Stewardship

Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles

Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles

Financial Stewardship PrinciplesOur main goal, here at Growing Prosperity,

is to provide resources that will help

empower you to live a prosperous life.

And when it comes to financial prosperity,

stewardship is key.

Today I want to point you toward a helpful

article by Christian author, Tom Blubaugh.

While Tom was doing financial planning with a couple,

he shared some biblical wisdom for dealing with money

and he lays out 18 powerful financial principles.

You can find his complete article here.

You work hard to earn your money. Why let it slip through your fingers? Why not learn to be a good steward and manage, save, invest, budget, and spend wisely? God wants us to be wise stewards and He has provided us with instructions on how to do just that.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
Luke 16:10 NIV

18 Financial Stewardship Principles:

The powerful financial principles Tom shares are briefly mentioned below…

1. Pay yourself a minimum of 10% of your gross income.  Start a…

2. Analyze your previous twelve months spending.  This will be…

3. A budget is an operating plan.  It is not…

4. Plan for recurring expenses.  When you…

5.  Debt reduction.  List all of your debts…

6. Never eliminate a payment from your budget.  When a…

7. Become your own banker.  This is a result of…

8. Buy interest free as much as possible…

9. Use community tools…

10. Plan purchases.  This will…

11. Get the best price…

12. Tax wise investing.  An Ira, a 401k, a 403b are…

13. Transportation costs…

14. Pay off loans early the easy way.  Let’s say you…

15. Offset inflation by increasing your savings/investments by the…

16. Don’t spend any change.  Put it in…

17. Sell, trade, or barter any item you are not using…

18. When buying a car or any other product you are financing, never…
(read complete article here)

Go now and read the details Tom Blubaugh has written for these 18 financial stewardship principles here. You are sure to gather insights, wisdom, and tips to becoming a better steward over the money you manage. You may even want to bookmark this resource for future reference.

“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Matthew 25:23

May you be a wise financial steward and live a life of growing prosperity!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

p.s. Looking for a great adventure novel to read?

Then you’ll want to check out Tom Blubaugh’s “Night of the Cossack” at Amazon…

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Dave Ramsey on Holiday Shopping – 4 Tips to Celebrate Debt Free

Dave Ramsey on Holiday Shopping – 4 Tips to Celebrate Debt Free

Why Go Into Debt to Celebrate?

Debt Free Holiday Budgeting TipsHappy Holidays.

If the holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year, why does it often seem like the most stressful time of the year?

Financial stress is at the top of many people’s list this time of year.

Many folks just don’t have extra money available to do all the celebrating and shopping they desire. Yet the world puts the pressure on to buy more and keep up with Joneses; even if it means going into debt. Throwing it all on the credit card seems to be the solution.

Although after the New Year, the bills start coming in and the struggle just to pay the minimum payments begin. The struggle to get the debt paid off can go on late into the year or longer. And that only adds to the stress the following holiday season. So instead of planning and enjoying the new season, there still remains the hassle of left-over debt and the stress that goes with it.

Are you ready to end the cycle and say no more debt, no more credit? Then it is time to make a plan early in the year and stick to it so you can avoid piling up mounds of debt on credit cards.

Dave Ramsey provides the following holiday shopping ideas and tips for celebrating debt free this year:

1. RESEARCH

Look for deals online before heading to the stores. Find out what the prices are at the stores you plan to visit and don’t waste your time shopping at one if you know another store down the street has a better deal.

2. MAKE A BUDGET

It’s common sense stuff, but amazing how many people have no financial plan for their spending. And when they go shopping they are like kids in a toy store buying the first flashy toy that catches their eye.

If you plan to work your way out of debt, it requires becoming disciplined during the holiday season. If you must buy for many, keep it simple and stay within your means. Don’t get caught up in the mindset that bigger is better or it will just come back to bite you when the bills start coming in after the new year.

3. USE CASH

As Dave always says, you spend less when you use cash. So stop by the bank or ATM to get your pre-planned amount of shopping cash before you hit the stores. And when it’s gone it’s time to stop shopping.

If you’ve planned ahead and followed the previous two steps then using cash should be easy. You will know what you need to buy and how much it will cost before you start. Planning time well spent!

4. START NOW – PLAN EARLY

If you haven’t made a plan this holiday season, then stop now and take some time to evaluate your situation and make a budget. Look at the big picture and consider the outcome of your choices this holiday season. Shop smart and keep it within your means.

And if this holiday season caught you off guard once again, well remember, it is never too late to try again. Next year you can make better decisions and do things differently.

Happy Holidays to All & a Very Merry Christmas!

God bless you,
Brenda

P.S. Check out www.daveramsey.com for a wealth of information on finances and budgeting. Dave Ramsey also provides a tool that allows you to create a budget online in 60 seconds.

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Growing Prosperity – Why on Earth Does God Want to Prosper Us?

Growing Prosperity – Why on Earth Does God Want to Prosper Us?

A Look at the Purpose Behind Our Prosperity

Growing prosperity is something most people seek after in life.

It is good to know God wants to prosper us…

but why on earth does He want to?

We should understand the purpose behind our prosperity.

This is important today…

more than ever before…

so let’s take a look.

Why God Prospers Us

Is it so we can watch our favorite shows on the big screen, in the ultimate personal home-theater room? Is it so we can wear the finest of clothes and shop in elite boutiques? Is it so we can eat the best, drive the best, and live in a huge home?

There is nothing wrong with enjoying nice things, but is that why God prospers us?

“God gives you power to get wealth; that He may establish His covenant.”
— Deuteronomy 8:18

Everything in the universe belongs to God. We simply manage what we’ve been blessed with. And God expects us to keep and use some of this abundance in our own lives. We should care for our families and prosper.

Yet, the desire to prosper should not come from a love for money or with a motive to greedily hoard it up. Our primary concern should be to extend and promote the Kingdom of God on earth

God gives us power to get wealth, so that His covenant may be established and spread to all the people on earth. The gift of salvation is free, but frankly it takes money to send the good news throughout the earth for everyone to hear.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

Take a look around and it is quite obvious there are plenty of people in need. How can you be a blessing to the less fortunate if you are struggling in your own lack?

God wants us to be blessed to be a blessing. He is able to make all grace abound toward us so that we are always sufficient in all things – so that we can abound to every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

The goodness of God, which is shown by our kindness and generosity toward others, also leads men to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

And the kicker is: As we purpose to be a channel of God’s blessing to others, He will continue to send greater blessings to us.

The truth is: We should enjoy growing prosperity! The ability to gain wealth and prosper is God’s gift to us. It is a gift we are meant to enjoy in life, but also share with others.

May you use your God given power, to get wealth, to establish His covenant on earth and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

God bless you –

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. Have you recognized a time in your life that God blessed you to be a blessing and it resulted in a positive witness to the goodness of God? If so, feel free to share and leave a comment…

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Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope Meeting

Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope Meeting

This post is a bit delayed, since the Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope meeting was on Thursday 4/23. I wanted to blog sooner but I had surgery the next day on Friday and have been recovering…

Now that I am back on my feet and playing catch-up, I want to help pass on this much needed message of hope. Our church hosted the Town Hall for Hope telecast and it was encouraging. With so much doom & gloom everywhere you turn regarding the current economic condition, a spirit lifting message of hope was gladly received.

Dave has a real back-to-basics, common sense approach to not only financial affairs, but life in general. He presents it with a positive and humorous outlook and includes clear steps of action. It is always great to leave a meeting “feeling” better, but if you don’t also leave knowing what action to take, the feelings will fade and nothing in your life will change!

There was a lot presented that night and some others have put together great summaries and reviews. Just do a quick search online. You’ll also want to check out the Town Hall for Hope website at www.townhallforhope.com that has additional resources. I’m assuming a video replay will be available soon.

I do want to make note of the action steps Dave left us with though…

3 Steps for those Struggling with Hope:

1. Get Up & Take Action! – Don’t rely on anyone else or the government to fix your problems. Take control and take personal responsibility of your future in all areas and start with yourself and get your own house in order.

2. Don’t Take Part in Loser Talk!!! – Stop listening to all the negative loser talk from people that are going to suck the life out of you and keep you in fear. Get around people that are positive and going to encourage each other and at the same time hold you accountable. Speak hope. (Dave cracked me up when He said “The average millionaire can’t tell you who got thrown off the island last”. :0))

3. Start Giving! – Giving takes the focus off yourself and this does wonders for your hope. Giving of your time or money helps change your mindset for the better. America is #1 in giving, but we can do even better.

There is a family at our church that shared how they were $60k in debt and within a few years after going through Dave Ramsey’s course, they recently became debt free!

It always helps me to hear of others that overcome. I stepped out into full-time self-employment a year ago and also started taking some online classes. So with the added expense of classes, mixed with cost of starting a business and temporary drop of income…on top of already being a single parent of two teenagers, lets just say my personal financial situation is not where I want it to be.

I’ve never stopped giving of my time and money though. Never stopped tithing and putting God first. I truly believe my situation is changing for the better everyday. :0)

My favorite verse is Hebrews 10:23 from the NLT:
“Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

Here’s to the growing prosperity in your life as you keep your hope in God!

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments on this meeting or if you’ve used any of the Dave Ramsey materials.

You can also find new and used deals on the majority of his products from The Total Money Makeover to Financial Peace University, books, software and DVDs at Dave Ramsey Resources

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