2026 - The Strength Of The Ox
"Where no oxen are, the crib is empty, but much increase [of crops] comes by the strength of the ox." (Proverbs 14:4)
As we begin 2026, I want to share my longtime thoughts about an aspect of this verse, and how applying the wisdom from it can help in managing our finances.
Going way back, many times I sensed a parallel of the benefits of the ox to the use of technology and innovation - especially in the workplace, as I saw how the company I worked for of humble beginnings grew leveraging technology from being literally a garage start-up to having their first million dollar month in a relatively short timeframe.
So, how and where can we apply technology to our finances? Let's cover some today.
Start with the area of tracking your spending. You can do this yourself, building a basic digital spreadsheet in Excel, entering the categories you've spent on and then staying with it to see how much you've spent and what needs to be adjusted. You can also purchase software that will create budget spreadsheets and will produce reports and graphics for illumination.
One budget spreadsheet for purchase to consider is from the site "Mama's On A Budget", which offers biblically-based tools to help set up an easy to use sheet. Here is their website:
https://mamasonabudget.org/
To apply more effortless and powerful technology in this approach, there are financial tracking tools available for a subscription fee (some have free versions) which are very powerful. A few well-rated apps are shown below, with each having certain strengths.
EveryDollar (from Dave Ramsey)
YNAB (You Need a Budget)
Simplifi by Quicken
Rocket Money
Monarch
This post is not to endorse certain apps... though I was very impressed with the first two above. Dave Ramsey's site provides action steps and helps to set aside money towards finding margin to pay off debts. View the apps/sites above to point you in the direction of locating one that will work for you personally. The ones which automatically link to your bank accounts will reduce your time and effort to see results. Most will auto-categorize your spending.
Most apps will require a subscription fee, and my general advice is to avoid as many subscription fees as possible, but given how implementing these particular apps will in turn show you how to save money each month towards paying down debts (some even provide coaching advice for paying off debts), they will prove to be worth it. Concerning subscriptions, one feature is they will show you what you are spending on them and allow you to unsubscribe with a few clicks.
How about spending less money when you do spend?
For groceries and online shopping, investigate apps such as ibotta, Fetch Rewards, Rakuten and Checkout 51. You can locate offers, scan receipts and receive credit towards gift cards or reward payments in return for your loyalty.
For gas, it could not be any easier to save money than by downloading the GasBuddy app and then being able to quickly locate the best prices for gas in your neighborhood, or somewhere else when you are on the go and otherwise have no knowledge of the area.
Instead of rummaging through garage sales (which can be fun sometimes), if you have a need for an item and are open to pre-owned, utilize the technology of Craigslist. There, you can quickly search for specific items while placing specific limitations of price range and location.
For dining out or to-go, leverage the benefits of signing up for the restaurant's dining clubs. Granted, you do have to deal with e-mails arriving almost daily, but they will include timely discounts for dining with them and many will offer free birthday and anniversary meals and desserts. Groupon is another easy tool to locate dining and entertainment discounts for places that do not have their own discount club.
When you've identified a certain item you want to purchase, a quick check of Google coupon codes can show you if a discount can be applied.
Please consider the amount of time you already spend using technology in less than productive ways - by gaming, social media scrolling, surfing and such, and instead taking a portion of that time to apply some of the suggestions above and have that technology bring you tangible benefits that can help pay down debts and progress towards debt-freedom in 2026.
And lastly, be encouraged to lean on Who is greater than technology, for the Lord knows more than all the search engines of the planet put together, can move faster than the greatest supercomputer man can create, has deeper and more specific wisdom for you than the ultimate A.I. to yet be devised. Seek and learn and follow His voice from the Holy Spirit to you, for He will provide specific direction... knowing all that is out there, seen and unseen which affects you personally.
Our Lord is great and powerful. There is no limit to what he knows.
(Psalms 147:5)
God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
