The stubbornness of a 17-year-old combined with an inherent Scotch-Irish thrift led to big savings and a unique sense of economics for Judy Woodward Bates.
When Bates married her husband, Larry Woodward, in 1970 at the age of 17, she was determined to prove to her parents that the newlyweds could make the marriage work and make it on their own financially.
Thirty-three years and several lessons later, Bates, now a speaker and author, has yet to ask her parents for financial help.
The First Baptist Church, Gardendale, member shares the strategies she has learned for managing money well in her book, “The Gospel Truth About Money Management.”
She calls this system Bargainomics, a style of economics dedicated to allowing God to control spending and trusting Him to reveal bargains at even the most expensive stores.
“The name comes from the Living Bible paraphrase of the description of a virtuous woman in Proverbs,” Bates said.
Quoting the paraphrase of Proverbs 31:17–18, Bates said a virtuous woman “is energetic, a hard worker and watches for bargains. ‘Watches for bargains’ equals Bargainomics.”
Bates added that by reading 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, which said God bought her with a price, she realized everything she has belongs to Him.
“It’s not my time or money that I’m wasting, it’s His,” she said.
The Bargainomics system Bates created means being wise with money and a good steward of what God has given.
She believes God blesses those who manage their money well, not necessarily by giving more money, but by enabling them to do more with what they do have.
Bates wants readers to understand that spending money wisely does not equal a limited existence on the bare necessities.
“Bargainomics is not about bread and butter living,” Bates said. “It’s about living abundantly, but living abundantly in Jesus Christ.”
Buying bargains does not mean settling for an item simply because it is cheap, either.
Bates said it is important to have nice, quality items, which can be found at stores that range from the discount variety to the most expensive department stores.
“I buy quality things at discount prices,” she said with a grin.
Before Bates goes shopping, she prays God will put “spiritual blinders” on her to keep her from seeing items she does not need or cannot afford.
When she gets to the store, she follows two rules: If it’s not 75 percent off, it’s not on sale; and the 10-minute rule.
With practice, shoppers should be able to scan through a store in 10 minutes to see if it holds any bargains for them.
Bates recommends that shoppers close their eyes to anything that is not on sale to avoid the temptation of buying it.
Bates includes this advice along with other tips for buying cars, buying houses, eating out and traveling in her book and on her Web site, www.bargainomics.com.
Share with others: