As the New Year is looming many people often consider making drastic changes at the turn of the New Year.  One thing people often consider is going into business for themselves.  This is going to be the first post in a five week series on starting your own small business.

If you are interested in this topic, I suggest you review options for funding your small business.

1. Starting Your Own Small Business
2. Evaluating Risk When Starting a Small Business
3. Making the Transition From Hobby to Business
4. Maintaining the Small Business While Keeping the Family
5. 10 Money Making Small Business Suggestions

Be An Entrepreneur With A Start Up Business

Not everyone is wired to be an entrepreneur.  If you are considering starting a new business, your first step is not in evaluating the market, doing feasibility studies, or evaluating franchises. Your first job is reflecting on yourself, your abilities, your joys, and your giftedness. Entrepreneurs must be passionate about what they are doing because they provide the only motivation for the endeavor to be successful.  The 30 Second Commute : The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Operating a Home-Based Business shares seven roles every entrepreneur must fulfill:

1. Producer
2. Marketer
3. Salesperson
4. Accountant
5. Personnel Director
6. Manager
7. Leader

While some of these roles can certainly be outsourced it is important to remember that when you start out you will need to be able to handle many aspects of the business.

The 30 Second Commute : The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Operating a Home-Based Business goes on to suggest 15 questions to ask yourself about being an entrepreneur.  The questions are:

1. Are you going into business for yourself or out of desperation?
2. Are you afraid of failing?
3. Are you creative?
4. Are you afraid to take risks?
5. Can you set goals and achieve them?
6. Are you prepared to give up a regular paycheck?
7. Are you willing to give up or find the financial means to pay for your own benefits?
8. Are you able to speak in public?
9. Do you know your weaknesses?
10. Do you know your strengths?
11. Is your family enthusiastic about your business idea?
12. Are you comfortable about working on your own?
13. Are you intimidated about learning something new?
14. Are you a leader?
15. Are you afraid of succeeding?

My Reactions and Impressions:

Start with the following question: Is your family enthusiastic about your business idea?

@ Question #11.

At the start of this post I said that your decision to start a business must be based on your personalized situation.  If you have the best money making business idea, but you do not have the support of your family – drop it.

Have you noticed that a lot of authors dedicate books to their spouses and/or children?  They typically say something like, “He was so supportive and sacrificed so many things to make this book possible.”  The reality is that your business will require a lot of time and energy.  Time and energy that will likely be withdrawn from your family time.  If your family does not support what you do your business or your family will fail.  Neither sound like an appealing choice.

Fear can do one of two things – it can motivate you or it can paralyze you.

@  Questions 2, 4 & 15.

For example, a fear of failure might actually be a good quality if it moves you toward taking care of all the variables to ensure the highest possibility of success.  However, if fear paralyzes you and means you won’t take even calculated risks, then your personality will be a hindrance to successfully starting your own small business.

There will be more discussion about risk in three weeks when I introduce the post Evaluating Risk When Starting a Small Business.

You are the new boss of you.

@ Question #5.

A few years ago when I attended a small business seminar the presenter said that when he moved out of the corporate work force and started his own small business he worked harder than he had ever worked before.  The reason is because you are the only one who will be responsible for the results.  As a result, it is absolutely essential that you can set and achieve goals.  Those structures are not in place so you must ultimately set the goals.

Interested in more reading on this topic?

What characteristics are necessary for working from home?

Photo by jeffgunn.

Which of those fifteen questions stood out to you? Why?  Anything else you think an entrepreneur should ask before starting a business?

Get Your Free Subscriber eBook Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Get more free resources by subscribing to MH4C Special Reports or get more details here.

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. How Should you Fund your Small Business?
2. Faith Based and Socially Responsible Investing
3. 14 Statements of Financial Losers

1. How Should you Fund your Small Business?
2. Faith Based and Socially Responsible Investing
3. 14 Statements of Financial Losers

I think there are some hard Bible verses to understand exactly what God wants us to do with our money.

5 Hard Bible Verses About Money

There are some Bible verses about money that Christians find it difficult to know exactly how to understand and apply them.  In this upcoming series we will deal with the following five Bible stories that relate to finances:

1. Rich (Young) Man: Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30
2. Warning to Rich Oppressors: James 5:1-6
3. Love of Money: 1 Tim. 6:3-10
4. Rich Man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19-31
5. Treasures in Heaven: Luke 6:19-24

Over the next several months I hope to deal with each of these passages.  Because these posts are labor intensive I will post about these passages when I have the time available instead of a weekly schedule. 

A note about format:

Since I know that some of my readers are not interested in a lot of material, each subsequent post will be about two Word document pages long.  I will then follow up in the coming weeks by including a longer PDF document that has more detail and study questions.  The extra PDF report will be emailed to subscribers of MH4C Special Reports.  To subscribe (free), please click here.

3 Ways To Study The Bible

The “Nearest Exit” Bible Study Approach (also known as the Houdini Approach)

You’ve probably also heard it hundreds of times.  When the plane is getting ready to take off you need to look and locate the closest exit.  Sometimes (especially when it comes to learning about money) we look for the nearest exit.  If a Bible verse even vaguely seems to ‘let you off the hook’, you run for that explanation or interpretation.  I also call this the Houdini approach because if you find a passage that makes you feel uncomfortable, you just pretend it is not there. 

For example:

A small group sits around studying the story of the Rich Young Man and someone says that the eye of the needle is a gate – thus, Christians who humble themselves (like the camel entering the eye of the needle gate) can keep all their money and enter safely into God’s kingdom. 

This, my friends, is a Nearest Exit Bible Study Approach.  I say this because people do not even try to verify or validate the information.  It sounds good and it lets me off the hook – end of story.  The Nearest Exit Bible Study Approach is not spiritually healthy.

The “Ain’t Gonna Teach Me Nothin’ ” Bible Study Approach

Either intentionally or unintentionally, some folks have already reached their conclusion before they crack open their Bible.  Something either feels so right or so good or they like it too much that they go to the Bible to find a verse to support their conclusion.  In Biblical scholarship this is called esigesis – inserting conclusions into the text rather than getting teachings from the text (exegsis). 

Esigesis Bad.  Exegesis Good.  Make your conclusion then read the Bible, bad.  Read the Bible then make a conclusion, good.

The “Your Will Be Done” Bible Study Approach

This, beloved, is the good soil.  This group represents those who want to honestly and legitimately discover what God has to say on a topic.  Yes, they have already made one conclusion – whatever they discover God to be teaching they will willingly and humbly submit.

I pray that as we introduce and honestly deal with these Bible verses that we will listen and submit to God’s call on our lives instead of listening to what our itching ears want to hear.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3 NIV)

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Bible Thought: Three Men and Their Money
2. Bible and Money: Faith Foundations of MH4C
3. *NEW* Bible and Money Page Added

1. Bible Thought: Three Men and Their Money
2. Bible and Money: Faith Foundations of MH4C
3. *NEW* Bible and Money Page Added

Many future parents are worried about the costs of raising children.  I certainly was.  However, with three little kids running around my house, my wife and I have discovered that there are some simple actions or attitude changes that greatly reduce the cost of raising children.  Since our family decided to live on one income, it became necessary to minimize our expenses.  We have practiced (or currently follow) all of the ten suggestions.  It has literally saved us thousands.

1. Consider Cloth diapers

   My four year old is old enough to know it’s nasty.  Recently, my four year old inquired, “Mommy, why are you putting your hand in the toilet?”  Mommy explained, “Because I need to rinse out your sister’s diaper”.  To which my daughter responded, “That’s nasty”.  It might be nasty, but it sure is cheap.  36 diapers and $50 will give you a 6 – 12 month supply.  By the way, if you are going to go with cloth, consider a Snappy (replacement for safety pins).  I never quite got the old safety pin thing.  They require focus, determination, and a lot of luck.  Cloth diapers would never have worked if a friend did not point us in the direction of a Snappy.

2. Forget your brand allegiance

   Seriously, do you think your baby will be happy just because they are wearing Huggies?  Perhaps children who are washed with Johnson and Johnson body soap will be more adjusted in adulthood.  Everyone knows only Carter kids enjoy their childhood.  When it comes to babies, brands really play the trust card and leverage love.  Brands want you to ask yourself, “You do really love your kid, right?”  As a result, we feel like if we love them we need to give them the best so we somehow think spending more money on them is giving them the best. Avoiding brand names saves money.

3. Buy used furnishings

   When we were expecting our first, we went and bought a used crib and change table. Some folks were concerned about the safety because standards change and we didn’t know the condition of the items.  Seriously, what is going to happen if the baby’s crib breaks and she falls a foot to the ground and lands on a mattress?  I think worse things will probably happen.  By the way, our third child is now enjoying the same furniture and it is still holding up.

4. Reuse items for all your children

   I am the youngest of three boys.  I got used clothes.  Now that I am all grown up I still buy used clothes.  I don’t think I am ‘damaged’ because of the experiences.  All parents could benefit by being resourceful.  Until you know that you are done having kids find a place to store all your baby products, toys, and clothing, because they will come in handy again.

5. Network

   You are probably not the first person who ever needed a crib.  In fact, there is probably someone at work or church who has a last child growing out of a crib.  They want nothing more than to find a good home for it to open up some space in their room.  Take the initiative to form your own frugal community.  Take notice of families who are a stage ahead of you and let them know if they are ever interested in selling used items that you would appreciate being notified.  We got our first car seat from a friend whose last baby outgrew his car seat around the time our baby was born.  Our rocking chair was given to us from a teacher friend who didn’t need it in the classroom anymore.

6. Trade Services

   One of the results of fatigue is increased spending. Typically, things that are more convenient cost more.  After a busy day and a cart full of crying kids you are more likely to find convenience foods.  Consider asking someone to take your kids for a while in exchange for taking theirs at a later time.  This time could be used for grocery shopping, catching up on house cleaning, and yes, just resting.

7. Skip the Happy Meal

   Does a two year old really need all that food?  What we do when we head out is get a cheap sandwich, cut it in half and have the kids share fries.  The advantage is we save money, save food, and the kids leave full (which, by the way, is the goal of the fast food dining experience).  The disadvantage is that the kids don’t get a little toy that they will play with for about 6.8 seconds.  Better yet, save money by eating at home.  Eating at home can be just as enjoyable and a lot less expensive.

8. Focus on Creating Memorable Experiences

   Once a week we used to take our kids to a sit down restaurant because we wanted to have a special experience.  On my day off we have a family tradition of eating lunch on the porch.  One day our daughter said she likes eating on the porch much more than at the restaurant.  We learned a valuable lesson that spending more does not mean it is more important to your children.

9. Understand the relationship between toddlers and toys

   Our bathtub is fully of cute little bath toys.  We have a pudgy little pig that squirts water.  There is the happy hippo.  And of course, the cute cow.  In order to wash the kids’ hair we have a plastic cup we got with a meal at Olive Garden and a free promotion plastic cup I got from some event.  Want to know what the kids love to play with?  The cups!  Sometimes they also fight over an empty liquid soap container.  Kids are so creative and naturally playful that they can play without a ton of toys.  We have a Rubbermaid container where we store their toys.  The rule is that all the toys must fit in the container.  If they get new toys, then something from the toy collection must be given away. 

10. Set appropriate gift boundaries

    From the start, sit down with your spouse and decide on the function of gifts.  I know that sounds silly, but why do you give gifts?  What do you hope to communicate?  What does it reveal about yourself?  Gift giving expectations are created; they are not naturally there in children.  If you give large gifts (beyond your means) each birthday or Christmas, the kids will expect just as large of a gift.  You may need to cut back on gifts.  Remember, cutting back on gifts is not cutting back on love.  You can still show your children love and not give expensive gifts to them.  With Christmas around the corner this is especially true.  Here are 50 Homemade (and cheap) Christmas gift ideas.

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography.

What have you done to minimize the cost of raising children?  Got any of your own money saving ideas?

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Cut Costs By Being Resourceful
2. Ten Money Saving Road Trip Tips Revisited
3. Four Money Saving Do-it-Yourself Jobs

1. Cut Costs By Being Resourceful
2. Ten Money Saving Road Trip Tips Revisited
3. Four Money Saving Do-it-Yourself Jobs

November, of course, is a time to be thankful.  Well, I guess every day is. But at least for Americans it’s required in November.

Just this week my subscriber count surpassed the 300 mark.  While some bloggers out there would faint from disappointment if they saw such a low statistic, I am quite honored and THANKFUL.  When I started blogging just a few short months ago I set some goals for Money Help For Christians – all of which I have more than passed.  Perhaps shattered is a better word.

As a way to say thank you, I want to send $25 to one of my daily article subscribers and another $25 to a subscriber of “MH4C Special reports”.

What do you need to do to enter?

(1) Subscribe to the blog by either RSS or email. If you are already an email blog subscriber  you are already entered.  RSS subscribers will need to send me an email (mhforc at gmail dot com) with the RSS Promo Code in the subject.  If you subscribe by RSS it will appear at the bottom of each post.

To subscribe for free by RSS click here.

To subscribe for free by email click here.

(2) For an extra chance to win the second $25, just subscribe for free to MH4C Special Reports.  All current subscribers will automatically be entered.

To subscribe to MH4C Special Reports click here.

Learn more about MH4C Special Reports.

The winner will be announced on Friday, November 27th, 2009.

I will choose one random winner from the RSS/Email daily subscriber list.

I will also choose one winner randomly from the MH4C Special Reports mailing list.

Funds will be sent in US or Canadian dollars (depending on the preference of the winner).  Funds can be sent by PayPal or bank draft (only to Canadian or US residents).  The winner will be contacted by email and will need to provide valid PayPay or mailing information within one week.  If the necessary information is not provided I will select another winner.

Check Out More of My Articles on the Web:

Three Essential Money Saving Fall Tasks posted at Christianpf.

Should You Purchase a Cheaper Product or Upgrade to a More Expensive Product? posted at Moolanomy.

Wealth And Contentment: Two Peas In A Pod posted at Bible Money Matters.

Carnivals

The Best of Money Carnival #23 – 14 Statements of Financial Losers was #5 on the list.

Carnival of Money Hacks

Carnival of Personal Finance

Festival of Frugality

Get Your Free Subscriber eBook Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Get more free resources by subscribing to MH4C Special Reports or get more details here.

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Friday Roundup: Claim Your Free eBook Edition
2. Introducing “MH4C Special Report”
3. Free is Free Weekly Round Up

1. Friday Roundup: Claim Your Free eBook Edition
2. Introducing “MH4C Special Report”
3. Free is Free Weekly Round Up

It happened accidentally.

I guess it really happened by circumstances.  Our family (my wife and kids) started giving only homemade personalized gifts to each other.  When I explained how to cut cost by being resourceful, the truth is that some places require resourcefulness.  We live in one of those places.  As such, for the last three years we have had to make homemade and personalized gifts.

The unexpected blessing is that each of the homemade gifts I have received are now some of my favorite Christmas gifts.  I believe personalized gifts will be appreciated more than store bought gifts, and your appreciation for personalized gifts will only increase over time. 

How to Make Personalized Gifts For Christmas

There are three necessary ingredients for the “perfect Christmas gift”.

A truly personalized gift is an idea that is seen in the heart and finished with the hands. 

1.  A Skill

You have hundreds of skills, just think about how that skill can be used to focus on or honor someone else.

2.  Spare Time

This is this is the main reason people do not do homemade gifts.  The gift card is so much easier.  How often have you come up with a great idea, and then just simply didn’t have the time to get your act together?  By deciding what you are going to give for Christmas now, you will have the necessary time to get it ready.

3.  Creativity

Anyone can buy a gift card.  Who really needs another basket of soaps?  Creativity helps you get the perfect gift.  However, many people claim they are not creative enough to come up with a good idea.  But, now you have no excuses.

50 Do It Yourself Christmas Presents

1. Make a piece of furniture.  If you are not proficient with tools and things, this might be an even greater reason to build – surprise someone with your new found hobby.  While the options are limitless, the best ideas are usually items for organizing or storing knickknacks.  There is probably a closet in your home that could use a little organizing.  Why not build a customized storage/organization center.  
2. Coupon book.  This is an oldie, but still a great personalized gift.  Depending on what the recipient enjoys you can customize the book.  Include service things like breakfast in bed, a day of help, and a night off.  I suggest you put an expiration date to help motivate the recipient to use the coupons.  If they have not used the coupon in a few weeks, give them a call and (lovingly) force them to use one.
3. Make a silhouette picture.  One year my wife gave me silhouette pictures of my kids.  It is still a favorite gift I have received.  Get a picture of the kids and cut out the shape of the head.  Use that pattern to cut out a silhouette on black construction paper.  Just glue the picture to a piece of colored construction paper and throw it in a frame.  This is an awesome gift idea for family.
4. Scrapbook/scrapbook calendar.  Find some picture that have special meaning for you and the gift recipient.  Neatly and creatively compile those pictures into a scrapbook.  You could even go to your nearest Hobby Lobby and for about $10 buy a blank calendar.  Use your scrapbook skills to custom design your own calendar. 
5. Baked goods.  Your neighbor or boss might just enjoy some cookies from Grandma’s famous recipe.  They will probably enjoy it more than a gift basket you bought from somewhere.
6. Homemade gift basket.  For just a few dollars you can buy a basket.  Fill the basket with several of the items listed here.
7. Paint or draw a picture.  The picture could be of a favorite memory, favorite place, or anything sentimental.  If you specialize in a type of drawing or painting, make some personalized pictures for friends and family.
8. Create a CD mix with some of the recipient’s favorite songs.  You could even put a group of CDs together with favorites from different decades or stages of your relationship.
9. Sew something.  Kids think it is so cool to have a matching outfit with a parent.  Sew mother and daughter a matching outfit.  One year my wife sewed me an organizing sheet for my tools.  Fix up a favorite piece of clothes for someone.
10. Search high and low for a rare item.  Using resources like the internet – can anyone say ebay?- you can get your hands on some rare items.  This does not necessarily mean expensive items.  Your grandfather might be amazed if you tracked down that spinner top he always used to play with when he was a kid.  I guess you’ll have to do more than search high and low – a letter explaining why searching is all someone gets is not going to cut it .  Search high and low and FIND a rare item.
11. Organize a family experience.  Take the family somewhere extra special.  I’m not necessarily talking about a trip to Disney.  It could even be to take the family for a day of sledding or skiing.  How about a trip to the farm for a sleigh ride?  Consider substituting gifts with a vacation or family activity.  I know one family (grown kids) that does not do any Christmas gifts anymore, but once every couple of years they use that money saved to all get together for a week vacation.
12. Make a hand mould with your children’s hands.  The nice thing about having kids is you can completely exploit their cuteness for a ton of awesome gifts.  Just buy a little clay and let junior shove his hand in the mold.  Any aunt, uncle, or grandparent will treasure your gift.
13. Homemade recipe book.  Collect all your favorite recipes or even the recipes of friends and relatives and give the book to someone who loves to cook. 
14. Homemade Christmas card.  Here is another one that uses kids’ cuteness to your advantage.  Take a piece of paper and have your kids leave hand prints (just use a little paint for them to dip their hands into).  Position the prints in such a way that the hand prints can be reindeer antlers.  Write a heartfelt hand written note to accompany the letter.
15. Make a video.  If you don’t get to go home for Christmas this year, make a video of the kids playing and saying hello to everyone. 
16. Get friends of the gift recipient to help make a book of memories.  Ask each friend to write one page of memories.  Encourage them to add a picture.  Take all the pages and creatively combine them into a book. 
17. Write your story for adult kids with unknown facts.  If you have adult children or family members, spend an afternoon writing down your memories as a kid.  Include mundane events, the happy events, and yes, even the sad times. 
18. Write a poem. While roses are red, you might be better off breaking the mould and writing something a little more original.  Don’t write poetry?  Get a book on how to write poetry (from the library) and follow the format.  Some nice paper really helps compliment kind words.
19. Send 12 consecutive cards (or small gifts) for 12 days of Christmas.  While it might be hard to time this one every day for 12 days, put a card or item in the mail for someone.  Let them enjoy your gift over a period of days.
20. Compile a book of pictures, archive, and journals notes from a deceased family member. Gift the book to that person’s closest relatives. 
21. Get a newspaper advertisement honoring someone.  You might need call them to be sure they see it.
22. Make a PowerPoint presentation that includes pictures and old memories.
23. Start a blog in honor of someone.  Blogspot lets you start a free blog.  Just call the blog – Best Dad Ever.  Post a few entries and send the web address to the recipient.
24. Recreate a Christmas past.  Share something, do something, or give something that someone said was always their favorite thing about Christmas.  This might be especially meaningful (and emotional) especially after the loss of a loved one over the last year.
25. Customize an email address and send a heartfelt email from the new address.  For example open  tomyfavoritemom@gmail.com and send mom an email. 
26. Donation to charity on behalf of someone. 
27. Give yourself or your time for a day to someone. 
28. Check out my list of 101 ways to give.
29. Plan a surprise visit to see someone you have not visited in a long time.
30. Go on an exotic flower hunt. Find that person’s favorite flower and give it to them.
31. Make a meal. You probably have a recipe that others love.  Bake up a batch and take it to them during the busy holidays. 
32. Write a fictional / children’s story based on your family.  When you write the story use your actual family names (nicknames are great too).  If you don’t draw, ask a friend to illustrate the book.
33. Write a song or drama for someone.
34. Meet some childhood dream.
35. Buy a favorite book or movie from someone’s childhood.  To make the gift extra special ask their dad to read the book to them.  Perhaps with a favorite movie recreate the atmosphere they used to describe when they watched the movie.
36. Break a bad habit for someone.  Throw out something someone hates.  Use Christmas as a motivation to finally kick a habit for someone.
37. Make a special dinner for two somewhere unique – by the fireplace, on the roof, or under a tree.
38. Have your children make their own wrapping paper – family won’t care what is inside.
39. Give a homemade Christmas ornament.
40. Pictures of your kids.
41. Buy a blank puzzle and make your own puzzle.  You could even take a poster board and make your own.  Use the back of a puzzle you already have. Draw a personalized picture on the puzzle.
42. Write a list of your favorite Bible verses.  Use some fancy paper and a nice frame and the item will be something that younger generations cherish. 
43. Handwritten favorite Bible verse.  Put it in a frame.
44. Create a T-shirt design and have it screen printed.
45. Teach a skill – piano or dance lessons.
46. Write a ‘ways you’ve blessed me’ list.  On homemade paper or special paper, just write all the ways that a person has blessed you. Give them the list for Christmas.
47. Get a phone card for someone so you can talk to them instead of a gift card in the mail.
48. Make your own candles.  This really is not a very difficult thing to do.  Just get on google and type “make your own candles” and you will have a million guides.
49. Homemade cider or grape juice.  My parents make their own apple cider and grape juice.  These jars would make excellent Christmas gifts.
50. Pray for someone.  If you just don’t have the money to spend gifts for people, make them a card and explain your situation.  Let them know that each day for the next week you are going to be praying for them so if they have any specific requests they can let you know.

What are you waiting for?  There must be a least one great Christmas gift idea for you.  Don’t delay or else you are going to be heading out on December 24th for a gift card.

Photo by Darwin Bell.

What are some of your favorite personalized gift ideas?

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Debt-Free Christmas 2009
2. Father’s Day Edition: Can you honor dad without money?
3. Three Months Till Christmas: Round Up Edition

1. Debt-Free Christmas 2009
2. Father’s Day Edition: Can you honor dad without money?
3. Three Months Till Christmas: Round Up Edition

This post is a continuation of a series on MH4C Faith Foundations where I am introducing my readers to the core beliefs of MH4C.

What is the Goal of Money Help For Christians?

While I hope the title is a good first indication, it is also somewhat misleading. In fact, if I could go back and change the title I would. Unfortunately, some readers have assumed that Money Help For Christians represents an organization that gives help, in the form of money, to Christians. While I wish MH4C would grow to the point of having a serious influence on issues like poverty, MH4C is currently only a man with a small pocketbook and a big vision.

The Purpose of Money Help For Christians

Money Help For Christians promotes a frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous lifestyle so Christians can faithfully maximize their resources by putting them at the disposal of God’s Kingdom. MH4C is committed to providing relevant resources in order to assist Christians in this effort.

The Four Relevant Foundations of MH4C:

Frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous living

While the goal of MH4C could be to help you out-earn your life style so that you could give an abundance, I ultimately believe that our first task as Christians is to be faithful with the little we have. Changing your lifestyle – to frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous living – will ultimately improve the quality of live – regardless of your income.

While our prevailing cultural motto is work like crazy and spend like crazy, I prefer a lifestyle that is a little more archaic. It’s about doing what you love and feeling passionate and invigorated. It is about living based on your own terms and definitions, not because you envy what others have.  It is a stress-free existence that enjoys God’s good creation. I think those desires are rooted in four key terms – frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous living.

Faithfully Maximize Resources

Whatever we have is offered as a gift. Yes, certainly you may have worked hard (extremely hard even), but unless God had willed those opportunities and employment opportunities, success would not have happened. Thus, I fundamentally believe all that I have (and all I am) was received by the grace of God.  I apply this belief to all facets of life – even finances.  That grace is one I could have squandered, but instead it was capitalized on for the sake of the gospel. As a result, what I do with God’s things will be described as faithful or unfaithful.

Maximizing your God given resources might mean fully developing, exploring, and perfecting your income earning opportunities – for the sake of the Kingdom. Maximizing your God-given resources might mean calling a second store for a quote so that those savings might be used faithfully. Maximizing your resources may mean purchasing the appropriate amount of life insurance to ensure that your family is provided for.

Disposal of God’s Kingdom

The word disposal is not intended to relate to its synonyms. The goal is not to waste your resources. Instead, it means to relinquish control and put it to the service of God’s Kingdom. This concept is likened to the action of Joseph (Barnabas) who sold a piece of land and laid it at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). Those funds that were previously managed by Barnabas have now be offered to be used at the disposal of the Kingdom of God. This control-releasing action transfers ownership from self to God.

Providing Relevant Resources

The task of frugal, simple, debt free, and generous living cannot be accomplished without a basic knowledge of financial workings. It is hard to faithfully maximizing resources if you don’t know anything about how money works.  If you want to make your dollars go further, you will need to know where to get the bargains.  If you want to grow what you currently have, you will need to know some investing basics. If you want to retain what you currently earn you will need to understand the positive and negative power of interest. While few of these ‘type’ of articles are inherently biblical if a proper framework is in place – to use cost savings a the disposal of God’s kingdom – our actions do then become very biblical.

Here is an example of some relevant resources on MH4C:

Top 10 Christian Personal Finance Books

A Sneak Peak Into Our Budgeting Process

What is the Cheapest Way to Exchange Foreign Currency?

Does Spending Cash Really Save More Than Using a Credit Card?

How To Find the Best Prices on Books

MH4C core beliefs about the Bible and money

1. Wealth, possession, and accumulation – the material world – is not evil.  God made the world good and intended it for our pleasure.
2. The gospel call is specific to individual lives.  At times what God calls you to do and what God calls your neighbor to do might be different.  Consider the rich young ruler who was asked to sell everything and Zaccheus who was declared saved after only giving away half. 
3. Money has possessive qualities, but can be used for the good of God’s kingdom. The Bible focuses on using money as a tool for meeting the needs of others.
4. The goal of Christian finances is not wealth building, but to honor God with our resources.
5. When Christians reach a comfortable financial destination their efforts must shift to meeting the needs of others.
6. Financial freedom is not the goal, but instead finding the right financial master. Our financial goal is to become financially dependent on God and his will for us.
7. Our financial freedom is used not for self indulgence, but for service (Gal. 5:13).
8. Adopting a simple and frugal lifestyle releases Christians from the constant pressures of materialism.
9. Financial peace is the result of debt free living and faithful stewardship.
10. Money is a trust from God and faithfulness is the goal.
11. Money can improve the quality of life, but ultimately cannot offer happiness.
12. The Bible often focuses on our attitude toward money, but this does not mean God is unconcerned about our actions with money.

One Final Reminder About Money and Christianity

I want to be the first to admit that the financial element of our spirituality is just a piece. Stewardship is about more than money.  There are many other crucial and important topics. We need to be learning skills for studying our Bible, marriage communication, childrearing, evangelism, and many other important topics. However, in order to focus my attention and energy I typically focus on the important component of the Bible and money.  It is a spiritually healthy habit to balance your study of all of these topics that are important for Christian living.

Photo by mufan96.

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. What Makes This a ‘Christian’ Blog?
2. Dealing With Challenging Bible Verses About Money
3. *NEW* Bible and Money Page Added

1. What Makes This a ‘Christian’ Blog?
2. Dealing With Challenging Bible Verses About Money
3. *NEW* Bible and Money Page Added

The following is a guest post submitted by my wonderful and talented wife.  While writing a post on our personal blog, my wife accidentally wrote one that fits well with the overall purpose and theme of MH4C.  Please welcome Mrs. Ford to the MH4C writing team.

I’ve learned many lessons living in PNG.  One of them is that Papua New Guineans are much more resourceful than Americans.  It’s amazing what they can do with the little that they have (or find).  I’m also more hesitant now to throw any kind of container away because, surely, it could be used by someone for something. 

Here are some of the most creative ways I’ve seen people save money:

• use a banana leaf as an umbrella
• a plastic container is transformed into a homemade watering can
• a common sea shell now functions as a soap dish
• the jam jar is used for saving seeds
• newspapers replace coolers and are wrapped around frozen store products as insulation
• the newspaper now functions as toilet paper [Editor’s Note: not recommended for flush toilets.  If you have a flush toilet you will do some serious damage to your plumbing]
• a big piece of cloth doubles as a baby snugli
• used milk containers serve as pots for plants
• sticks and stones become Bible object lessons
• plastic bags can be used for carrying anything in, or as packaging
• old cloth diapers are given a second chance as rags
• worn tires now become children’s swings
• a tire and a stick become a children’s toy
• rubber bands or plastic bags are made into balls for playing games
• a margarine container becomes a mold for making ice blocks
• empty baby wipe containers are now used for storage
• long tree leaves are woven into fashionable and functional carrying bags
• the useless water or coke bottle is now a carrying container for essentials, like kerosene
• coconut is used for cleaning hands after peeling sticky vegetables
• discarded cardboard is cut out and made into price tags at the market

This made me start thinking that even Americans could save more money by being a little more creative and resourceful, and a little less embarrassed by what other people think.  I realize that not all of the ideas listed above are transferrable, but there are certainly items you use daily that could be recycled in some way.  So the next time you go to throw out a plastic container, ask yourself … “Could I use this to tidy up those miniature toys in my kids’ bedroom?” or “Will this come in handy on my next carpentry or scrapbooking project?”  If you can’t think of a use for the item, keep it long enough to at least ask a school teacher if they have a use for it.  Teachers are almost as resourceful as Papua New Guineans.

[Editors Note: In addition to saving money, a lot of these suggestions are also very eco friendly.  Any time you reuse a product you are making a valuable contribution to environmental conservation.]

Photo by Yen SOCUTE.

What items do you reuse?  How do you resourcefully save money?

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. 10 Tips For Saving Money While Raising Kids

1. 10 Tips For Saving Money While Raising Kids

Looking for practical and biblical financial teachings?

Introducing the “MH4C Special Report”

Hi, Craig Ford here, and I am looking forward to sharing with you yet another free way that Money Help For Christians (MH4C) is going to help you get control of your finances and honor God.

If you like the articles you’ve read, but find you just don’t have enough time to keep up with daily articles, then you might just be interested in “MH4C Special Report”.

Perhaps you are already a daily article subscriber and are already benefiting from the valuable material. In fact, you wish there was a way to access additional information. If that is the case, you are going to love the extra information, tips, and resources available as a subscriber of “MH4C Special Report”.

*** CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW ***

By Subscribing to the “MH4C Special Report” you can join in the pursuit for a frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous lifestyle that honors God.

So what is the “MH4C Special Report” all about?

This special report is about offering you more.

• More relevant biblical materials as you seek to get control of your finances.
• More ways to get personalized help through questions and answers.
• More access to additional downloadable PDF resources.
• More chances to follow the progress of the MH4C blog. The special report includes links to some of the most popular MH4C posts from the previous month.
• More personal experiences and stories. Several months ago my wife and I concluded that we wanted to keep our lives simple and free from clutter so we could focus on what was truly important to us – our faith and our family. The “MH4C Special Report” will occasionally chronicle our progress, findings, and experiences.
• More customized material: You have my email address (mhforc@gmail dot com) so I encourage you to email me your questions to include in a report. Suggest a topic and I’ll do my best to customize an article addressing your specific question.

*** CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW ***

Sample Special Reports:

Christian Finance Blog Report

This reviews the activities of all participating blogs that are in the Christian personal finance network.  Each month the report will feature each of the following from participating blogs:

• Best For Christians Post: This will be a post that is most directly applicable to a Christian audience.
• Most Discussed Post: This will be a post with the most comments or most meaningful discussion.
• Most Popular Post: This will be the post that generates the most traffic in the month.
• Editor’s Pick: A post that highlights the blogger’s preferences.

This report will also feature major news happenings in the Christian personal finance network.

Current participants: Debt Free Adventure, Bible Money Matters, Provident Planning, Redeeming Riches.  Others have been contacted and I anticipate the list will continue to grow.

Question and Answer Report

This report will deal with reader question and answers that I am unable to answer on the blog.

Ford Family Progress Report

As my family seeks to simplify our lifestyle, I’ll be sending out occasional updates on our progress.

Bible and Money Report

Deals with in-depth and detailed Bible study on selected topics.

PDF Reports

As I turn some of my posts into reproducible and easy-to-access PDFs, I will pass those materials along through the report emails.

Special Events Report

This report might deal with seasonal topics, topics in the news, or events happenings at MH4C.

THE MH4C Inner Circle

I want to offer additional levels of connection, resources, and materials based only on your desire to have those products.

Product	Cost	100+ Archived Articles	eBooks	PDF Reports*	Bonus Material
Blog Visitors	FREE	x
RSS & Email Subscribers	FREE	x	x
MH4C Special Report Member	FREE	x	x	x	x

* PDF reports will be available shortly.

Currently available eBook: Money Wisdom From Proverbs.

Effective immediately my two book, Money Wisdom From Proverbs will only be available to either RSS, Email, or Special Report subscribers.  If you are a subscriber just click the download link at the bottom of your feed or email.

Get More! Become a “MH4C Special Reports” Member

Now … I’m hoping there are some of you who still wouldn’t mind just a little more material, suggestions, and resources. For those who are looking for more, the “MH4C Special Reports” membership is for you.

Even if you are not currently an email or RSS subscriber you can be a subscriber to only the “MH4C Special Reports.”

“MH4C Special Reports” Frequency

I plan to send out additional insider information about 2 – 3 times a month.  But, depending on different factors, I may send out a report more frequently.  I guarantee the content will not be spammy.  I will only send relevant and practical information.

I am scheduling the first report to be sent out on November 14^th, 2009.

As always, if you find the material unhelpful (which I don’t anticipate) you can unsubscribe at any time by using the link at the bottom of each email.

I am excited about offering you this material for free. There is absolutely no cost to you.

*** CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW ***

Here is a complete list of Money Help For Christians follow options:

1. By Email – emails of articles sent to you daily – free of charge you can subscribe by email if you click here. By RSS – if you click here.

2. Twitter http://twitter.com/MH4Christians. I’m not a huge Twitter user because I’m usually asleep when you’re tweeting, but occasionally I’ll schedule a tweet or two to post during my night and your day.

3. Facebook http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/money_help_for_christians/

4. Email: I always enjoy hearing from my readers. Have you introduced yourself yet? Why not send an email letting me know who you are and what type of articles you enjoy reading? mhforc@gmail dot com.

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Want $25? I Want to Give You $25
2. Fishing for Partners: Friends of MH4C
3. Bible and Money: Faith Foundations of MH4C

1. Want $25? I Want to Give You $25
2. Fishing for Partners: Friends of MH4C
3. Bible and Money: Faith Foundations of MH4C

With so many awful and fearful events happening in the world I am amazed at the number of people who PAY their hard earned money to go and be scared.  Seriously, think about it for just a second.  Here is the scenario:

A husband and wife come home late one evening, and as they walk into the house they hear a noise upstairs.  They turn on a light to see what is going on, and before they know it, a man is standing in front of them with a gun.

The crook: Don’t move or I’ll shoot.

Husband and Wife: Take whatever you want – just don’t hurt us.

Walking closely to the couple, the thief glares at them with devil-like intensity.  His finger flirting with the trigger.  Hands shaking with uncontrollable intensity.  In fear, the couple grasps hands and silently begins praying.  The robber make his choice – to run.

Relieved, the couple falls into each other’s hands for a long, loving embrace.

Wife: I love you so much.

Husband: You know what?  I think we can market that.  Don’t you think people would want to pay to experience what we just experienced – raw, natural fear?

Wife: You’re an idiot. I’m going to bed.

Yes, the above story was fictional.  But I repeat myself, who came up with the idea to market fear?  Why do people pay to be scared?  I guess this will just remain one of life’s great mysteries.  As you can tell, I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween, but Happy Halloween anyway.

Speaking of fear: what is your greatest financial fear?

I think for me it is that my family would not be provided for in case I took the next train to heaven.  Some fear the creditor’s phone call.  Some fear not having enough money.  Some fear making an unwise financial decision.  Another might fear having too much.  What is your greatest financial fear?

Weekly Roundup

Festival of Frugality #201 – Life Stages & Home Ownership Lesson Edition

Carnival of Personal Finance

My Bible Money Matters article Buy And Hold Investing For Beginners

My Christianpf article 4 steps to spend your money wisely.

Good Reads From the Week:

Get Rich Slowly introduces The Pitfalls of Buying in Bulk.  I think we all go a little crazy when it comes to buying in bulk.  Yes, it is cheaper, but do you really need that much Tabasco sauce?

Personal Finance By the Book Introduces Six Tips For Buying a Car You Can Afford.  Joe puts together a great list, though I would add one more – make sure you are saving today for your next car even if you don’t have a newer car purchase on the horizon.

Suburban Dollar discusses the Sleeper Costs of Buying a Home.  I definitely agree with this one.  If you have ever bought a home you know there is more than meets the eye when it comes to calculating the cost of being a homeowner. 

Bob (from Christianpf) had a guest post at Wisebread where he introduced 10 Ways to Make Money for the MySpace Generation.  The article introduced me to a few new income earning opportunities. If you are trying to pay off debt with a second job you need to take a look at this post.

Gather Little By Little challenges you to Use your Emergency Fund to pay off your debt.  There are some inherent dangers with this, but I like posts that force us to put on our thinking caps and actually consider our personal financial situation.

What is your greatest financial fear?

I hope you enjoyed this article. Books = $15, Magazines = $3, this blog subscription is FREE. Just click on the link below and I will send the latest article posted at Money Help For Christians directly to your email inbox each day. Your address will only be used for mailing you the articles so don’t worry about spam, and each one will include a link so you can unsubscribe at any time. http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=MoneyHelpForChristians.

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. Are You Smart Enough To Time the Market?
2. Why I Don’t Time the Market

1. Are You Smart Enough To Time the Market?
2. Why I Don’t Time the Market

Perhaps you’re one of those folks who have been hiding in the background wondering if all this new fangled technology is really safe.  Internet banks and internet transfers have, I believe, proven themselves to be safe and secure methods of exchanging money.  If you are still using the old check and stamp method, perhaps this post will convince you to take the plunge into the world of fast, free money transfers.  Notice that these methods are for sending personal funds to other people.  There are other money transfer alternatives for businesses.

Send Money Quick Using the Following Free Methods

ING DIRECT People to People Money Payment

I have previously mentioned that there are a lot of advantages to the ING Direct Electric Orange Bank Account.  The P2P (People to People) money transfer feature is one such advantage.  If you are an Electric Orange account holder you can electronically transfer money to any person who has a US bank account.  This service is free. You can even schedule a transfer on a future date up to 364 days in advance.  After opening an account at ING Direct (see this article on how to get $25.00 for signing up for ING) all you will need is the name, account number, and routing number.  If someone is hesitant to give you that information kindly remind them that those numbers are printed on every check they write.

How to transfer money with ING People to People transfer

When you sign into your account, you click on “P2P payment”.  Simply add your friend’s information to your address book and then schedule the payment.  The funds will be removed from your account and transferred to that other person’s account once they have verified their information.  Transfers typically take 1-3 days.

Best ways to take advantage of ING Direct P2P transfers

• Sending money to people you owe money
• Sending money when you split the cost of buying something
• Send money to someone who works for you
• Sending gift or birthday money
• Sending funds to close friends and family

PayPal Cash Transfer

How PayPal differs from ING Direct Electric Orange is that you do not need the person’s, name, account number, or routing number.  All you need is a person’s email address.  However, to transfer money to a person using PayPal they must also be a registered and active PayPal user.  All personal transfers (not for goods and services) are free.  The following are free services: register for an account, add money from your bank, send money, receive money, request money, and electronically transfer money from your bank account.  You will pay a fee if the transfer is for goods and services.

How to Send Cash Using PayPal

When you sign up for a PayPal account you will need to link the PayPal account to your bank.  You can also add credit cards to use when you purchase items through PayPal.  When you send money, that money can be withdrawn from your PayPal account and put into another person’s PayPal account.  Funds are transferred instantly so there is no wait time.

Best ways to take advantage of PayPal money services

• Sending money to friends and associates that you do not know as well (they might ask why I want their account info)
• Accept donations.  Anyone who has a website can use PayPal to accept donations.
• PayPal is an industry must for people who sell products online.  Remember, they do have fees associated with business transitions.

Revolution Money Exchange Send Money Feature

Revolution Money Exchange (RME) is very similar to PayPal, but offers some attractive referral rates and does not charge any fees for business transactions.  Thus, like PayPal you are limited to sending money only to other RME members.  Once again, the account is linked to your bank and funds can be transferred to and from your bank account and to other Revolution Money Exchange customers.  Transfers between RME accounts are instantaneous.  All this, of course, is free of charge.  The following services are free: register for an account, add money from your bank, send money, receive money, request money, and electronically transfer money from your bank account.

If you wish to sign up for Revolution Money Exchange you can use this link.

Next time you need to send money to someone, consider skipping the cost and inconvenience of a check and try one of these fast free services instead.

Photo by photos8.com.

Anyone use any other programs for sending money?  Had any positive or negative interactions with any of the above companies?

November $25 Subscriber Giveaway Promo code: Subscribe25. Details.

Get your free copy of Money Wisdom From Proverbs

Subscribe to receive ocassional email reports with MH4C Special Reports

Money Help For Christians All Rights Reserved

Related posts:

1. ING Direct: Open a Direct Savings Account and Get a $25 Sign Up Bonus
2. Is there a Cheaper Alternative to PayPal?
3. ING Direct: Open an Electric Orange Checking Account and Get $25

1. ING Direct: Open a Direct Savings Account and Get a $25 Sign Up Bonus
2. Is there a Cheaper Alternative to PayPal?
3. ING Direct: Open an Electric Orange Checking Account and Get $25