This program will help you undo financial bondage.
Godly stewardship requires that you consistently spend no more than 70% of your net monthly income. Net income is the income that you are left with and get to decide how to spend and save after federal, state, city, and payroll taxes are taken out of your gross income.
The 70% is less than the amount that most people regularly spend as noted by the anemic savings rate in the United States and the ever increasing amounts of debt being taken on via mortgages, home equity loans, car loans, student loans, and credit cards.
Making 70% of your net pay the maximum amount that you will spend level allows you to consistently tithe based on your gross income, give an offering each pay period, and save and invest a reasonable percentage of your net income to cover emergencies and retirement from your current profession as you move into re-fire-ment for the marketplace ministry that God desires you to use your gifts, talents, and skills to greatly impact.
When you plan to live like this and work your plan, you’ll have more peace and joy in your life and focus more on positively building the relationships need to have you’re your spouse, children, and friends. Limiting yourself to this spending pattern will help you stop the assault that debt brings into your life. It also helps you save and invest more and helps you avoid the negative consequences of bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, and low credit scores.
Write down your monthly after-tax income from all sources. As part of this process, talk with a friend, who understands budgeting, tax rates / returns, and biblical money management principles. This person can help you identify the correct amount of income to identify. He can help you understand the budgeting process. Also, if you allow him, he can keep you accountable to following biblical money management principles in the stewardship of your money.
Now, subtract your tithe and offering (ten plus % of your gross income). Offerings are free-will in nature and thus you get to choose the amount that you will give. Therefore, the plus % could be any amount more than 0% of your net monthly income. I’m confident that, as you consistently give to your local church that spreads the gospel through planting and watering the Word in people’s lives, your offerings will increase steadily because you will see and hear of the great returns of people at home and abroad having their lives positively changed from hopeless to hope-filled. All of this will be a result of your having stored your treasures in Heaven via your regularly planned tithe and offering.
Now subtract 10% for emergency savings. Put this amount in a high-yield savings, checking, or money-market account that does not charge monthly fees. You may need to establish an account with a credit union or internet bank covered by the FDIC or NCUA in order to get the best possible return on your money. This money should only be spent for emergencies and expenses planned well in advance with an eye toward making sure you build an amount equal to six months of your net monthly income and maintain at least that amount at all times thereafter.
Now subtract 10% for investment in your 401k or similar retirement or brokerage account, so that you will be able to build up a nest egg over the years that can help you be in a position to retire and re-fire at a reasonable time down the road without having money woes. If you have a load of debt with interest rates that are keeping you in hock, then you should take the next step before this one and use this 10% to pay off your debts and commit in your heart to stop taking on debt. Determine to start living debt-free.
Subtract the minimum monthly payment for each bill (home, car, student loan, visa, utilities, etc.). This leaves your disposable income, which is the amount that you should use to pay more money each month on the lowest balance debt with the highest interest rate and on personal expenses (groceries, gas, entertainment, personal grooming, clothing, etc.). After you have paid off the first account, then move to the next lowest account with the next highest interest rate. This is called using the debt snowball to more quickly reduce and eliminate your debts.
Repeat this process for each of the next six months and make sure your non-emergency spending stays within the allotted amount each month. An initial budget takes 4 - 5 hours to complete. Afterward, it takes about an hour every month to review your progress, revise bill payments / totals that differ from your estimates, and create a new budget for the 7th month and on into the future.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Proverbs 27:23-27, Habakkuk 2:2-4, Luke 14:28-32, Philippians 4:11-13
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
MoneyWalk 68: Hope springs financial
This program will help you undo financial bondage.
God desires that you live abundantly on earth, so that you are able to take care of all your god-given responsibilities. The reality that you can, after death, live with Jesus Christ in Heaven should move you to love Him and keep His commandments in order to live the abundant life He desires for you.
Your financial mindset must not come from the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life where you assume that God’s priority is to give you wealth so you can live in greater comfort and splendor. Rather, your mindset should be founded in the hope of everlasting life in Christ so that you use wealth to enormously support the Great Commission while also appropriately caring for your family and yourself. Any other mindset will lead you to a place that is eternally hot and filled with the horror of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Honoring God by tithing and offering is a primary way that we show whether or not we really believe in the blessed hope of eternal life that comes only through Jesus Christ. Many worldly people (even some that identify themselves as Christians) will advise you in a manner that makes your desires your highest priority. This is incompatible with the mind of Christ, biblical instruction, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and spiritual maturity because the will of almighty God is the highest priority for every true believer.
It requires that we preach, teach, and live the gospel to reconcile other people to the hope of salvation that we hold so dear. From such hope all other worthwhile dreams, aspirations, and endeavors spring forth into a life that is well-pleasing to God.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Psalm 71:5, Romans 5:2-5, Colossians 1:5, Hebrews 11:1, 1John 3:3
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
God desires that you live abundantly on earth, so that you are able to take care of all your god-given responsibilities. The reality that you can, after death, live with Jesus Christ in Heaven should move you to love Him and keep His commandments in order to live the abundant life He desires for you.
Your financial mindset must not come from the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life where you assume that God’s priority is to give you wealth so you can live in greater comfort and splendor. Rather, your mindset should be founded in the hope of everlasting life in Christ so that you use wealth to enormously support the Great Commission while also appropriately caring for your family and yourself. Any other mindset will lead you to a place that is eternally hot and filled with the horror of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Honoring God by tithing and offering is a primary way that we show whether or not we really believe in the blessed hope of eternal life that comes only through Jesus Christ. Many worldly people (even some that identify themselves as Christians) will advise you in a manner that makes your desires your highest priority. This is incompatible with the mind of Christ, biblical instruction, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and spiritual maturity because the will of almighty God is the highest priority for every true believer.
It requires that we preach, teach, and live the gospel to reconcile other people to the hope of salvation that we hold so dear. From such hope all other worthwhile dreams, aspirations, and endeavors spring forth into a life that is well-pleasing to God.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Psalm 71:5, Romans 5:2-5, Colossians 1:5, Hebrews 11:1, 1John 3:3
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
MoneyWalk 67: Your checkbook needs balancing every month
This program will help you undo financial bondage.
It is vital to your financial health, at the specific moment of each transaction, to subtract from your checkbook balance all ATM withdrawals, EFT withdrawals, debit card withdrawals, and checks written. Never ever throw away withdrawal, deposit, and check slips / receipts until you've balanced your checkbook for the month in which they occurred.
Every banking institution has an easy to use balancing method that it can provide you. If you feel you cannot understand the directions, make an appointment so a bank / credit union representative can show you how to use its suggested balancing method. Alternately, you could sit down with a friend who is used to balancing his / her checkbook so he / she can show you how it’s done.
Always balance the last month for each checking account at the beginning of the new month immediately after you receive your monthly statement from the financial institution or go on-line to obtain it. This process takes less than an hour each month and gets much easier as you build and maintain the checkbook balancing habit.
Carry your checkbook only when you're purchasing products and services planned in advance and agreed on by both husband and wife, otherwise wasteful spending will occur. Singles also should not get used to carrying their checkbook with them all the time. In addition, everyone should stay away from the use of debit cards for unplanned purchases. If you need help developing good financial and planned purchasing habits you can select a trustworthy accountability partner who is a good steward of the money that God has entrusted to him / her.
You can help yourself become a good money manager by watching this person’s example, understanding what he / she does that is founded upon biblical instruction, following examples in those areas, refusing to follow any example that is not in line with biblical instruction, asking your accountability partner a variety of questions over time that will help you manage better, and asking him / her to help by pointing out when he / she sees you engaging money management habits that are not fruitful and that are destructive.
Balancing your checkbook is a great way to know the true state of your finances so you can make sure that your monthly expenses do not exceed your monthly income. It is very difficult to accumulate wealth to support the proclamation of the gospel and ministry to which you are called when you don't know and keep track of the state of your flocks and herds.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Proverbs 27:23-24, Isaiah 55:10-11, Luke 14:28-32, 2Corinthians 9:10
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
It is vital to your financial health, at the specific moment of each transaction, to subtract from your checkbook balance all ATM withdrawals, EFT withdrawals, debit card withdrawals, and checks written. Never ever throw away withdrawal, deposit, and check slips / receipts until you've balanced your checkbook for the month in which they occurred.
Every banking institution has an easy to use balancing method that it can provide you. If you feel you cannot understand the directions, make an appointment so a bank / credit union representative can show you how to use its suggested balancing method. Alternately, you could sit down with a friend who is used to balancing his / her checkbook so he / she can show you how it’s done.
Always balance the last month for each checking account at the beginning of the new month immediately after you receive your monthly statement from the financial institution or go on-line to obtain it. This process takes less than an hour each month and gets much easier as you build and maintain the checkbook balancing habit.
Carry your checkbook only when you're purchasing products and services planned in advance and agreed on by both husband and wife, otherwise wasteful spending will occur. Singles also should not get used to carrying their checkbook with them all the time. In addition, everyone should stay away from the use of debit cards for unplanned purchases. If you need help developing good financial and planned purchasing habits you can select a trustworthy accountability partner who is a good steward of the money that God has entrusted to him / her.
You can help yourself become a good money manager by watching this person’s example, understanding what he / she does that is founded upon biblical instruction, following examples in those areas, refusing to follow any example that is not in line with biblical instruction, asking your accountability partner a variety of questions over time that will help you manage better, and asking him / her to help by pointing out when he / she sees you engaging money management habits that are not fruitful and that are destructive.
Balancing your checkbook is a great way to know the true state of your finances so you can make sure that your monthly expenses do not exceed your monthly income. It is very difficult to accumulate wealth to support the proclamation of the gospel and ministry to which you are called when you don't know and keep track of the state of your flocks and herds.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Proverbs 27:23-24, Isaiah 55:10-11, Luke 14:28-32, 2Corinthians 9:10
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
MoneyWalk 66: Managing With Love
This program will help you undo financial bondage.
Loving God requires that you talk with Him daily and read the scriptures to find out what He wants you to do while on earth. Do you know He desires for you to be a lender instead of a borrower? Do you know that true faith in His ability to provide your every need should be reflected in the tithe and free-will offering you give to spread the gospel throughout the earth and help church leaders equip believers for ministry service?
Do you know He requires you to pay taxes to your government without excuse when it is within your power to do so? Do you know He said you are an infidel if you do not take care of your family?
God’s love is so great that He doesn't want you and your family to suffer through life reaping the negative consequences that come from refusing to follow His principles. You cannot exhibit well-rounded love without continually learning and following His stewardship instructions for life and finances!
You should love God and other people so much that it motivates you to do what the bible instructs because this best serves all of your family, friends, co-workers, employees, etc. and allows you to provide necessary help to others without neglecting any of your godly responsibilities.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Deuteronomy 7:13, Proverbs 8:19-21, John 14:21, Romans 13:8
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
Loving God requires that you talk with Him daily and read the scriptures to find out what He wants you to do while on earth. Do you know He desires for you to be a lender instead of a borrower? Do you know that true faith in His ability to provide your every need should be reflected in the tithe and free-will offering you give to spread the gospel throughout the earth and help church leaders equip believers for ministry service?
Do you know He requires you to pay taxes to your government without excuse when it is within your power to do so? Do you know He said you are an infidel if you do not take care of your family?
God’s love is so great that He doesn't want you and your family to suffer through life reaping the negative consequences that come from refusing to follow His principles. You cannot exhibit well-rounded love without continually learning and following His stewardship instructions for life and finances!
You should love God and other people so much that it motivates you to do what the bible instructs because this best serves all of your family, friends, co-workers, employees, etc. and allows you to provide necessary help to others without neglecting any of your godly responsibilities.
Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Deuteronomy 7:13, Proverbs 8:19-21, John 14:21, Romans 13:8
Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
