Many of the ideas on this site may seem quite challenging and difficult. No one can be expected to change their entire mindset overnight. We all, though, should be striving to free more of our resources for others. There are few things that you can start thinking about as you embark on this journey.

The first thing to do is evaluate the way that your money is being spent. With every item, ask yourself if you really need it. You'll need to be painfully honest with yourself. If your answer is “no” then you need to ask yourself if the item that you want to buy will help people more than the money that you could save by not buying it. A good acid test question is to ask yourself if you would still continue to buy that item if your next door neighbour was starving to death. If you wouldn't, then you should stop buying that product. Try to consider all that you buy as subordinate to the cause of loving others. If an item isn't a necessity, then it should be a tool for multiplying your efforts to help others.

Once you have determined what you need, the next step is to work to find the things that you will continue to buy as cheaply as possible within the context of morality. This site has been developed to help you explore some of the more radical or creative ways that you can do that. When we look at how we buy things, we also need to consider how ethical our shopping habits are. If by buying things at Walmart you save one dollar that you can use for others but you encourage sweat shop production, then you've probably done more harm than good. Many of the articles on this site will discuss different ethical issues that consumers face. Another issue that we run into when searching to cut costs is that there is often a trade-off of resources when looking for deals. For example, the store by your house may sell milk for thirty cents more then the mega store across town. If you commit to always buy milk across town, you are expending gas and time as well as affecting the environment in order to do that. Articles addressing this topic of environmental safety and best possible choices will also appear on this site. We each need to think carefully about all of our decisions if we want to use our resources wisely and effectively.

A third area that you can look at is what you can sell. Most of us have countless things that we don't need that could be sold. Even if the resale value is only 5% of its retail value that money can still be used to help other people. In some cases, it may make more sense to keep an item rather than selling it if the resale value is extremely low. The small amount of cash may do little or nothing to help others. But remember, for the most part, every little bit adds up and can be put to good use. Also, consider just giving a lot of your stuff to a local charity thrift store or homeless shelter. Many homeless shelters have donation lists full of items people need such as: toiletries, clothing, towels, bedding and some food items.

We also need to evaluate how we use our time, the environment, power and other resources that are in our possession. Our stewardship of these resources is harder to measure then our stewardship of money. Eventually, this site will also include articles on these resources.

Good luck with getting started. The biggest battle that we face in changing our lifestyles is in changing our thinking. The following verse from the Bible shows how this is the case: "Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect." (Rom 12:2 NET)