Financial Automation To Reach Your Goals

Automation. It is really quite the buzz word these days. It seems it will either eliminate jobs or be the key to our next phase of economic success. That of course is not the focus of our conversation today.

Automation here means creating rituals that lead you directly toward your financial goals.

A little effort today will help enrich your tomorrow without adding the stress that comes with financial planning. It starts with you picking targets and finding a way to reinforce them mechanically.

Done correctly, you will barely notice the change.

No matter what stage of financial health you find yourself in, setting goals is part of the healing process. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”; Finding automatic ways to support your financial life takes you one step closer to God’s plan.

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Our Flawed Credit Reporting System

As a company, FaithWorks Financial tends to keep the focus on helping people resolve their credit card debts and get back on track to living a debt-free life. Only a small portion of our writings cover the topic of the credit report, mostly touching on the basics that are helpful for everyone to know.

Today, however, we would like to take a look at why we believe that our credit reporting system is, in its inherent nature, flawed.
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Don’t Make this Big Post-Debt Mistake

The poor are always ruled over by the rich, so don’t borrow and put yourself under their power. –Proverbs 22:7 (The Message)

If you’re currently in debt (or ever have been), there’s a good chance you’ve daydreamed about the day you can declare yourself debt free. I know I have. In fact, dreaming about your financial future can be a good thing.

What comes to mind when you think about the day you’ll finally kiss your last debt goodbye? Maybe it’s a long-awaited family vacation, a celebratory dinner, or a big contribution to your savings account.
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Goodbye 2014, Hello New Beginning

I’ve noticed something unusual while scrolling through my social media feeds over the last week. A lot of people are very eager to kiss 2014 goodbye.

How about you? Maybe you actually had a fantastic year. Or maybe it was a struggle.
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4 Practical Guidelines for Giving

It’s that time of year when it seems everyone and their mother is asking for donations.

After reading this blog post about giving, I started examining my own household’s giving practices. I had to admit we don’t always give our first and best—and we don’t always give with the right motives, either.

The Bible makes it clear that it’s not just what, but how we give that matters. With that in mind, here are four giving guidelines I’m trying to put into practice. Hopefully, they’ll give you something to think about, too.
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4 Numbers to Celebrate This Christmas

If there’s ever a time to take a break from number crunching, it’s Christmas.

We’re happy to report that the numbers below have absolutely nothing to do with budgets, shopping lists, mall visits, or credit card bills, but everything to do with the real reason Christmas is worth celebrating.
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The Best (Free!) Way to Amplify Your Giving

When I glanced at my bank account balance the other day, I noticed several monthly gifts and offerings had been deducted as usual.

No big deal. I began to move down my to-do list like any other day, but something stopped me.

For the first time in a while, I actually thought about where the money was going. And then I wondered why it rarely occurred to me to pray about it.
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When you see the word “rent,” what comes to mind? I’ve always associated renting with apartments, cars and maybe a tuxedo.

These days, you can rent a lot more than that. The sharing economy is alive and well, and there are endless ways to get access to things you need or want, without having to fork over a ton of money.

In fact, peer-to-peer sharing companies like Lyft and Airbnb are giving traditional taxicabs and hotels a run for their money by creating an ever-growing niche in the travel and tourism business.

I don’t know about you, but there are certain things I’ve become so accustomed to buying brand new, the idea of renting the same thing for a much cheaper price doesn’t even cross my mind.

It’s a Rental!

Some of my fellow women can probably relate to having a closetful of dresses that only see the light of day once or twice a year. I was picking through my collection the other day, unsatisfied with my options for an upcoming wedding, when I asked a friend what she was planning to wear. She sent me a photo of a beautiful, trendy cocktail dress. “It’s a rental!” she said.

I felt a little silly that the same idea had never occurred to me. I mean, why spend the extra time and money shopping for another dress I’ll only wear once a year, when I can borrow one for a fraction of the cost?

With companies like Rent the Runway and Bag Borrow or Steal, you can have like-new dresses, handbags and jewelry shipped to your door. Once you wear them, you just send them back in a prepaid envelope. No dry cleaning necessary, and no closet space lost.

Tools, Bikes and More

Don’t worry, men, I haven’t forgotten about you. You probably know you can rent your own formalwear, but have you ever rented more fun stuff…say, power tools or mountain bikes?

I know my husband can’t stand the idea of buying an expensive new tool for a home improvement project that we’re only doing once. With rental services available through multiple home improvement stores, you can borrow anything from ladders to power washers. No need to waste precious cash or storage space on items you’re only using for a few days.

For a less corporate feel, there are plenty of neighborhood-focused peer-to-peer sharing sites to choose from, depending on where you live. Or you could borrow those tools the old fashioned way…by actually knocking on your neighbor’s door.

As for the mountain bikes, check out Spinlister, a sharing company that connects renters to bikes and other sports equipment. It’s a great fit if you’re an occasional biker who wants to save some money—or if you just want to try before you buy.

We may live in a culture that’s all about owning the shiniest new toys, but Americans are starting to wake up and smell the savings. More and more people are renting instead of buying, and while it isn’t the most economical choice in every situation, it’s often a great, inexpensive option. So expand your rental horizons and see how much cash you can save.

Sometimes true freedom looks a whole lot like discipline, patience and self-control.

It sounds counterintuitive, but just ask any teenager who wants the freedom to spend time with her friends, borrow the car or stay out later than normal. The freedom she’s looking for will be elusive unless she shows her parents she has the discipline and self-control it takes for them to trust her. And she’ll likely need a good deal of patience in the meantime.

Financial freedom is the same way. It takes time and hard work to achieve it, but boy is it worth it.

Season of Spending

It can be hard to stay motivated this time of year. The whole country is in the middle of a spending-palooza, and you’re bombarded with billboards, emails and ads of all kinds, encouraging you to blow your money now and worry about it later.

This is just a friendly reminder to see through the hype and keep your cool in the midst of a crazy season. Let everyone else run around spending money they don’t have. You’re stronger than that, and you can stand up to the pressure as you keep your eye on the prize of financial freedom.

A No-Remorse New Year

So hang in there! When the New Year rolls around and you have no buyer’s remorse, no credit card bills and no regrets, you’ll be glad you stuck it out.

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:11, NLT)

Yesterday we talked about a few New Year’s resolutions that could help you get to financial freedom faster.

If you’re not the New Year’s resolution type—or if you typically find yourself forgetting all about your resolution by the time the Super Bowl rolls around—maybe it’s time for a different approach.

My One Word

A few years ago, I heard about the My One Word concept at Port City Community Church in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Pastor Mike Ashcraft had found New Year’s resolutions to be frustrating, ineffective and ultimately doomed to fail.

As he thought about why, he noticed that most resolutions have something in common: they tend to focus on a negative attribute in need of fixing.

I want to lose weight.

I want to stop yelling at my kids.

I’m going to watch less TV.

See the pattern? When we come up with ways to improve ourselves in the coming year, we tend to zero in on something we don’t like right now instead of envisioning what we hope to become in the future.

Even resolutions framed in a positive light (I want to eat healthier, I’m going to be a more involved parent, etc.) tend to be vague, difficult to stick with and nearly impossible to measure.

The Un-Resolution

That’s where My One Word comes in.

You can explore more about it here, but the basic idea is to ditch the list of resolutions and just pick one word to focus on for the next 12 months.

Many people pick biblical character traits they hope to embody, such as patience, kindness or perseverance. Others go for action words like move, believe or wait.

Adventure, hope, engage and fearless are a few of my words from years past.

When I was single I picked a word by myself; now my husband and I usually pick one together. We like to write it down—or if we can get to a beach, write it in the sand—and take a picture of it. The framed photo reminds us to keep working on our word all year long.

12 Months of Impact

Some would say you pick your word; others believe your word picks you. All I know is God seems to use our words to mold, encourage and challenge us in surprising ways. In fact, it’s not uncommon to choose a word with a particular reason in mind and realize partway through the year that your word has taken on a completely different meaning. Admit it, you don’t get that kind of adventure and intrigue with a standard resolution!

If you decide to try My One Word this year, I’d strongly recommend praying about your word before you make your choice. But don’t overthink it; this is meant to be less stressful than coming up with a New Year’s resolution.

I haven’t chosen my word for next year yet, but as I write this, I’m getting excited about the possibilities.

If you decide to try My One Word in the New Year, I’m excited for you, too. Start thinking and praying about it now and just see how God will work if you commit to sticking with it all year. Change is possible, and adventure awaits.