Scripture points out that a believer who does not take care of his house-hold has a spiritual condition close to that of an unbeliever. Being cured of this negative condition and caring for family in the way that pleases the LORD requires that you daily make spending time with Him the number one priority of your life. This will help you adhere to biblical principles, including those related to finances (personal and business).
The intimacy you develop with Him will lead you to a display of faith via budgeting, so you consistently spend far less than the income you bring home. It will help you identify monthly payments for unnecessary products and services that are not good for your life right now because they are keeping you from entering the Wealthy Place designed for you. It lets you know to build an emergency fund to help cover unexpected / non-budgeted costs that arise. Also, it helps lead you into the practice of debt-elimination so you can live debt-free for the rest of your life.
It helps you understand that surety / cosigning is another form of debt that should be avoided because it does not help guide you or others down the financial path of good stewardship. Also, it often leaves the borrower and cosigner under a stressful debt load, especially since the loans generally cover depreciating assets and most borrowers are not faithful in repaying the loans and the cosigner has no legal right to take the product to try and sell it to mitigate a small portion of the debt. It leads you to save beyond an emergency fund and to invest throughout the rest of your life to tremendously grow wealth to increase tithes & offerings for the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ at home and abroad. It moves you into philanthropy to widows, orphans, and the needy in your community and beyond.
There are a few things you should do immediately even as you employ the principles above. First, you should identify primary and secondary (contingent beneficiaries) and name them on each of your financial ac-counts (bank, credit union, employer sponsored retirement, financial services brokerages like Vanguard, TIAA-CREF, etc.). In some states, a Ladybird Deed filed with your county recorder of deeds allows you to initiate an equivalent process for your home. Beneficiary designations help your heirs gain almost immediate access to funds associated with them without having to get approval from probate court. The probate process may still be needed for the conveyance of property (real and personal) not covered by a beneficiary designation or Ladybird deed.
It is wise to seek the advice of an attorney that handles property / estate matters for issues other than simple beneficiary designations on ac-counts and to help you draft a will, durable powers of attorney for finances and healthcare, and trust documents. For simple estate situations they can often charge reasonable prices and allow you to avoid mistakes you could make on do-it-yourself forms. The bottom line is, this type of documentation helps fulfill the taking good care of your family principle. You should craft such documents immediately so you dictate the disposition of your wealth / estate and thus do not allow the court system via state law to impose its will on the assets you leave behind and charge your heirs/estate hefty estate administration fees for doing so.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Psalm 115:14, Proverbs 13:22, Ephesians 5:28-33, 1Timothy 3:5, 5:8
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