Does this scenario sound familiar? It’s Saturday night, and your entertainment budget is somewhere between zero and Dollar Menu. This morning, you resolved to stick to your budget and enjoy a quiet night in.
And then you got “the text.” You know it well. It’s the one that informs you your friends are planning to go out to dinner. Or to the movies. Or bowling. And you’re invited. Suddenly your plans to enjoy leftovers, Netflix, and the couch seem incredibly lame.
If you’ve ever watched a friend or relative make a bad financial decision, you know it can be difficult to figure out whether to say something or keep your mouth shut.
On the flip side, perhaps you’ve been the target of an unsolicited financial intervention that left you feeling hurt, angry or humiliated. Continue reading
What comes to mind when you hear the word “investment”?
A 401(k)? A business venture? The New York Stock Exchange?
If you associate investments with money, you’re tracking with the traditional definition of the word, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s so much more to investing than just money. Continue reading
A trip to the emergency room. A flat tire (or two). An unexpected, astronomical vet bill. Storm damage to your home. A broken appliance (not the toaster or the coffee maker…the refrigerator or the washing machine). A dead transmission. A notice that your rent is going up…a lot.
You may have personally dealt with one or two of these issues, or perhaps every single one of them. Either way, you know what they have in common: sticker shock. And if you don’t have a fully loaded emergency fund, you also know that awful feeling that can form in the pit of your stomach when you first set your eyes on an unexpected bill. Continue reading
May 1st is the National Day of Prayer in the United States. It’s a day for believers to pray for their local, state and national leaders. It’s also a great time to pray for financial peace—on a personal level and on a much larger scale.
The Bible says, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17, NIV). It’s impossible to out-give God. Whether you barely give at all or steadily contribute tithes and offerings, talk to God about areas where you’re holding back. Repent, and ask God to help you to be a faithful, cheerful giver. Continue reading
The term “living paycheck to paycheck” is used to describe any financial situation in which there is no reserve money between pay periods. This can create quite a stressful situation, especially when unexpected expenses pop up. For some families this can be disaster. One emergency can send the budget into a tail spin which cannot be easily recovered from.
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Christian debt management is all about making changing in the present. In order to get out of debt major spending and behavioral changes must take place in your heart and mind. Every dollar you spend must be considered and accounted for in order to make a Christian debt relief program work. You may find your mind swirling with information and choices every day and all of these things are focused on right now, changing things right now in your financial life. While you are in the throes of this major life adjustment you will see commercials are hear people talking about “planning for the future.” These moments may have you thinking, “I’m just trying to survive right now! I can’t think about the future!” You may not realize it, but if you have sought out Christian debt help, you are securing your future in more ways than you might imagine.
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The last century has seen a decline in the overall character of man. On a national level the moral compass of our society has tilted far from “true north” so to speak. We see this through the lack of morality on television and in movies. We can see it through the increased crime rates in every city in America. We see it through an increase in crimes that in times past were absolutely unheard of.
We also see this decline in the financial world in the way businesses and government conduct their money as well as how individual’s view their own financial responsibilities. The decline in money morality has resulted in near catastrophic recession in the last decade which forced many Americans out of their homes and into foreclosure and bankruptcy. During that time period many people were comparing the events to those of the 1930s in which “The Great Depression” had a similar effect on American families. Continue reading
In our society there is often great confusion concerning wealth and increased income. One definition of wealth states that wealth is, “an abundance of valuable resources or material.” This could be pretty broad range of things. You may not have one dollar to your name, but if you had a chest full of rare diamonds, you could still consider yourself wealthy. So then, wealth can become subjective to whatever you may deem “valuable.” When an individual is in the trenches of a Christian debt consolidation program some days can seem dark indeed. The level of financial sacrifice you are making may seem unbearable some days. You may even experience some level of ridicule or judgment from people who do not understand what you are doing or why you are doing it. There may be days when you feel poor indeed. This is when you must reevaluate the true meaning of wealth.
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Funerals are certainly not a favorite topic for most people, but it is a necessary topic that should receive more adequate attention and planning. Funerals are an eminent part of our life, and although funerals are super charged with emotion, there is also a practical side to this difficult subject.
To avoid the topic of funeral planning can be very costly for families. According to the Federal Trade Commission there are over fifteen different costs involved in an average funeral. Each of these elements carries their own price tag. The emotion associated with the death of a loved one will not make the costs go away. It will still be expensive no matter how upset you and your family are.
Planning ahead for personal and family funeral costs is practical because you can conduct this most important of tasks in a non-emotional environment. You will be better able to focus on what needs to be addressed and you will be in a better state of mind to make choices. Even if it does feel awkward or difficult to discuss such things with your family it will be far easier to discuss it now than it would be hours after a loved one’s death.
Often times when families choose to establish their funeral plans a head of time they will get the opportunity to purchase necessary items at the current market value. This means that if you purchase a casket now and it is not needed for another twenty years, you will not pay the inflated price in the future. Today’s prices will be far cheaper than they will be when these items and services will actually be used for yourself or a family member. Planning ahead also gives you the option of installment payments. Having the option to pay for your funeral costs over a long period of time makes this large expense much more easily managed.
Your family may feel resistant at first to this topic. Take the time to explain to them that you are actually doing this as a kindness to them, not to make them uncomfortable. Ask each one of them if they would rather make these decsions right now, or the day of your death. When people think of this task in that light it is much easier to see the practicality and kindness of planning ahead.
Planning ahead for the funeral costs of an adult is one thing, but many people feel an extreme taboo surrounding any type of funeral planning for children. If you have small children and cannot emotionally handle making these types of decisions concerning them, you should consider setting up a life insurance policy for your children which can double as a college savings plan. These plans will ensure that there is money set aside for funeral costs in the event of your child’s death and the money can convert to cash value when they reach college age. This will at least offer some financial buffer so you would not have to worry about how to pay for a funeral while also facing the tragedy of losing a child.
