Over the last five years, I’ve been choosing a word of the year that represents an area of my life I would like to improve on. It’s a lot less stressful than setting resolutions that often get forgotten by the end of January.
Last year my focus word was boundaries. I had gotten to a point where I was conflicted about setting boundaries with my parents and other relatives who were older than me (most young Africans would relate). I needed to take the time to learn that setting healthy boundaries is not rude but, in fact, very necessary. It was a challenging process that saw me re-evaluate some of my relationships. Overall, I learned the meaning and value of the word no, and I was able to work on the guilt I used to have when I previously stood my ground.
For 2022, my focus word is MONEY. I’ve never been a good steward of the money God has blessed me with until I met my husband back in 2013… and even then, my stewardship only slightly improved as I learned from him. Financial management is not something I was taught growing up; quite the opposite. I grew up in a let’s spend it all household. All the lessons I now know about sound money management are thanks to my husband, whose dad (an accountant by trade) imparted a lot of wisdom.
Money certainly does not buy happiness, but it does impact it. I’ve had a lot of it in my life, and I’ve also gone through periods of complete drought. I’ve decided to make it my focus this year for two reasons. First, I want to understand what God says about money. I often feel stuck between a rock and a hard place as an ambitious Christian woman. The bible is clear that one cannot serve God and money. I know who I serve, but I sometimes think my ambition gets the best of me, and I lose focus. I want to study what the word says about money, ambition and stewardship, so I can go about it the right way and have peace of mind as I build wealth.
The second reason for my word choice is that I would like to be a better money manager. Most of my reading this year will help me become a better steward. I will hopefully learn how to make better investment choices, stick to a budget and minimise my frivolous spending.
Though I’ve improved, I still shop online a little more than I should, and there are a lot of financial principles I would like to understand for myself instead of relying solely on Kunle.
My guiding bible verse this year is Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 – I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. It’s encouraging me to make a financial plan for my life to ensure the maintenance of this fancy life. The bible is actually the greatest financial guidebook you can read, you should check it out. I’ll soon share my favourite bible verses for different areas of life.
Did you select a word for 2022? Let me know below.
As always, stay fancy.
