“I want to be more generous, but I just can’t. There is no room in my finances.” At some point, many of us have had this thought. In our hearts, we long to be generous toward others.
We desire to use our money to make a difference in the lives of those in our community and around the world. We want to be a conduit of generosity, giving because God has given to us.
But we feel stuck, unable to move forward in our generosity. We find ourselves envying those who seem able to give without hindrance. They seem to have something that we are missing, and it is not a higher paycheck. They seem to have margin.
What is margin? In our personal finances, margin is space. It is breathing room. It is money that is not committed to bills or debt. There is freedom in the margin, freedom to generously respond to the needs around us.
So where does margin come from? Margin does not magically appear. It does not happen on accident. Margin is intentional. I have yet to meet an accidentally generous person. Those who are free to give are usually very intentional about their generosity. And they are focused on creating margin.
Do you desire margin in your finances? Here are four suggestions to get you started.