Welcome to Money Saving Monday where we remind ourselves that community is the greatest money saving resource we have.

Each month you’ll have a chance to win one of two $15 Amazon gift cards.  Simply leave your tips and suggestions,and if it is a top pick of the month, you’’ll get a $15.00 gift card.

Money Saving Blog Posts

The internet is a great resource for money saving tips,so today I’ll share some great money saving posts.  If you’ve got favorite money saving articles you’ve read online, feel free to leave a link to the article.

Wealth Informatics – save money on movie tickets

My Dollar Plan – 30 money saving tips.

Deliver Away Debt –frugal tips for baby formula.

Frugal Confessions – frugal family fun.

Barbara Fried – off the beaten path money saving tips.

Darwin’s Money- save money on a refrigerator.

Bucksome Boomer – save money on art.

RIT – save money on groceries.

Help Me Travel Cheap – save money on your next family vacation.

Wealth Informatics – save money on gas during your next road trip.

Do you have a favorite money saving blog post?  Bloggers, you’re welcome to share your own posts.

Remember, each comment could be selected to win one of two $15 Amazon gift cards at the end of the month.  Leave your comment now.

More Great Articles:

1. Best Money Saving Tip: April
2. Money Saving Monday: Save Money On Groceries
3. 15 Ways to Save Money When you Fly on your Family Vacation this Summer
4. Ten Ways to Save Money on Your Family Road Trip This Summer

1. Best Money Saving Tip: April
2. Money Saving Monday: Save Money On Groceries
3. 15 Ways to Save Money When you Fly on your Family Vacation this Summer
4. Ten Ways to Save Money on Your Family Road Trip This Summer

In September you can expect a few changes here at MH4C. 

On a lazy note, I’m going to try and start ‘branding’ MH4C a little more as I’m getting tired of typing m-o-n-e-y-h-e-l-p-f-o-r-c-h-r-i-s-t-i-a-n-s.  Yes, that is a lot of letters.  Hopefully, as I start to refer to this site as MH4C, I’ll save a few months of arthritis pain.  The web address will remain www.moneyhelpforchristians.com, but internally, I’ll refer to it as MH4C.

Welcoming Two New Staff Writers

Paul Williams from Provident Planning

Paul blogs over at Provident Planning.  I’ve always been impressed with Paul’s insight into financial and biblical matters, so I’m glad to have him on board to write a couple of posts a month.

Darren from More Than Finances.

I don’t know if Darren publically displays his last name, so lets just call him Darren from More than Finances.  Darren has been an active commenter on this site, and I think he probably knows more about financial topics than me .  Darren will also be posting a couple of times a month.

I mentioned several weeks ago I was looking for people to write paid personal finance articles (initially not at MH4C) – that call is still open if anyone is interested.

Back by Popular Demand: Money Saving Monday

Starting on Monday, each Monday MH4C will share some quick money saving tips.  Then I’ll turn to you – my readers – for more feedback.  I realize that the biggest untapped resource here is the readers.  You guys collectively know 1000x what I’ll ever know.  So on Mondays, I’ll suggest a topic and offer a few money saving tips, and then it is time for you to jump in with some tips for saving money in that category.  If you are a subscriber, you’ll need to actually visit the posts to see the money saving tips.

Prizes:  I’ll give away money, too!  At the end of the month, I’ll ask you to vote on your favorite money saving tip (after I choose my list of favorites).  The two favorite tips of the month will each be worth a $15 Amazon gift card.

Think you know the ins and outs of saving money?  I’m currently hiring writers to help put together some Money Saving Monday quick money saving tips.  Email me if you’re interested (mhforc [at] gmail dot com)

By the way, the popular demand is my wife who really liked those posts. 

What’s Going on with Craig?

You’ll notice that I’m getting some help with the workload at MH4C.  Basically, things on the MH4C front continue to grow and improve, which is great, but also demands more time.  I’m shifting my focus a little bit due to a special announcement I plan to make next week. (No, I didn’t sell my blog.)  On top of everything, my kids aren’t getting any younger, so I don’t want to sacrifice that time with them.  The buzzword in the Ford household has been ‘outsource’.  We’re outsourcing as much as we can to keep the life we want to enjoy together. 

Top Articles This Week:

Odd jobs for a little extra cash – a few quick tips to help subsidize your income.

Guilt and Leadership – Matt and I went to graduate school together, and when I read this post, it made me wonder what tools are appropriate and inappropriate to use in church.  I don’t use guilt as a primary method, but if Paul can use it occasionally, then so can I. 

10 Guiding Principles For The “New Retirement” – I’m still trying to save for the old retirement.  I guess once I take care of that, I can move on to the ‘new retirement’.  I agree with much of what Jason is saying.

I’ve been intrigued by the Lazy Man and Money legal saga.  You can read about it here – When Companies Go Too Far.  Ahh.  The joy of fighting against corporations with seemingly unlimited sources of cash.

10 Key Characteristics of Debt-Free People (of Modest Means).  I said yes to all 10 in this list.

Buying A New Or Used Car? Negotiating Tips To Use With Car Dealers.  I hate buying cars, but if you’re shopping, this post should help.

Motley Fool Retirement Calculator: Try Again.  Couldn’t agree more.  I’ve stopped trying to calculate if I’ll have enough to retire.  I’ll act responsibly, and then I crunch numbers when I get closer to retirement.

Would You Rather Do What You Love, Or Be Paid More?.  I could write a four word post on the topic – do what you love.

While we’re on the topic of happiness – Happiness and the discount value of money.  Personal finance.  It’s about managing life, not money.

Carnivals

Carnival of Personal Finance, Yakezie, Carnival of personal finance, Best Of Money Carnival #64

No related posts.

If you are part of a church, can I ask you to consider something I’ve been thinking about lately?

Are we, as a church, making minimum payments to the poor?  Or better yet, am I, as an individual, making minimum payments to the poor?

All of us know that if you make minimum payments on credit card debt, you are basically just treading water.  When you make minimum payments, the situation doesn’t really improve much, but at least it isn’t getting any worse.  As a result, financial gurus, like Dave Ramsey, encourage us to make extra payments so we can get some real traction and make some real progress.

There are essentially two forms of giving – reactive and proactive.

Reactive Giving:

This is when someone comes and asks you for money or something else.  Having worked in a ministry for nearly 10 years, I can tell you that churches get a lot (lot, lot, lot of requests for money).  Typically, churches respond by setting up a benevolence committee or something similar.  For any of us who have worked in this type of ministry, it is easy to say it is a very hard job, and sometimes very hopeless at times.

Just like a person with huge credit card debts, you feel like you’re making minimum payments and you’re not making any progress.  The war against poverty is being fought, but we always seem to end up on the losing end.

Proactive Giving:

Proactive giving is doing something to help the poor in order to avoid, reduce, or curb the need for benevolent type giving. While we all know this is such a valuable ministry, time and time again we find ourselves overwhelmed with the problems that already exist which make it so hard to find the energy to do more than the minimum we’re already doing.

But we must do more.  I must do more.

A reader recently emailed:

I am proposing a ministry that helps people with the basics of finding a job.  This would be helping with resumes, interview skills, search strategies, etc.  I am also proposing a ministry to help people with difficult financial situations.  My idea is to help people through such situations as divorce, health crisis, debt crisis.

Now, that’s proactive giving! It might not be ministry to the poor (strictly speaking), but it is a ministry to those with financial difficulties.  This person is not just waiting to respond to financial trouble once it comes, but is trying to give people the skills to avoid a financial crisis.

Do you have any encouragement or good resources for this reader?  He said he needs some resources on “administering this in a church environment.”  Anyone know of any such resources?

The Daunting Task of Ministry to the Poor

My wife and I been asked to write an article about short term missions to the poor for a missions journal. (The journal is Missio Dei, and you can download the first issue free.)  As I’ve written that article, I’ve been discovering more questions than answers.   The more I think about the current financial status here in PNG, I get more and more frustrated.  I keep looking for a light, but it seems there is always a road block.  If you think money is the solution to poverty – think again.

Right now I’m praying for wisdom as I’m considering starting up a small business school where I can teach Christians how to start and maintain small businesses.  Anyone have any good resources for something like that?  Ultimately, we want the church here to be self-sustaining and that will require some local Christians who are involved in small businesses.

May God give us all wisdom as we reach out to the poor in our communities.

More Great Articles:

1. Can You Afford Your Car Payments? Can You Afford the House?
2. Student Loan Payments When Poor
3. The Rich and Poor: My Interview With The Poor People of PNG
4. What are the characteristics of the poor, middle class, and wealthy?

1. Can You Afford Your Car Payments? Can You Afford the House?
2. Student Loan Payments When Poor
3. The Rich and Poor: My Interview With The Poor People of PNG
4. What are the characteristics of the poor, middle class, and wealthy?

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the special launch price for my eBook is increasing today.  Purchase The Secret to a Successful Budget today, and you will save 30%.

The cost of the book will increase at midnight tonight (EST).

To my regular readers, I want to apologize that over the last 10 days I haven’t written about anything other than budgeting and my budget book.  However, I do want to let visitors to this site know about the eBook promotion.  Thanks for your patience.

No related posts.

People often wonder where they should park their emergency funds.

The most common answer you’ll find in print media (personal finance books) is a money market account.

There was a day and time when the money market interest rates outperformed bank savings accounts.  But, that day is long past.  Currently, top performing money markets are only earning around .20%.  While some of the highest interest online bank savings accounts are just above or just below 1.30%.

Thus, there appears to be numerous advantages to keeping your emergency funds in an online bank savings account.

Why Keep Emergency Funds in a Bank Savings Account?

1.  Interest Rates

Anywhere you look these days you’ll find crummy interest rates (at least in North America).  You just need to decide if you want bad or worse.  .20% is not good, nor is 1.30%, but 1.30% is better.

See what I mean?  You have to choose between bad and worse.  If you had an account at somewhere like Ally Bank (1.28% at time of writing) with $10,000, you would get $128 in interest for the year.  If you had an account with a top money market account, you would get $20.

Our emergency funds are currently kept in an ING Direct sub account.  I’m earning 1.10% on my money.

Since we don’t know when the interest rate advantage will switch back to money market funds, you might consider a switch to an online bank savings account.

2.  Account Consolidation

Depending on how you bank and the structure of your investments, you may already have your emergency fund at an institution where you currently conduct business.  I highly recommend that you try to simplify your finances by keeping everything in as few locations as possible.

In my case, I’m getting 1.10% when I could be getting 1.28% at Ally Bank.  So why not make the switch?  It’s not worth my effort for $18 per year, and I really like where I bank.  I’d rather not add another bank to my portfolio when I’m perfectly happy with the service I get.

The convenience of having all your accounts in one place is appealing.

3.  Liquidity

It is very important that you can access your money when have an emergency.

With money in my bank savings account, I can instantly access and send money fast.

1. I can instantly transfer the money to my checking account and use my checking account debit card to withdraw the money from an ATM.
2. I can instantly transfer the money to my checking account and send a check priority mail the next business day.

Yes, there are money market accounts that may give you both of these features, but if you have a money market account that doesn’t allow you these conveniences, this may be another incentive to switch.

4.  Account Opening Promotions

Alright, I’ll tell you the truth, but I don’t necessarily recommend this.  I like signing up for accounts just to get the bonus.  The best way to get a return on your emergency funds is by surfing the balance from bank to bank just to take advantage of sign up bonuses.  A few years ago, Citibank offered a $50 sign up bonus for accounts over $5,000.  We split our emergency fund in two, and my wife and I both got an account.  Everbank offered a sign up bonus worth up to 7,500 Priority Clubs points (but I didn’t like Everbank –  more on that later).  ING offered $25 to sign up for a savings account (and we’ve actually stayed with them for almost six years now).

If banks aren’t going to offer you a decent interest rate, then at least you can make your money grow by taking advantage of bank promotions.

At the end of the day, it is a fun little game to play, but it does little to impact your bottom line.  It is probably not worth the effort unless you actually like the process.

5. FDIC Insured

Insurance for your emergency funds is important.  Look for a bank that is FDIC insured (I have some samples below).  FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 at insured banks.

Where can I open an online savings account?

I can only give one direct personal suggestion from experience.

We’ve been with ING Direct for nearly six years, and I’m impressed with the competitive interest rates, excellent customer service, and fantastic features (like person to person payments and online check payments).  If you want to get the ING Direct $25 sign up bonus, send me an email at mhforc [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll get you a referral link where you can get $25 for signing up.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Everbank.  Of the 20+ bank accounts I’ve had, working with Everbank has been the most frustrating.  My biggest issue was trouble transferring money outside of my account.  Too many glitches for me to suggest Everbank.

Online Banks with a Good Reputation

I’ve not personally used any of the following banks, but I’ve heard good reports about the following online banks.

PerkStreet Financial

Frequent talking points: 2% cash back on all non-PIN debt card purchases when your account balance is $5,000 or more at the start of the day (if less than $5,000, you get 1% cash back).  Get up to 5% cash back in popular categories.  PerkStreet announces the retailers and promotion periods for earning up to 5% cash back at Twitter or Facebook.

Check out PerkStreet Financial – click here.

Ally Bank

Frequent talking point: Competitive interest rates.  At time of writing – 1.29%.*

Check out Ally Bank – click here.

WTDirect

Frequent talking points: Competitive interest rates for high account balances (over $10,000).  At time of writing – 1.20%.*

Check out WTDirect – click here.

*When applying, please confirm the current interest rate.  Bank links are affiliate links.

Photo by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr.

Do you think this is a good time to move emergency funds to an online savings account?

More Great Articles:

1. How to Make Sure it is Safe to Use Your Credit Card Online
2. Roth IRA For Your Kids’ College Savings | A Hybrid Approach
3. Fully Funded Emergency Fund: The 8 Benefits
4. 10 Reasons to Change Banks

1. How to Make Sure it is Safe to Use Your Credit Card Online
2. Roth IRA For Your Kids’ College Savings | A Hybrid Approach
3. Fully Funded Emergency Fund: The 8 Benefits
4. 10 Reasons to Change Banks

As I’m sure you noticed on the sales page for The Secret to a Successful Budget, I have a lot of positive things to say about MY book.  Not surprisingly, I like the book.  Well, it turns out it’s not just me.

I’ve pulled together some of the reviews of the eBook from other websites.  I want to give you a taste of what others are saying about the book and direct you to some outside resources you can read if you are considering buying the book.

Common themes from the reviews:

1. The book is easy to read. I do my best not to bore or intimidate anyone when it comes to discussing personal finance.  What’s the point of talking about something if you can’t understand it?  Anyways, it was nice to read that others thought this was a strength of the book.
2. The book motivates readers. When I wrote the book, I didn’t want to focus on just the mathematical aspects, but also the psychological side of budgeting.  Thankfully, the reviewers picked up on that focus.
3. The tips, suggestions, and advice are useful and easy to implement. The reason I wrote this book is to help you budget.  I wanted a book that was very practical.  And fortunately, from the feedback, it seems like the book is just that – practical.

Reviews of The Secret to a Successful Budget

Frugal Zeitgeist Review by Forest

I was impressed by the stance and detail he has taken to laying out the art of creating and maintaining a budget. He has packed over 50 pages with solid information covering almost every aspect of budgeting and accounting for a variety of styles and personality. … It’s also important to note that Craig’s excellent use of personal stories and real world style examples are extremely motivating.

Heavenly Homemakers review by Laura Coppinger

I was very impressed with how thorough the book was to help everyone set up a budget that works. … The Secret to a Successful Budget is SO easy to read.  Not at all complicated.  It uses simple terminology and basic ideas to help you get a budget set up for your family….a budget you can stick to!

Wisebread Review by Linsey Knerl

This book has all the solid principles of an upper level finance class, but without all the jargon. Anyone with the ability to swipe a credit card can read and understand the sound advice in this book. … This 58-page book and included worksheets reinforce this thinking with useful advice, practical tips, and compassion and caring like few other books on the market have shown. With Craig’s clever style of writing, it gives you hope for a better financial future via a solid method you can rely on: a budget.

Canadian Finance Blog review by Tom Drake

While The Secret to a Successful Budget sets out steps for creating an effective budget, Craig also shows other budgeting methods so you can find the way that works for you. … A one size fits all approach does not work for budgeting. Whether you get paid monthly, bi-weekly or through freelance work, this book has tips for you. If you still can’t pay all your bills, or if you have money leftover, the book has answers for each situation.

The Saved Quarter review by Penny Saver

This book gives a practical and straightforward approach to making, and more important, sticking with a budget. In the book, Craig outlines five methods of making a budget, so you can find the style that fits you best. He also shares suggestions beyond the “how to” to help you overcome budget challenges, like communicating with your spouse, how to tweak your budget as you work with it, and how to budget with an irregular income.

Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff sent the following in an email:

This is a great reference for everything budget!  Those looking to start are walked through the budgeting process.  People who already budget can pick up new tips along the way.  I really enjoyed the inside look at Craig’s personal finance journey and the stories he used to illustrate his points!

Click here to learn more about The Secret to a Successful Budget – http://www.moneyhelpforchristians.com/successful-budget-how-to/

By the way, if you are have a copy of the book or you have a blog and you are interested in making money through the affiliate program, check out this page.

More Great Articles:

1. Start a Budget and Open the Door to a Debt Free Life
2. You Might Need a Budget if …
3. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
4. YNAB Review (You Need A Budget 3) | Finance Software Review

1. Start a Budget and Open the Door to a Debt Free Life
2. You Might Need a Budget if …
3. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
4. YNAB Review (You Need A Budget 3) | Finance Software Review

While I’ve made my fair share of financial mistakes and missteps, by the grace of God, our family has also made a few wise decisions.

Right now my wife and I are positioning ourselves to pay off our house in less than 6 months.  We’ve done this while my wife has stayed home (for the last five years), and we’ve lived on less than $50,000 annual household income.  Oh, and we didn’t miss out on of all the luxuries of life.  In fact, in the last five years, we’ve vacationed in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and various places in the US and Canada.

Please don’t hear me bragging.  This has all been by the grace of God.  However, if living without debt appeals to you, I did want to share the most important tool that helped us accomplish this feat.

What is the key to becoming debt-free? Start a Budget

While there are many contributing factors, the single most important choice we made was to start a budget.

When we graduated from college, we were like a lot of young married couples.  We had a car payment and between $10,000-$15,000 in student loan debt.  Fortunately, we didn’t have any credit card debt.  After graduation, we ventured off into the great unknown – a world where we both had fulltime jobs.  The transition from living on hundreds of dollars a month to thousands is always a hard transition for young married couples.  Looking back, one of the things that really saved us a lifetime of financial stress is that we lived in a church parsonage.  As such, we didn’t have the temptation to consider buying a home that we couldn’t afford.

Once we left college, we very quickly paid off the car loan.  The decision to get a car loan was one that I automatically regretted and so it became public enemy number one.  It has now been ten years since we’ve owed anything on a car.

The problem was the student loans.  I think we had about $12,000 in student loans.  We did something foolish.  We just made minimum payments.  It was foolish for us because we knew our plan was for me to go back to school full-time.  We had also committed to making arrangements so my wife could stay home when we had kids.  During those two years when we both worked fulltime we did save, but just not intentionally.

Then it happened.

I was back in grad school full-time and my wife took a job at a private school.  Her salary was cut by 35%.  Fortunately, that was a choice we could afford to make because she loved every moment she taught at the school.  But, the way we afforded it was by cutting our lifestyle.

This was make it or break it time for our financial future.  We knew the decisions we would make during these three years (while I finished my graduate work) would be crucial.  Even though we were both working towards our masters degrees, we were going to cash flow everything.  No borrowing.  No loans.  Cash only.

We knew one important component was increasing our income, so while my wife worked full time and went to school part time, I went to school fulltime and worked part time.  At one point, I had four jobs (basketball coach, substitute teacher, secretary, and preacher).  Still, there was something missing.

I believe it was October 2003 when Dave Ramsey did his Total Money Makeover presentation in Memphis.  Somehow we managed to get $10 tickets so we went.  Once we got home, it was clear what the missing ingredient was – a budget.

We decided to start a budget.

Within a week we were on a budget.

Now, seven years later, I would say that starting a budget was one of the most important financial decisions we ever made. The only other decisions that had an equally important impact on our finances today included the decision that we wouldn’t borrow money for anything except to buy a house, and the decision to start investing.  I guess the decision to start a budget would be one of our top three most important financial decisions.

By the way, we still keep a budget today.

Several months ago I decided to start to write a series of books on personal finance topics.  I called the series Bite Size Personal Finance Series.  There is an ancient proverb that asks, how do you eat an elephant? The answer, of course, is one bite at a time.  In this series, I want to teach people how to get control of their finances one bite at a time.

Many months ago, I wondered what I should write the first book about, and the answer was immediately clear.  I’ll start where we started.  Surely, what was so important to us as a family would also help others.

So, I wrote a budgeting book.  Not another dry budgeting book that makes you feel guilty for previous mistakes, but one that helps to come alongside you and provides some relevant resources to help you make a budget that lasts more than a week.

The books is now completed.  It is called The Secret to a Successful Budget: Practical Advice for Making a Budget That Lasts.

Until the 31st of August, the book is 30% off.

Click here if you want more information about the book and learn how to start a budget.

More Great Articles:

1. How to Graduate from College without Student Loan Debt
2. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
3. Why Make A Budget?
4. Free Wedding Budget Spreadsheet

1. How to Graduate from College without Student Loan Debt
2. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
3. Why Make A Budget?
4. Free Wedding Budget Spreadsheet

Next week will be one of MH4C’s biggest and busiest weeks. 

On Monday I’ll be releasing The Secret to a Successful Budget: Practical Advice for Creating a Budget That Lasts.  As a part of the ebook launch, I’ll have several guest posts scattered around the web, some websites will be doing a review of the book, and I’ll even be doing a Tweet Chat with the folks over at Wisebread. If you don’t know what a Tweet Chat is, don’t ask me because I have no idea.  Not to worry, I’ve still got a few days to figure it out . 

Since I’m busy making final preparations for my book, I’ll just leave you with the roundup for this week.  Oh, and by the way, next week you should only expect one post from this blogger.  I’ll be doing some behind the scenes work monitoring everything related to the eBook launch.

Suggested Weekend Readings:

Canadian Finance Blog – 5 Frugal Tips for Reducing Your Weekly Food Expense

Oblivious Investor – Dealing with Investment Confusion

Sweating the Big Stuff – 5 Main Money Gobblers

Free From Broke – 9 Ways For Students To Get Textbooks For Less

Bargaineering – Avoid These Financial Products

Provident Planning – I Am More Than My Income

Personal Finance by the Book – How to Partner Without Creating a Partnership

Get Rich Slowly – How to Use a Credit Card (Without Going Into Debt)

Cash Money Life – How Credit Unions Differ from Banks and What It Means to You

Carnivals:

Christian Finance Blog Carnival, Carnival of Personal Finance, Carnival of Financial Planning

No related posts.

Sometimes I feel like I live a double life.

I spend my days sitting with the world’s poor in their houses made of natural bush materials while getting eaten by mosquitoes and studying the Bible.  For perspective, here’s my interview with some people from PNG.

By night (I’ve changed my habits – I now write in the mornings), I sit down in front of my $750 computer and write articles geared at the the Western world.

However, I’ve been reflecting lately on the ways that blogging parallels missionary work.

Focus on the Right Stats

Most bloggers are big on stats.

When you write a blog, you can track the number of people who come to your site, the number of minutes (or seconds they stay), the pages they view when they’re on your site, and a dizzying array of other stats.

The stats are a way to establish your authority as a blogger.  The value of your site is directly tied to the amount of traffic you have (or so “they” say).

However, as a blogger you need to decide what stats are the most important in trying to accomplish your goal.

For me, three stats are the most important: number of page views, length of visit, and number of subscribers.  Oh, and I almost forgot – income.

Some bloggers get excited when they have a post that generates a lot of traffic.  You might have hundreds of extra visits in a day, but those folks stay for a few seconds and never return again.  While this might help some of your stats, it does no effective or practical good.

Missionaries, unfortunately, are also big on stats.

In the missionary world, stats are shared through a medium called a newsletter.

The problem is that there is no consensus, like blogging, on the best way to measure stats.

A newsletter might arrive from a missionary who speaks of 1,000 baptisms in the last 6 months.  However, a key question is: how many baptized believers are actively worshiping today?  How many lives are changed and transformed by the presence of Jesus Christ?

I’d much rather see core, committed, faithful Christians than a surge of numbers of new converts.  It is important that supporting churches (overseeing missionary organizations) and the missionary have a clear sense of what makes a ministry “successful”.

People Commonly Add Meaning to a Written Text

I’m going to put a BIG FAT disclaimer at the front end of this point.  My comments reflect how we read and in no way insinuate my writing is equal to God’s written word.

For several decades, Bible scholars have been debating how much people can really purely ‘receive’ from the Word of God.  They say that people, based on their experiences, will insert meaning into the biblical text rather than receiving truth from the biblical text.

I’ve always been on the side that we can, difficult as it might be, put aside our backgrounds and experiences and begin to discover biblical truth.

However, at times I read comments responding to either my own posts or others’ posts, and those comments do not at all relate to the actual content.  It is clear from some comments that there are a lot of issues or baggage that is bothering people.  Some comments do not completely reflect the content of the post; instead, feelings, background, and emotions are inserted in dialogue with the post.

As I’ve been blogging, I’ve realized how hard it is for a text to stand as text without the insertion of personal emotions, experiences, and agendas.

As a missionary, I now more carefully focus on ensuring that my experiences do not get inserted into a biblical text, and thus, ultimately change the meaning.  As I study with people, I also warn them of this potential danger.

The Topic Must Mean Something

The difference between preaching on a Sunday morning and blogging is that the congregation does not have a “back” button on their web browser tool bar.

With blogging, if it gets boring, the readers get going. (Congrats if you’ve manage to read this far into this post).  People read was matters to them.  Blog posts with practical suggestions on “how to” or “15 ways to” are much more popular.  For an article to be read, it must apply to what is happening in a person’s life, and it must help them in some way.

For far too many years, I held congregations captive based on my interests and preferences.  We studied some fantastic biblical passages, but ultimately, the congregation was sent home without any action plan for living a faithful Christian life.

While there are definitely some dangers of topical preaching (too much to discuss here today), I am learning from blogging that preaching must mean something in the daily lives of people.  This becomes increasingly more relevant as the pace and attention span of people change.

No related posts.

There are a lot of misperceptions about budgeting.  We tend to think budgeting is something others need, but certainly not ourselves.

I tried to make this a funny list, but either my funny bone wasn’t fully functional, or it is hard to really make light of this topic.  Either way, here is my list of 31 signs that you might need a budget.

31 Signs that it is Time to Start Budgeting

1. You make six figures, you eat out four times a week, take fancy vacations, and bounce checks at the grocery store.
2. Live off two salaries and still need a little extra input from Master Card.
3. Your credit card bill arrives, and your bank account doesn’t have enough cash to cover the balance.
4. You wife or husband looks you square in the eye and says, ‘We need a budget’.
5. You try to tell your kids “no”, and they look at you like you just swore in front of them.
6. Kids spend money like water, and drink like Coke is free.
7. You lay your head on your pillow, but your mind refuses to rest.  Your mind is like a human calculator trying to figure out how all the expenses are going to balance together.
8. You say a prayer before opening the mailbox.
9. Your stomach turns every time you hear the phone ring.  So you answer the phone under a false identity – “Pizza Pizza, Craig speaking.”
10. You walk into the bank or past the ATM just to remind yourself of what money looks like.
11. You think to yourself – where did it all go?
12. You have to put less than $10 in your gas tank because that is all you have.
13. You feel all of these things, and then go out shopping just to feel better.
14. Money’s coming in and money’s going out, but you just can’t seem to find the leak.
15. You think making more money is the only way to solve your financial problems.
16. You throw credit card bills in the trash just so you don’t have to deal with them.
17. You think budgeting is just for broke people.
18. You’re content to eat Spam and bread when you get older.
19. Your idea of a long term financial plan is hoping that your kids make enough money to save you from your ignorance.
20. Your ATM refuses to spit out dollars.
21. Someone asks you if you have an emergency fund and you pull out your credit card.
22. Investing for the future involves a monthly ceremony where you put an extra can of Spam in the storage room.
23. You think social security will offer you the retirement of your dreams.
24. Someone asks you how much you make, and the best you can do is give them a blank stare.
25. You think loving your children means giving them everything they want.
26. You rely on your credit card to cover gaps in paychecks.
27. Your idea of saving up for a big vacation is applying for as many credit cards as possible.
28. The value of your car is more than the value of your bank account.
29. You’ve been tempted to take money out of the church contributions (instead of putting it in).
30. You stand anxiously in front of an item at the store and ask yourself – can I afford this?
31. You read this list and identify with more than 3 items.

Next week on August 23rd I’m going to be releasing an eBook on budgeting.  If you subscribe to my newsletter, you should be expecting an extra special deal on top of the already discounted release price.

Here’s what Bob from Christianpf has to say about the book:

Craig has taken an often misunderstood (and sometimes frightening) subject and has provided an extremely helpful and valuable resource for anyone wanting to create a budget. Having written about budgeting myself for years, I have not seen a more thorough resource dedicated specifically to setting up and maintaining a budget than Craig’s eBook.

If you need a budget, you are in luck because I’m about to teach you exactly how to make one – step by step.

More Great Articles:

1. The Secret to a Successful Budget: Reviews Roundup
2. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
3. YNAB Review (You Need A Budget 3) | Finance Software Review
4. Why Make A Budget?

1. The Secret to a Successful Budget: Reviews Roundup
2. 20 Reasons to Start a Budget
3. YNAB Review (You Need A Budget 3) | Finance Software Review
4. Why Make A Budget?