To truly be a woman of influence in the area of finances means to use your resources in a way this is consistent with your most deeply held values. When you sit down to write out your checks for the month, do the checks you write and the bills you pay truly reflect your values? What do these payments tell you about what you are prioritizing in your life? Do your values and your checkbook match up?

For example, if you add up what you are spending on your home, including mortgage, insurance, cable, decorations, etc., what does it tell you that you value? Does it say something about how important your home is to you? Does it say something about how important your family is to you? Or could you be working too hard to keep up appearances when you could really get by with less? If your budget is out of sync with your values then it may be time to reconsider where you are spending your money.

One of the things that has been important to my family through the years is outdoorsy vacations. Although we are not much for camping, we love to visit the National Parks. This has been an important part of our budget for many years because we have wanted our three sons to know the beauty of nature. We value time with our kids away from the electronic world they live in. Each year we have visited a new National Park. We have wonderful memories together. This is an example of something we valued becoming part of our budget.

Another lesson you can learn about yourself through looking at your budget and spending patterns, is the lesson of restraint. How much are you able to give up the immediate pleasure of a purchase, in order to gain greater freedom down the road? Are you able to save money each month for a purchase you want, or do you put it on a credit card and pay it off later with interest? Debt is like an anchor; it weighs you down financially and emotionally. Debt is complicated and at times cannot be avoided, but I am talking mainly about unnecessary credit card debt. I have heard of people using their 401k retirement monies to buy a big screen T.V. This can be a foolish lack of restraint. We all know the way interest adds up and it costs a lot more to buy something on credit than to pay cash.

A practical idea is to have an emergency reserve account. It should equal 3-6 months of wages. If you have this and something comes up, you don’t have to put the purchase on a credit card. You can just use your savings, pay for your purchase, and then build your reserve account back up.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, when you look at where you are spending your money, do you realize that you are teaching your children what they should prioritize in their lives? Your children will imitate how you spend your money. One thing we have consistently modeled for our children is giving to the church and giving to the poor. We have spent many dollars helping the homeless to have food and a roof over their heads both here and abroad, as well as on children’s orphanages and many other worthwhile charities. (All three of my boys spent their high school summers in the inner cities helping disadvantaged youth.) Now that our kids are all in college I see this heart in them. My parents and my husband’s parents modeled this for us and in their older years they are still actively helping those less fortunate. They passed this value on to us and we are passing it on to our children. This is the best investment you can make.

So this year, consider your budget and where you are spending your money. I hope in 2010 you will consider how you can use your money in a way that is becoming of a woman of influence that truly reflects your most deeply held values.