The 7-A Money Max System, Step 3: Advanced Decision Making

Over the years, I have struggled with eating healthy on a consistent basis.  Of all the diets I have tried, the most effective is when I decide the night before, what I will eat the following day.

For example, before I go to bed, I gather the food that I will eat the following day.  I go through this process when I am not hungry.  I usually choose 3 fruits, 3 vegetables, 2 eggs, 2 slices of double fiber bread, 1/3 cup of high fiber cereal, 4-6 ounces of lean meat, and 1 gallon of water. If I want to add a brownie to the mix, I do.

The next day, I have zero food decisions to make.  I made all the food decisions the night before.

I refer to this as advanced decision making.  This concept prevents impulsive eating and making food decisions on the fly. Had I not made the decision the night before, I will skip most of the fruits and vegetables and fill up on the brownies!

This same truth holds true with budgeting.  It is important to make spending decisions the night before payday.  A fun way to do this is to purchase some “play money.”

If married, sit down with your spouse and the exact amount of your expected paycheck in “pretend money.” Do this the night before payday. You will also want some blank notecards and a pen.

Your goal is to “spend the pretend money” until it is gone.  As you separate the money in appropriate amounts, write down on notecards where the money is to go.  Place the labled note card on top of the appropriate stack of money.  For example, you might place $1000 in a stack and label it “house payment” on the note card that lays on top of it. You are giving the money a job to do.  You give it an assignment.  You are deciding the night before you receive the paycheck where it will go.

John Maxwell says budgeting is “telling your money where to go, so you do not wonder where it went.”

As you participate in this “Pretend Spend” process, you must spend, give, save, or invest every dollar.  If you are married,involve your spouse but know that this process will not go smoothly in the early days. But soon you will be on the same page and empowered to manage well what the LORD has entrusted to you.

Don’t forget to put your “adult allowance” in this system.  See previous post for more information.