve needed! I am complete in Jesus.

To my son, Jeffrey, thank you for all of your hard work. Thank you for your love and support. This book has been somewhat of a challenge; thank you for stepping in when needed. I love you son.

To my daughter Jasmine, thank you for being my biggest cheerleader. Thank you for your beautiful smile that brightens my life. Thank you for allowing me to bounce ideas off of you, I love you.

To Jeff, thank you for showing me how strong I really am. I wish you all the best in life.

Thank you to all of my friends and family who support my work in God’s Kingdom. God Bless you and I love you.

I’m the last person on earth who ever thought that I would write a book on budgeting and being financially responsible. God called me to it: so that means He’s equipped me with what I need to do it. God qualifies those whom he calls; he doesn’t always call those qualified. This book has truly been a labor of love. I believe it is going to help millions escape the snare of debt and the trap of living on credit. I have had much trouble and trial while writing this book. The enemy shot every fiery dot he could my way. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us from them all.

Introduction—

The lender has become the borrower. The head has become the tail. Instead of being above, we find ourselves beneath. The Bible tells us that just as the rich rule over the poor, the borrower is servant to the lender; instead of living on top in the overflow, we cower beneath the heavy burden of debt. God never intended for us to be bound by debt; He said He would "open unto you his good treasure,