Owner: Bible Money Matters URL:http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ Join Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:47:06 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Matters of money and personal finance from a christian, biblical perspective. Site statistics:Click here
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Uncertainty 2008-03-08 07:22:00 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
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, Uncertainty
Is it ok for a Christian to invest in "Vice Stocks"? Part 1 2008-03-07 12:07:00 I was reading in Kiplinger personal finance today that in a turbulent market like it is today, with the economy on the verge of a recession and the housing market unstable, one of the best invest
ments people can make are in so called "Sin Stocks
". Hard times won't stop gamblers from betting, partygoers from drinking and smokers from puffing. In fact, economic turbulence might give them even more reason to indulge. That makes so-called sin stocks, or shares of alcohol, gaming and tobacco companies, a safe bet as the U.S. economy slows.My question is this: Is it okay for a Christian
to "indulge" in investing in these types of stocks? Is it reasonable to think that we as Christians should make sure all of our investments are in companies that we morally agree with?In this two part series I w
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: 2008-03-07 08:19:00 Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:that you, O God, are strong,and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. Psalm 62:10Where and how you get your money matters. If you get your money through illegal or unethical means, you might gain in the short term, but in the long run you're only hurting yourself. God sees what we do, and he knows who are following his commands. You will receive your reward, according to what you have done.
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My 5 Biggest Money Mistakes 2008-03-07 03:25:00 When I look back on my financial life, there are a lot of things that I've done that I should've done differently. I've made bad decisions about money, that ended up causing me a lot of financial grief in the long run.Everyone out there probably has a few of these "shoulda, woulda, coulda" finance moments of their own, and today I'm going to list a few of mine. Maybe it can help someone else to not make the same mistakes.Here are my top five biggest money mistakes:Not starting to contribute to my 401k sooner: When I first entered the work force the company I was working for offered a 401k plan that allowed your contributions to be deducted pre-tax from your paycheck. I didn't do this at the time because I would rather spend the money on things like going to the bar, hanging out with fr Read more:Money
5 Great Sites To Get Coupon Codes 2008-03-06 09:26:00 One great way that I've found to save money is to buy things that I would normally buy at a Bricks and Mortar store, at an online store. You can often find ways to make it cheaper to buy online using one of my favorite things - CouponCodes
!There are a ton of coupon code sites out there, and some of them are better than others. Here are a few of my favorites:Retailmenot.com: This website is one of the better ones out there. Not only do they allow you to search for coupon codes by website or product type, you can search by keywords as well. They also have a rating system for the coupons telling you how successful people have been when trying to use each coupon code. Some may be 50% successful, while others might be 100%. You can also try out their firefox extension which will show you what Read more:Great
, Sites
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Temptation 2008-03-06 08:26:00 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9Often wealth once you have it can be less of a blessing than you thought it would be, especially when you get it through less than positive means.There is a story on HigherPraise.com of a family who, when they won the lottery, found that money can have a lot of negative consequences:When the McGugarts of New York won the Irish Sweepstakes, they were happy. Pop was a steamfitter. Johnny, twenty-six, loaded crates on docks. Tim was going to night school. Pop split the million with his sons. They all said the money wouldn't change their plans. A year later, the million wasn't gone; it was bent. The boys weren't speaking to Pop, or each o Read more:Personal
Wall Street Journal: Making Kids Money Savvy - Try These Four Financial Tricks 2008-03-06 08:19:00 Here's an interesting article at the Wall StreetJournal
talking about some ways to help make your kids more "money savvy". Tips include:Give them a smaller allowance now, or a bigger one if they wait, teaching them to save and practice delayed gratificationTeach them about spending slower. People tend to spend money faster if they have smaller bills (5 $10 bills as opposed to a $50 bill). Teach them by switching weeks with same allowance, different denominations.Help them make a wish list instead of buying things for them right away. This way you can review the wish list in a few days, and often they'll realize that they don't need or want the item anymore.Teaching them the value of money by giving them some ownership of them money. Make them feel like they're spending their own money, Read more:Financial
, Money
, Savvy
, Wall Street
, Wall Street Journal
Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step Series at the M-Network 2008-03-05 08:51:00 Since I've been blogging about personal finance, one thing I've read quite a bit about and been impressed with is Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for getting out of debt. The M-Network of bloggers is currently doing a series of posts on the subject. You can check them out at the links below!Posts in the Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step Series: Overview at Cash Money LifeStep 0 - No More Debt at Debt Free Revolution and Single Guy MoneyStep 1 - $1000.00 Emergency Fund at Gather Little By Little Step 2 - Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball at I’ve Paid For This Twice AlreadyStep 3 - 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings at Being FrugalStep 4 - Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement at The Dough RollerStep 5 - College funding for children at at My Two DollarsStep 6 - Pa
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Fleeting Wealth 2008-03-05 08:10:00 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:5When you don't have money it can seem like the only thing that's important. When you do have money, keeping it and getting more can seem just as important. This verse reminds us that wealth is fleeting, and we can't take it with us. We need to store up our treasures in heaven, where things are more permanent, and our "treasures" can't be stolen or taken from us.
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, Wealth
3 weeks with Buxfer.com: A review 2008-03-04 14:07:00 Buxfer.com is a new personal finance site that allows you to bring all your personal finance information together in one place, along the lines of competitors Mint.com, Geezeo.com. I recently signed up for the service so that I could weigh its advantages against the one I'm using right now, Mint.com.We recently became more deeply involved in keeping track of my family's finances, and we wanted to find a way to keep track of our finances online. Ideally we should be able to monitor all of our online accounts, regardless of what institution they're held at. We should be able to track balances, monitor big transactions, and be able check it from anywhere.In brushing up on what was out there I found a bunch of review
s of Buxfer.com. I signed up for the service so that I could weigh its ad
Time Magazine: Does God Want You To Be Rich? 2008-03-04 09:04:00 I just discovered an article in Time Magazine
from a couple of years ago discussing the topic of "Prosperity Theology". It is an interesting article, and looks at the divide in the church between those who believe God wants us to be "prosperous" and those who say it is damaging to preach the "gospel of wealth". Check it out here
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Money, Bible Verses, And Context 2008-03-04 08:52:00 In reading some other websites, I found this commentary on another blog that reminds me that I need to be careful when cherry picking bible verses to post. I need to be careful about context. From GoingBrokeWithJesus.com:What happens when people try to build a Christian doctrine of money? They usually start by quoting Bible verses, without putting them into a larger context. This is the basic problem with many Bible study guides. They quote Bible verses out of context.As a theological seminary student in my first preaching course, I learned an adage that has stayed with me ever since. “A text without a context is a pretext.” Often, paying attention to the origin of a word gives insight into its meaning. In Latin, the word, “text,” refers to what is woven. A pretext is a fringe or Read more:Context
, Money
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Taxes 2008-03-04 08:23:00 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1 What does this verse mean? Unfortunately it means that I have to pay my taxes, and live under the govenerment authorities God has established. I may not always like it, but as Jesus said in Matthew 22, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's". Later on in this passage, it continues:Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; i Read more:Personal
, Taxes
Guest Post: Is Tithing Biblical? 2008-03-03 13:19:00 Below is a guest post from one of our commenters, Jason over at Pastoral Musings. It is in reference to the series on tithing that we've been doing lately. I thought his article was a good one, and I like to get a lot of viewpoints, so I asked him if we could post his entry on Bible Money Matters in it's long form. He agreed, so here it is, "Is Tithing Biblical
?" from Jason:Is Tithing Biblical? The question that is before us today is, “Is tithing Biblical?” That being the question, we are sure that the Word of God will provide an answer for us. Tithing Before The Law If we are to search the Scriptures to determine if tithing is Biblical, we should start from the beginning. Tithing is first mentioned as occurring in the days of Abraham (Abram). “Melchize Read more:Guest
Carnival of Personal Finance is up! 2008-03-03 10:55:00 Over at the Bag Lady, the Carnival
of Personal
Finance went live today! In keeping with her blog's name, she takes on the theme of the homelessness this week. She includes myths and facts about homelessness, and it really is eye opening.My article, "5 Ways to Make Some Extra Money" was included in the carnival this week.Check out the Carnival of Personal Finance, and read all the great articles! Great Job Bag Lady!
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Satisfaction 2008-03-03 07:48:00 A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income. This too is vanity. ~ Ecclesiastes 5:10This verse tells us what many of us probably already know, or sensed at some point. When you have money - you want more. When you get a raise, you want a bigger one. What we have is almost never enough. What is sad is that we spend so much of our lives chasing after something, only to find that it is, as the verse says, "vanity". My prayer for the day is that I will long for things of the kingdom of God, and for things that aren't vain.
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, Satisfaction
Carnival of Debt Reduction is up! 2008-03-03 07:00:00 Over at No Credit Needed, the Carnival
of Debt Reduction is up this morning! As always it's a great read! You can check it out by clicking here.In this week's edition they included my article, 7 Ways to Improve your FICO Score and Establish Good Credit. Check out my article, and all the other good reads as well!
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Count The Cost 2008-03-02 06:02:00 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it. Luke 14:28 This verse serves as a reminder that we need to save up for the things we buy. If we don't have enough - save!
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Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Storing Up 2008-03-01 07:57:00 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. Proverbs 21:20 This gives us an idea of how God wants us to save for a rainy day, to set something back for safekeeping. If you're foolish you'll spend all your money on frivolous things, leaving nothing for the future.
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The 213th Christian Carnival is up: Bookstore Edition 2008-02-29 08:05:00 The 213th ChristianCarnival
is up at Jevlir Caravansary!Part 1 of my series on tithing was featured in this week's carnival. I just posted part 2 of that same series yesterday. Check out the Christian Carnival, and then check out my series on tithing! And don't forget to have a great Friday!
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, Edition
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Pride 2008-02-29 01:56:00 This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24 Wealth can become the center of our life and take God's place. We need to remember that anything we earn comes from God, and that if we want to be proud of something, we should be proud and boast of our salvation in Jesus Christ.
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, Pride
My Dumbest Purchase Ever 2008-03-12 16:45:00 Over at Debt Kid he's running a contest right now with a grand prize of his almost new DS-Lite! What do you have to do to win? Just write a blog post about your dumbest purchase ever, and trackback to his blog.I thought I'd give it a shot. I recently wrote about my 5 biggest money mistakes, and some of those mistakes included dumb purchases , mostly buying tons of expensive gadgets that I didn't need. Today, I thought I'd give a different answer to the question, "What is your Dumbest Purchase
Ever?"My dumbest purchase could have ended up being a good purchase, had it actually been used. When my wife and I were first married, we both got on a health kick, and decided to join our local gym, Lifetime Fitness.This fitness club was state of the art having just been built a year or two prior
The Money Hacker's Carnival is up at My Dollar Plan! 2008-03-12 15:22:00 Over at My Dollar
Plan, the 3rd weekly MoneyHacker
s Carnival
is live!Lots of great articles included again. Here are a few of my faves:Mike presents Is Prepaying Your Mortgage a Mistake? posted at Richer by the Day.PT presents 3 Ways To File Your Taxes For FREE posted at Prime Time Money.Marc and Angel presents 11 Practical Ways to Spend Your Money.FIRE Getters presents Save Gas - Tips To Save Money On Gas! posted at FIRE Finance.My article "My 5 Biggest Money Mistakes" was also included in the mix. Please give it a read!LINKS:Money Hackers Carnival
Is it ok for a Christian to invest in "Vice Stocks"? Part 3 2008-03-12 11:23:00 In part 2 our series we continued the discussion of this question: "Is it ok for a Christian
to invest
in so called 'vice stocks'"?An article in Kiplinger personal finance magazine got me thinking about the topic, and to be honest, when I started the series I was a bit conflicted about how involved in my investing decisions I wanted to be. Do I really want to go digging around in my 401k account trying to figure out what funds I'm holding and whether or not they're with socially responsible companies? The answer to that question was NO. I didn't want to.But then I got to thinking a little bit more about my responsibilities as a Christian to be a good steward of what I've been given. From Deuteronomy 8:You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this Read more:Stocks
To Roth or not to Roth 401(k) 2008-03-12 07:36:00 Here's an interesting article talking about the pros and cons of a Roth 401(k) from Walter Updegrave of Money Magazine. Some of the highlights: Let's start with one basic but often misunderstood fact. Although they're effectively mirror images of each other -with a regular 401(k) you invest pre-tax dollars and pay taxes at withdrawal, while with a Roth 401(k) you invest after-tax dollars and pay no tax at the end -in a pure economic sense there's really no difference between the two....Tax rates also play a role in the deciding between a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k).For example, if you happened to drop from the 25 percent to the 15 percent bracket by the time you withdraw the money from your regular 401(k), then you would deduct less in taxes, leaving you with more than in the Roth.
Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Strongholds 2008-03-12 07:06:00 I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2The Lord is our stronghold, where we turn when times are good, and bad. He watches over us, and gives us salvation.
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