MoneyWalk 163: Investing For Greater Return

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Saving is generally considered money put away in vehicles that preserve the principle amount. Usually, the money earns a lower percentage of interest on a regular periodic basis. Also, it can be accessed quickly when needed. Usually, it focuses on seen and unforeseen expenses that might occur in the short-term (a period less than five years) for things like roof repairs, furnace repairs, hospital emergencies, etc.

Investing is often thought of for the long-term horizon (five years or more). It would normally be used for things like building retirement savings, funding a business or ministry dream that will take years to finally engage, saving for a child’s college tuition, etc.

The person who invests should understand that he will not earn periodic interest and that the value of the investment at any given time (whether increased or decreased from the time he bought it) is subject to supply and demand for that investment. Also, he may lose principle and should be willing to take that risk hoping that he will instead experience greater growth in value during the time he holds the investment.

Investing should usually be done after you have been disciplined to use good money management practices like consistently earning an income, adhering to a budget that keeps your monthly expenses below 70% of your take home pay, consistently giving money for ministry that leads people to Jesus Christ, saving at least six months worth of take home pay as an emergency reserve account, eliminating all debts, and committing to never co-signing for anyone else’s loans/debts.

Because most of us are not market experts and stock picking gurus, we should utilize a process called dollar cost averaging whereby we automatically buy on a periodic basis (weekly or monthly) a certain dollar amount of diversified investments with solid historical track records from a brokerage house like Vanguard or through our employer’s deferred compensation plan (401k, 457, 403b, etc.). This helps us exercise the buy low, sell high principle that leads to investment success and wealth building. Those who do otherwise are trying to time the market and are usually doing so without proper investment education. The vast majority suffer extreme losses over time and never wind up building the wealth they envisioned and hastily went after.

No matter the style, with investments past results are no guarantee of future returns. However, you should have greater comfort being invested after your financial stewardship is in order. Down the road (after 5 or more years of holding good investments), they will put you in a much better financial position and help you overcome inflationary pressures that might otherwise diminish the purchasing power of money in savings accounts.

Here are a few helpful guidelines you can use when the time comes for you to add investing to your good stewardship repertoire:

1. Review the prospectus for each investment to see what its one-year, five-year, and ten-year investment returns. Make sure they meet or exceed benchmark returns for that type of investment.

2. Identify its expense ratio. Stay away from any investment where it is not well under one percent of the assets under management.

3. Make sure no more than 10% of your investment dollars are put into any one investment. Proper diversification and asset allocation are generally best for everyone.

4. Start with no-load mutual funds until you are very knowledgeable about and skilled in capturing growth in the value of other types of investments (individual stocks, real estate, futures, oil & gas leases, etc.).

Many of the mutual funds you choose to purchase will have an electronic funds transfer provision that will allow you to immediately start investing in them by giving the brokerage house authorization to electronically transfer as little as $50 per month out of your savings or checking account that it will use to purchase shares of the mutual fund(s) you want.

The electronic funds transfer option allows you to avoid the minimum start-up investment (normally $1,000 or more) that many funds require for people who send checks to the investment firm. If you can't or don't wish to use an electronic funds transfer option, then it's worth your while to save the amount of money needed to meet the required minimum investment for the investment vehicle you want to invest in.

Investing is a great wealth building tool that can enhance your life and ministry. It also helps you better capture increased monetary value that can be used to abundantly give in the future in a way that enhances the lives of many others.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Proverbs 6:6-11, Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:12-27, 1Timothy 6:17-19

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Save & Invest According to God’s Plan

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Most people never reap reasonable growth because they never invest. Others never reap because they invest money only when the market is at a high point. They never feel comfortable investing when values have hit a low point. The feeling of not wanting to suffer loss makes them try to out think conventional investment wisdom which is to buy low and sell high. Instead, they put money in the market to buy an investment with a high current value.

They think they’re investing wisely but they only got in the market after the media spread the news that the current value is very high. Unfortunately, most of them pull their money out of the investment after the investment value tanks and thus suffer a loss. They will not make up the loss in the future because the experience has made them afraid to put money back into the market.

The bottom line is you should put and keep yourself in a position where you can regularly save a substantially amount of your monthly income so that you can eventually invest the lions share for the long-term. Learn to utilize the historical long-term growth pattern of the stock market to your advantage because this would be a blessing to you, your family, your friends, and other people that God wants you to help throughout your lifetime.

Investing should be done with money that is not needed within five years. Money you may need within five years should not be put in risky investments that do not protect the principle amount invested. This money should be put in savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposits, or the like because they protect your principle.

The Lord would like to help you maximize the resources He gives you just like the two servants in the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Minas. Reasonable investing will reap great returns that can be plowed back into taking care of family responsibilities, evangelizing the lost, discipling believers, and helping the poor.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Job 1:3, 42:12, Proverbs 11:24-25, Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, Luke 19:13-27

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MoneyWalk 161: Diversifying For Safety And Reasonable Growth

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

When you put all your money in one investment account you take the great risk of losing all of it if the investment loses all its value, or the holder thereof goes bankrupt and did not put your money in a segmented account, or if you unknowingly invest with a scam artist running a ponzi scheme.

These types of things do happen from time to time and they happen in good and bad economic cycles. The principle of diversifying your assets helps protect your asset base from massive and total loss when such things occur. Even though your assets might not earn as much as one particular investment could have earned during a certain period of time, the upside is that you don’t have to worry about one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch nor all eggs being broken if you happen to drop the basket.

It has been noted that reasonable asset allocation and diversification have overtime reduced the risk of loss on investment portfolios while at the same time allowing very good growth during long-term investment horizons (five consecutive years or more). Therefore, you should seriously consider spreading your assets commensurately among different types of investments (no load stock and bond index mutual funds, real estate investment trusts, stable value funds, investment real estate, etc.) in order to obtain both benefits.

Once you save six months of gross pay in an emergency account, seven different investment accounts is a good scriptural number of different accounts you want to have for financial safety and stability throughout the various economic cycles you will encounter in life. Such investment accounts should be with licensed brokers and brokerage houses (Vanguard, Fidelity, T-Rowe Price, TIAA-CREF, etc.) that are in good standing with state and federal securities regulatory agencies.

You may want to fund each instrument equally or divide your investment up so you put in stock mutual funds or equity based investments a percentage that represents your age minus 100. You would then put a percentage representing your age in bond mutual funds or non-equity based investments.

No matter your age, if you are in a position in which you are uneducated about investment vehicles or you need to immediately live off all the money you have saved or you cannot mentally tolerate the risk of losing any portion of the amount you would invest then you should put the vast majority of your money in federal government guaranteed fixed income investments or retirement plan stable value investments.

Do this until you educate yourself about the different types of investments and you are comfortable that you can invest your money with a long-term investment horizon without buying investments at high prices when economic times are good and selling them at lower prices when times are bad. You invite scam artists and irresponsible investment behavior into your life and finances when you try to get high rates of return while not understanding the things you investment in and not knowing how to pick reputable brokers and financial advisors to help manage your money.

Again, the principle of diversification provides greater safety from total loss while rewarding you over the long term with a very reasonable opportunity for meaningful growth of your investments.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Genesis 13:2, Job 42:12, Proverbs 15:22, Proverbs 24:6, Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

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Surround Yourself With Wise Counselors

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Seeking counsel from many others who are trustworthy and more knowledgeable than you in the financial arena results in the greatest financial protection possible. This diversification including asset allocation is a powerful tool to help you attain and maintain wealth. It gives you the ability, with longevity, to provide well for your family and give abundantly with longevity to your church and other ministries to spread the gospel and help meet the needs of others.

Diversification encourages you to use a variety of different advisors (brokerages, banks, investment advisors, brokers, CPA, etc.) and investment vehicles (stock and bond mutual funds, real estate, etc.). This provides greater protection from loss when a particular investment in your portfolio suffers a great loss in value. God forbid that this happens, but history has shown that it does occur frequently among investments that have great equity risk.

Diversification enhances the possibility that other investments will increase to remove the possibility of a fatal blow to your asset when the market value of one of your investments decreases because the different types of investments tend to have ups and downs during different periods of time.

The bible says give a portion to seven or eight because you don't know what evil may come upon the earth. The old saying “don't put all your eggs in one basket” is in line with this biblical instruction. Following this principle of diversification will protect your savings and investments in the sense that if the investment market drops one basket of eggs you will still have at least six other baskets of eggs that have not been dropped. It is very likely that these will investments will not have suffered a loss of value but instead have continued to grow in value.

Another component of the “many counselors principle” that you should employ along with diversification is asset allocation. It encourages you to buy different types of investments in percentages that are reasonable for your age, risk tolerance, and life situation. For example, a 20 year old might keep 80% of his investments in large cap and small cap no load index mutual funds and 20% in no load mid-term bond index funds whereas a 70 year old might keep 30% of his investments in total market no-load index funds and 70% in no load short-term bond index mutual funds and guaranteed fixed-income investments.

History has shown that the greater large and small cap equity investment provides the opportunity for the younger investor, who has time to overcome market losses, to potentially grow the investment to a much greater degree during the next 30 to 50 years even though he will endure various market losses in the interim. For the older investor who does not have time to make up for market losses, the larger bond and fixed income investments provide greater protection against losing principal.

Age appropriate diversification and asset allocation enhances the possibility that other investments will increase to remove the possibility of a fatal blow to your asset when the market value of one of your investments decreases because the different types of investments tend to have ups and downs during different periods of time.

There are a plethora of brokers, advisors, and some scam artists willing and ready to convince you to give them your money. You should educate yourself to any type of investment you think you want to put money in before you do so to ensure that you are comfortable with risk associated with that investment. Always thoroughly check the licensing status and complaint background of brokerage houses, brokers and advisors using information on file with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), your state securities regulator, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), etc.

Identify the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year investment return for each investment and compare it to the market benchmark for that type of investment to ensure that the growth average annual growth you seek has been gained by the investment in the past. Educating yourself in these areas will provide you with information you need to make good choices about your risk tolerance, the suitability of the investment given your income and net worth, and the integrity of the brokerage, broker, and investment advisors.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Proverbs 11:14, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Luke 19:13, Acts 6:2-4

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From Highest Interest to Lowest

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

This debt reduction method reduces the amount of finance charges you pay to the lowest possible level using credit accounts that you already have at your disposal. Consolidate debt using your current low interest credit cards’ unused credit amount to pay off your credit account with the highest interest charge. This process will help you obtain debt-freedom in the not-so-distant future.

The highest interest revolving charge accounts are normally those issued by retail establishments because most of them charge you around 25% interest for every dollar that is put on the account when it is not paid off in total when the bill is due. This means the financial institution is charging you 25 cents on each dollar that you let revolve (rollover) from month to month. That’s why it normally takes so long to pay these credit cards off when you make only minimum payments. Nowadays, you also have to be aware that many financial institutions that provide revolving charge cards will charge you much more than the original interest percentage when they believe you have become a poor financial risk. Some are charging upwards of 30% interest, which is 30 cents on every dollar that revolves from month to month.

It is not good for your financial health to have years of interest payments, especially high interest. This is why you should quickly get your financial affairs in order to pay off credit balances and develop a mindset to refrain from using them, unless you have the money saved to pay off your entire charge when the bill comes due. People that have been undisciplined in using credit cards in the past should cut the cards up and close the accounts no matter what others say about it ruining their credit score. If they don’t cut them up, the debt demon will continue to guide them into overspending and their credit score will wind up being terrible anyway as their debts grow larger, hampering their ability to pay their bills on time each month.

When you don't have enough available credit on a low interest credit card to pay off all your high interest credit accounts, then apply for a low interest consolidation loan at your financial institution. Consolidation loans are normally closed-ended, which means whatever is paid off is not re-usable. This is good when your past has shown reckless undisciplined spending. Do not consolidate any of your accounts that have an interest percentage that is less than the consolidation loan's interest charge unless overall the consolidation loan interest is substantially lower than the average interest rate you are paying on all your current accounts that would be consolidated.

Before using this approach, it's best to call retailers to close revolving accounts and cut up the cards so you won't be tempted to use them again. Besides, retailers’ accounts do not normally allow you to balance transfer outstanding balances of other accounts onto their accounts. They are issued to engage you in buying more of their products without regard for what will truly be financially best for you and your family.

Do not listen to advisors who encourage you to keep credit cards when past history shows you will remain steeped in debt. As you faithfully begin to pay your bills when due your credit score will rise over the next few years enabling you to obtain a low-interest mortgage and great home and auto insurance rates. In fact, you won’t really need the good credit score because the provision that comes from using biblical financial principles will bring you all the resources that are best for you and your family.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Deuteronomy 28:12, Proverbs 22:7, Luke 16:8-12, Romans 13:8

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The Promotion You Want

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Be committed to God's money management principles, don't be envious of other people's promotions, and keep doing what the bible shows will glorify God and serve other people and God will bring many promotions to bless you and your family throughout your life. Some will ultimately come through other people, yet many will come simply as positive consequences (rewards and blessings) of following biblical principles.

You’re right to think your employer should appreciate your hard work. However, you can't make your employer respond with appreciation and unfortunately many will not respond in the way you want them to or the way they should. At most, you can influence your employer by godly actions and responses while relying on the LORD to promote you at the proper time.

He can move on your employer’s heart at the appropriate time. Therefore, you should trust Him and exhibit patience by allowing Him to work in your supervisors’ hearts without you trying to force the issue. Simply continue to do the great work that you do, show proper respect for their workplace authority, and show continued initiative and creativity toward enhancing products and services. In due time, your employer will see your true value to the organization.

Sometimes, you fail to see the promotion you have received because you’re only considering what you believe man should have done for you or you think you should've received a larger raise or should have been give a certain prestigious title or a corner office. Remember that promotions come in many different forms and are sometimes not so easy to see.

I know many people whom God showed how to manage their incomes according to biblical principles long before their supervisors began to promote them at work. In a few short years they eliminated all debts including their home mortgages and were well on their way to becoming wealthy way beyond what they could naturally envision a few years earlier. Some moved on to start successful businesses. During this time, those they thought should have been instrumental in promoting them didn’t do anything special for them. They were in reality promoted by the Lord due to their willingness to properly manage the money and relationships He entrusted to them.

The Lord’s promotion process stores treasures in Heaven that you have access to when you need them or when He desires to give them to you. Don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to! God has the master plan for your life and He's more pleased and you have more peace and joy when you follow His plan. You can only obtain the greatest treasure by working as unto the LORD in your current position, using biblical money management principles, and being patient as the Lord makes room in the marketplace for your gifts.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Psalms 75:6-10, Proverbs 3:35, Daniel 4:30-35, 1Peter 5:6-7

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MoneyWalk 157: The Most Rewarding Lifestyle

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Honor God by living according to biblical principles, if you want a financially peaceful, joyous, and blessed life with treasure in Heaven awaiting you.

1) Understand that everything is owned by God and you are only a manager and heir of His great estate.

2) Show contentment with what God has provided you to manage by being humble and grateful and by refusing to get involved with get rich quick schemes and attempts to get rich through immoral behavior or at any cost.

3) Show self-control by making God’s will the priority in your life and management of money.

4) Sacrifice your own desires to pleasing the One for whom you manage and faithfully endure hardship when needed to bring about His will in the earth. 5) Fellowship with a local church at least weekly and be faithful to God through interaction with that body.

6) Work diligently at every earthly job or career that you engage, so that a great witness and disciple-making ability is available to you when others ask the reason for your hope.

7) Tithe and give abundant offerings.

8) Budget your spending so it is less than your income and to prioritize needs versus wants.

9) Stay out of debt and eliminate the debt you have.

10) Refuse to cosign for other people’s debts: even family.

11) Save a reasonable portion of your income each pay period in a way that attempts to protect the principle amount up to six months worth of income.

12) Invest your excess savings in a way that takes greater but reasonable risk, in which you might lose some principle over short-term periods but will have great expectation of much higher growth of the money than you could obtain through your saving accounts; by measuring historical data of various types of investments that verify the probable long term growth pattern.

13) Diversifying your money by dispersing your savings and investments with several different FDIC or NCUA insured banks and credible brokerage houses that you confirm with state and federal finance and securities regulators as duly licensed with no notable fraudulent or troubling pattern of investment or customer service behavior. Also, make sure that agents, investment advisors working for them have the same credible licensing and behavior.

The bible shows that worthwhile blessing and reward are only obtained by faithfully keeping God's commandments. Such blessing and reward are available to every person who asks Jesus to be Savior and LORD and who honors God by letting good works be the result of his faith.

From the foundation of the world, God planned the pathway for people to be abundantly blessed and rewarded in a way that every need and many desires would be met. This comes when you give God respect by living in a way that is pleasing to Him. The bible makes it emphatically clear that ‘blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD!’ The same is just as true in your own life in that ‘blessed are you when God is your LORD!’

Don’t treat material things, passions, and the pursuit of privilege and honor like they're gods by giving them the importance and attention you should give to almighty God. Such things, passions, and pursuits cannot truly fulfill you or provide what is best for your life and family. For your eternal and earthly sake, it is best to rely on God's principles to secure blessing and reward.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Proverbs 3:5-10, Malachi 3:6-12, Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 6:38

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MoneyWalk 156: Give Abundantly In Order To Receive Abundantly

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Weekly giving a tithe and offering to your local church is the way to make the Lord’s desire a priority in your life. In order for this to be ignited in you, the first thing you must do is confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord. Then, giving abundantly in order to help get the gospel message to other people show that your priority is the Lord’s will.

Jesus was a giver in every way and He taught that people should have all the other righteous qualities such as justice, mercy, and faith and not use those qualities as an excuse for failing to give as instructed. So, if you really want to be like Him you must apply His teaching to your life. Not in words, but in deeds.

Let’s be perfectly clear, you ought to give your life to Christ and you ought to trust Him to provide in every situation. He is sure to give you everything that you truly need for life and godliness. As you fix your hand to give abundantly, you begin to see the result of such giving. It begins to produce for you an abundant and continual receiving. You did not have to pray for it, search for a prophecy to get it, or pursue it through hook and crook. His word simply states the result of abundant giving is abundant provision.

You see your posture must be to give the tithe and offering in Christ-likeness and humility and be content with what you currently have. When you do, His posture shows up in your life through the operation of the giving/receiving principle He laid down. You will receive abundantly. You can expect that He is always faithful to fulfill His Word! You should never be demanding of Him or have a greedy, envious, or covetous heart when approaching other people. If He truly is your Lord, and you give like He is, then He will take care of all your need.

I am a living witness and I know countless others who tell the same story. I searched the bible for answers to financial problems that hampered me throughout my twenties and the Holy Spirit led me to passages which confirmed that God uses methods that seem foolish. Then He amazes onlookers with the results.

I know a man who was raised in the hood, without a silver spoon in his mouth, whose parent did not teach him to build wealth. He forsook the will of God for a decade and got himself into $135,000 of debt. He realized he was lost eternally and accepted Christ into His life, yet was still burdened with great debt. He searched for financial solutions in the world and they did not work for him. He came across biblical money management principles via a financial seminar held by His church.

In his late twenties, he began utilizing the principles one by one once he confirmed that they were biblical instruction. The results in his life have been astounding for this man of low estate. Sixteen years after making God’s financial plan his financial priority, he gives over 25% of his gross income to the church and he lives totally debt free in comfort on 35% of his gross family income, paid his home mortgage off in thirteen years, has a net worth approaching a million dollars, is legally paying an extremely low amount of taxes due to legal charitable giving deductions, and he is able to give to those in need in ways and amounts he never could have given in the past.

As you commit to consistently give the tithe and offerings, the discipline it builds will produce abundance in your life and you will wind up continually reaping the harvest of the seeds you have sown. Remember, this principle works in the opposite direction also. If you don’t abundantly give to fulfill His purposes, then you cannot expect to abundantly receive from God!

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Proverbs 3:9-10, 11:24-26, 19:17, Matthew 23:23, Luke 6:38, 2Corinthians 9:6-8

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You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.

MoneyWalk 155: To Co-Sign Or Not To Co-Sign, That Is The Question

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

When you’re approached by family and friends about co-signing, tell them “NO” and continue to pray for strength to be wise according to God’s Word and that they will see and act upon God's money management principles in the future so they can receive the great benefits produced by following them.

If you've already cosigned on a loan for someone by using your credit card or by signing a note that says you'll pay the loan amount if he or she is unable to, then you need to run to the lending institution and work on a way to get out of that arrangement as quickly as possible. If you can't get off the loan, pray real hard that the person makes all the required payments on time and pays the debt off early. If he doesn't, you're on the hook! So, realize that you will have to take over the monthly loan payments the moment he or she stops paying them.

If you don't currently have enough savings stashed away to cover the loan amount, revise your budget to eliminate unnecessary spending so you can save as much as possible in case this unfortunate but highly likely scenario occurs. In the future, refuse to co-sign for anyone. Learn to say “no” to such requests and really mean it! If there is a legitimate need that cannot be fulfilled in some other way, then give the family member or friend what you have in available cash (savings) that is not targeted at meeting an obligation that you have to meet and that you willingly want to give.

Many times people that ask you to co-sign could take initiative to resolve their situation without asking you to take on their debt. However, they don’t see the picture clearly or they simply want to use a way that appears easier for them. For example, the person could get up earlier to catch the bus to work instead of asking you to co-sign for a car note. Or, the person could purchase a less expensive engagement ring for their fiancé instead of asking you to co-sign for a more expensive ring. Or, the person could rent, pay off debts, and begin to save for a 20% down payment on a home instead of asking you to co-sign on a home loan.

This lesson is not to discourage from giving to meet true needs. Christians should be givers and lend themselves to abundantly funding gospel ministry and helping the poor. Pursuant to biblical instruction, I am instructing you to stay away from promising to cover debts taken by other people when you don’t currently have far more than enough money to cover the entire debt because the history shows that most of them, at some point not too long after you cosign, will ultimately refuse or be unable to complete their promise and commitment to paying the debt. Co-signing will set you up for a financial fall that you could have and should have avoided.

Stop cosigning for family and friends to get things they can't afford to pay cash for. The best way to help most people and ensure your long-term financial health is to give them available cash when a true and verified need arises in their lives. Then encourage them to use biblical principles to manage their money and desires, so their needs can be met.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Proverbs 11:15, 17:18, 20:16, Romans 13:8, Ephesians 5:15-17

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MoneyWalk 154: A Budget Is Essential

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Many people think budgeting is unnecessary, however the vast majority of people who do not budget tend to be in poor financial condition and the other few will likely come into a bad financial condition at some point in their lives because they fail to currently employ this principle. Some financial advisors proclaim that budgeting is unnecessary, but we find they actually teach budgeting when we look deeper into their instructions.

They often call it by another name such as spending plan, income / expense plan, etc. For example, one financial advisor said he doesn’t budget rather when he receives his income, he immediately sets aside a percentage to pay expected taxes, puts ten percent into a savings account and ten percent into an investment account. Then, he spends no more than what is left and repeats the process when he next receives income.

Well, that is budgeting. It’s a principle for which there are various methods to carry it out. It can be intricate or simple. Generally, the more creditors you have the more intricate it will have to be to navigate the maze and this is what causes many to ultimately slip and fall into financial turbulence and ruin. That is why you want to engage debt-freedom, so you can have a simple budget that helps you keep life in perspective and weather every storm that will eventually come your way.

Scripturally speaking, the underlying parameter is the same no matter which method is used. You should have a written plan to spend far less than your income and identify necessary alterations to your lifestyle and spending habits to eliminate all your debts.

In the end analysis, any good business or personal financial situation relies on budgeting in order to get on, stay on, and grow on a secure foundation. The method that we employ and encourage entails the following.

1. List all your net monthly income. This is gross income minus taxes paid and owed to governments and other costs that will be payroll deducted by your employer and which you do not have access to spend (health care, union dues, etc.).

2. Subtract the tithe and offering.

3. List all your monthly bills. Bills due more often and less often than monthly should be re-calculated to an amount equal to a monthly payment.

4. Now, subtract all monthly payments from your net monthly income.

The remaining balance shows whether you expect to have a surplus or deficit. If money remains (a surplus) then you can divvy it up to spend on household needs, personal items, savings, and investments. When money is lacking to pay all of your current monthly payments (a deficit), then you must look at every option possible for immediately reducing monthly expenses to get you to a financial situation where all your needs can be provided. Otherwise, you will continue to create greater financial problems in your life.

A deficit points you to one or more options to help eliminate it. First and foremost and always necessary is seeking God’s will in praise, worship, and prayer so the supernatural power of God will provide where human effort cannot. Second is making expense and spending reductions. This includes calling creditors to work out debt-forgiveness and better payment arrangements. Third is finding work (overtime, a new job, a second job, or a no cost or very low cost entrepreneurial endeavor) that increases your income to a point well beyond your expenses in order to more quickly get out of debt and begin the wealth building process.

When things are so tight you cannot pay all of your debts it is important to properly prioritize. Honor the Lord in your giving and only make monthly payments for mortgage / rent and necessary transportation to and from work. Money left over should be saved to build up a six-month emergency fund from which you can take care of emergencies that arise and later negotiate debt payoffs. In some instance you may have to trade in the expensive home and car for something more reasonable for your current situation in order to right your ship. Food and clothing are important however most people have more than enough to make it through a rough financial period or can obtain it free form local food banks, thrift stores, churches, friends, and family.

Short-term and long-term planning of anticipated income and expenses is vital to your financial well-being because it lets you know what you can reasonably purchase now and months into the future. A deficit lets you know there is a financial problem that needs correction and a surplus lets you know there is money left over that must be managed correctly in order to engage and complete the commission He assigned to the body of Christ and to you.

Budgeting is equivalent with knowing the state of your flocks and herds so your wealth can endure beyond your generation. Diligence in mapping out your financial future month-to-month and year-to-year is what it takes to repair damaged finances and maintain good financial health.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. 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

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You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.