Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Pasuk (verse) says that Yaakov was alone on the other side of the river in this week's parasha, and Rashi explains that he had forgotten some small jugs, so he went back to get them. Now Yaakov was in the middle of preparing for a war and had a lot on his mind, yet he goes back to retrieve the seemingly insignificant jugs.
On the other hand, we find Avraham Avinu: when he went to buy a burial place for Sarah, he paid an exorbitant amount of money—400 pure silver coins. He didn't try to bargain; he paid for it like a prince. So how do we learn from our Avot (forefathers) how to deal with money?
I once heard an explanation: when it comes to fulfilling a mitzvah (commandment) or giving tzedakah (charity), money should be no object. Whatever it takes to serve Hashem, I'm willing and ready. But to give it up for nothing? Everything Hashem gave me is important, and we shouldn't waste even a dot. If you have a valid need in life, then spend the money happily; that's what Hashem gave it to you for. But never waste money.
The Chovot HaLevavot writes that one of the benefits of having bitachon (trust) in Hashem is that you'll be quick to pay up all of your financial obligations. The boteach baHashem (one who trusts in Hashem) doesn't hoard money; he realizes everything he has is a gift from Hashem, and he uses it to serve Hashem the right way. If he borrows money, he's quick to pay back. If he donates money, he's quick to pay his pledges. And he does it with goodwill and a generous spirit.
The boteach baHashem is prepared to give up money rather than do something dishonest. If I know Hashem is giving me my parnassah (livelihood), I don't have to lie to get it. And the boteach baHashem will forgo any amount of money rather than violate the halacha (Jewish law).
A man told me he's a real estate manager, and he has a certain property that he just couldn't find a tenant for. It's been vacant for over six months now. It's only allowed to be rented to communal institutions, which makes it that much more difficult. Last week, he finally got an offer from someone who wanted to use it as a house of prayer for a different religion. The man was excited about the offer, but nervous that it might not be allowed. So he asked his rabbi, and the rabbi said, “It's asur; you're not allowed to benefit from avodah zarah (idolatry).”
Now this was a huge amount of money that he would be giving up, and it didn't look like this property had much of a chance to be rented to someone else. The rabbi told him, “Work on your bitachon, make the sacrifice, and ask Hashem to send you a replacement.” So he worked on himself until he felt comfortable doing the right thing, and he put it in Hashem's hands. The real estate broker told him, “You're crazy; you'll probably not be able to rent out this property for at least another year.” He said, “I don't care,” and started praying to Hashem.
Just a couple of days later, out of the blue, a film company called and said that they wanted to use this property to film a production and wanted to rent it. A couple of hours later, a different film company called and also requested the property. The two companies got involved in a bidding war, and baruch Hashem (blessed is Hashem), the property was rented out to the highest bidder. Hashem brought the yeshua k'heref ayin (salvation in the blink of an eye).
We must always remember: our parnassah comes from Hashem, and it's meant to be used to serve Hashem the right way. When there's a need, spend the money b'simcha (happily), but you never need to do anything dishonest or against the halacha. Shabbat Shalom.