What if everything we thought had value was really worthless?  This is a question that my pastor asked this week in church.  Don’t worry, I am not going to get religious on you.  I am going to explore this question and give you some practical applications to better your finances, though.

Pastor Greg Surratt gave the example of a flat-panel plasma TV costing only a few dollars while a pack of underwear was $1,000.  We would buy the television that we did not need and ignore what we really needed.  This made me question if I ever have done this in my finances…I did.

I recall in the not-so-distant past, putting a trip on my credit card because I knew about future cash in my pocket.  I chased my wife out to Los Angeles while she was on business and made it a vacation for us also.  The whole trip went onto our credit card because I counted my chickens before they hatched.  Thankfully, they hatched, and the trip was paid off as planned.

Have you ever done this?  Acted on a hope?  We like to charge things or take financial leaps of faith all the time and often on things that don’t matter.  We must first, not spend money we don’t have.  Then evaluate what the best use for our money will be.  To do this we must think about where we place our value.  Do we focus on being entertained?  Do we focus on our family’s financial futures?

What is the most important thing in the world to you?  Your family or seeing Hollywood?  As much as I hate to admit it, the trip was not needed.  We could have waited for the money to come in and use it responsibly.  I could have put that cash towards paying off my car.  Once paid off, I could reward myself with a vacation I could afford.

More often than not, we are going to use our money for things that are not needed and ignore the things that are.  The only way around this is by evaluating our values.  What is most valuable to you?