What is NSI and how does it figure into your spending plan/cash flow plan/budget? NSI stands for Net Spendable Income. Your NSI is the income you have left to cover all of your monthly expenses. To arrive at your NSI, you start with Gross Income and subtract:
- Federal Taxes
- State Taxes
- FICA
- Medicare
(Note: Some of you might have other deductions, such as retirement, that are withdrawn from your gross income.) Even though this is the amount you take home each payday, it is still not your NSI. Why? The reason is very simple. You still need to deduct your tithe. The tithe is usually a tenth of your gross income. Some of you might want to take the tithe off of what you bring home. However, God says that we are to give our tithe from our “first fruits”. Our first fruits is our gross income. If you don’t feel comfortable giving your tithe from your gross, don’t worry about it. God will bless you from what you give back to Him. Remember that God loves a cheerful giver.
The other thing that you need to deduct is your savings amount. Start at 5% of your gross. Then, go to 10% and eventually go to 15%. The 15% is for when you are debt-free and are ready to invest. Remember to tithe and “pay” yourself first. This is what goes into figuring your NSI.
Once you take these deductions out, then you deduct your monthly expenses from this amount. This is how NSI figures into your budget.
