Step 2: Give 10% First

Spending less than you make sounds simple, and it is, but it requires finding the one or two leaks in your budget that are quietly draining your account and plugging them. That is Step 1 on the Fuel Gauge. If you have done that work, you are ready for Step 2. I will warn you right now: this one is going to surprise you.

Step 2 is to give 10% of your income, creating a tone of gratitude and abundance in all of our finances.

I know what you are thinking. You picked up this column to get ahead financially, and now I am telling you to give money away? Shouldn't people be giving you money so you can pay down that credit card or boost your savings?

These are valid questions, and I’ve asked them myself. But let me ask you one back: what if giving first was the secret to unlocking all of your financial success?  Let me tell you a story that changed my life.

When Lauren and I moved to a new town, we were between churches and hadn't found a home yet. But we still committed to giving 10% each month. We got an envelope, and every month we put that 10% in it and kept our eyes open for someone who needed it.

Every Friday morning, I took my oldest daughter to breakfast at the same restaurant with the same waitress. She ordered a cinnamon roll with bacon every single time. One Friday, our waitress came to our table barely able to walk. She was bent over at the waist, shuffling from table to table in clear pain. She told me she had slipped and broken her back. Her insurance would not cover the brace she needed. She winced and said she had decided this was just going to be her life now.

I asked her how much the brace would cost. When she told me, my jaw dropped. It was almost exactly the amount sitting in our giving envelope at home.

We gave it to her, every last dollar. The next Friday, she walked in upright, wearing a brand-new back brace, and I saw the power of giving with my own eyes. In that moment, my life was changed forever. It made me want to work harder so we could give more.  That is what giving first does. It points your heart outward instead of inward. It shifts your entire outlook on money.

Giving 10% first is not about checking off a religious box. It is not about a tax write-off. It is about setting the tone for the remaining 90% of your budget. When you start each month by giving, you are operating from a place of abundance rather than scarcity. You are thinking in terms of INCREASE rather than lack.

God knew when He created us that we were selfish creatures by nature. But He also knew that one of the best feelings we can experience is that of serving and giving. We were meant to give first, serve first, and love others first.

If you are not sure where to give, start close to home. Think of a person or organization that has helped you, and give back. Or do what Lauren and I did: put it in an envelope, keep your eyes open, and let God show you the face it belongs to.

If you have never been in the practice of giving first, start small. Pull out a crisp $100 bill this week and give it to someone in your circle who could use a boost. I want you to see a face when you give it, and feel what happens inside you when you do.

All the budgets in the world will not give you the rush that giving first provides. Money is fuel for the purposes in your life, and those purposes were never meant to be lived out for yourself alone. Give first, and watch what happens next.

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Zach Santmier is the owner of Trumble Agency, Inc. and the author of the personal financial course, Increase. He focuses on helping families escape paycheck to paycheck living so they can freely pursue their ideal future.