Have you started budgeting?
In order to cope with the inflation, which we were told would be brought under control on “day one,” have you started counting out the pennies in your purse before you go shopping so you won’t be embarrassed at the checkout lane?
And even if you have a credit card in your wallet, are you as worried as you should be about falling into the deep hole of credit card debt — around 20% interest?
Based on 2026 data, approximately 1 in 5 (22%) Americans who carry credit card debt do not believe they will ever be able to pay it off. While roughly 76-77% of Americans have some form of debt, a significant portion feels their situation is unmanageable, with 10% expecting to be in the red for the rest of their lives.
According to a financial company called Thrivent a budget:
1. Keeps you from overspending
2. Enables you to manage debt and build credit
3. Gets you moving toward your short- and long-term goals
4. Prepares you for emergencies
5. Makes saving for retirement easier
It’s just simply smart to budget — in the long run.
I never made a lot of money in my life, but because I budgeted, deferred gratification, started an investment program and through the magic of compound interest, my wife and I have enough to live on — albeit frugally — for a long time.
But the point of this column is not to encourage readers to be smart. It’s to encourage all of us to be ethical and — dare I use the word — loving. Loving my neighbor as myself.
We have a powerful political leader who promotes the attitude America First. I looked up the synonyms for “selfish” and found: grasping, avaricious, acquisitive, and rapacious, which imply an intense, selfish desire for wealth or possessions. Other strong, related terms focusing on self-interest include materialistic, covetous, self-seeking, and moneygrubbing.
As a nation we got rid of USAID and on a personal level Americans give on average only 3% of their income to charity.
But if you want to hold the ethical bar for yourself higher; if you resonate to the Edward Jones advertisement that being rich is defined as knowing what counts, prioritizing what matters most … then budgeting ethically might be for you.
Here’s how it works: I begin with estimating my gross annual income for 2026. Let’s say I plan on making $100,000. Then I choose a multiplier. Literally thousands of years ago my spiritual ancestors picked 10 percent, which means that my net ethical income would be $90,000.
You can already anticipate the consequences. Let’s say I have my heart set on owning a Beamer. At my paygrade I can afford the monthly payments for a BMW but not if I gave away a 10% tithe.
But if I decide on Jan. 1 I’m going to give 10% of my projected income away, then that Mercedes I’ve been dreaming of might not be affordable. I can still buy a new car, but it might have to be a Honda Civic.
“But, but,” we worry, “would my children be disappointed if they only got one toy for the holidays?”
Henry David Thoreau reportedly concluded, “That person is richest whose needs are fewest.”
In When Society Becomes an Addict, Anne Wilson Schaef argues, “Western society functions like an addictive system, not just through substances like alcohol and drugs, but also through behaviors like consumerism, workaholism, and greed, and institutions like government, business, and religion.”
Yikes! Is it true?
Whether it’s true or not, here’s my question: “Is it ethical?”
I’m going to pick on Prez Trump here as an example of someone who is completely devoid of ethics. “This is a president who, first, needs to be the center of attention,” said David Brooks. “There is simply a lack where the moral backbone would normally be or even where the moral sentiment would normally be. And he stands for nihilism, a belief in nothing. He stands for the idea — that the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
My personal ethical beliefs or standards include:
1. I am commanded to love my neighbor as well as myself;
2. I am not the center of the universe;
It’s not all about me. In fact very little is about me;
3. I have never had a truly original thought; I’m always standing on the shoulders of spiritual, ethical giants;
4. I am a steward, not the owner of the wealth in my possession;
5. I am like a player on the field who gets my plays from people on the sidelines who see the whole picture.
Most of the financial plans I see advertised promise that if you play their game you will earn a lot of money. The promise from ethical budgeting is that you will be enabled to give lots of it away, leaving enough for yourself.
Follow Pastor Walter Mitty’s spiritual adventures on Tom’s substack https://tomholmes10.substack.com.