WYTI Links: 10.16.2007

Some links for your Tuesday:

• Do We Spend More When We Swipe Plastic? (via Poorer Than You) I've heard this claim over the past several years (of course, it hasn't exactly kept me from using our debit card instead of cash). PTY doesn't set out to disprove the claim, only to verify or validate its source. Officially, there is no firm conclusion. However, I tend to agree with PTY's assessment that it depends on personality rather than monetary medium.

• What Is Your Status Symbol? (via ChristianPF)

• 8 Personal Finance Lessons I Learned from Monopoly (via Blueprint for Financial Prosperity)

• Getting to Now: How to Beat the Procrastination Habit (via Get Rich Slowly) I've had this stored away in my unposted links folder for almost a month now...never could get around to posting it ;)
  

WYTI Links: 10.12.2007

Finally, fall football Friday (weather) forecasts are upon us...

Here's some linkification:

• Six Online Shopping Scams (via SmartMoney)

• Widow Loses Credit History Along with Husband (via Consumerist) This highlights the importance of checking credit reports regularly. You can do it through annualcreditreport.com NOT the one with the catchy advertising jingle (it's not really free).

• 14 Children's Cold Meds Withdrawn from the Market (via Consumerist) If you have young children, take note of what's in your medicine cabinet.

• Planning Your Collegiate Finances (via We're In Debt) I've posted several links to advice for HS grads or college students before; the more those generations are encouraged to view and handle money responsibly, the better.
  

• Going Steady with Your Boss - 20 Reasons Your Job Is Like a High School Relationship (via Money $mart Life) This is rather humorous; I'm sure it's much more applicable for people in professions other than public ministry...just a slight bit of Friday humor for you.
  

5 Days Until Dave on TV

Dave Ramsey, whose "Baby Steps" have helped thousands get out of debt (and are helping many more--me included!)--will soon be on television.

For a long time, a local Nashville station has aired some of the Dave Ramsey radio show on its local market, but that failed to reach many people. So, in just five days, Dave will be on a new network, Fox Business Network, in a primetime slot.

It is worth checking with your local cable network to see if the network will be on in you area. GREAT NEWS: If you have DirecTV, you will be getting the network (channel 359). I enjoy hearing Ramsey's radio program, but don't get to hear it much (since I'm usually at work when he is on). A prime-time TV slot would let me see him (or record via DVR) the program and get a little "help" each day.

Click here for the link from Dave's website, which also features a short video about the move.

Here is the new network's website.

Quotables: Your Money or Your Life -- Prologue

I am currently reading Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin's Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence and reading Trent's (The Simple Dollar) extensive reviews.

As I finish each chapter, I will post some of the quotes I find interesting and helpful. Think of it as letting the authors reviewing the book themselves.

Today, we flip through the Prologue:

• What [most money] books have in common is that they assume that your financial life functions separately from the rest of your life. This book is about putting it all back together. It is about integration, a "whole systems" approach to life (xviii).

• Even though we "won" the Industrial Revolution, the spoils of war are looking more and more spoiled...the old road map for money has us trapped in the very vehicle that was supposed to liberate us from toil (xx).

• FI (financially independent) thinking is about cartography--making your own map, one that accurately depicts the terrain of your life as it actually is today (xxv).

• FI (financially independent) thinking will lead naturally to Financial Intelligence, Financial Integrity and Financial Independence (xxv).

The authors make the point that much of our financial shortcomings today have resulted from using the "old road map"--born from the Industrial Revolution--in a time where a much different map is needed. I think it's a strong and plausible argument.

I also appreciate how their approach is designed for individuality. Too many people (especially the most famous ones) in personal finance try to give virtually the same advice no matter the situation.

Dealing with the Heat

After a sweltering Summer, we are now dealing with continued heat on into October. It is again 90+ degrees today in Alabama, as it was all weekend. While many negative things happen because of the heat, there were some lessons I learned this Summer. Some deal with finances and others with just general living.

1. The electric bill will be high; budget accordingly. We don't keep our house particularly cool, but when the temperature is constantly at 90 or more (or over 100 often as it was this Summer), the electric bill is going to spiral upward. Don't let that kill your budget. In many places, you can pay the electric bill in equal installments each month (usually called something like "budget billing"), then pay the difference in December. If you really struggle with budgeting, this may be of some help.

2. Find way to shave pennies off that high electric bill. If you don't have ceiling fans in your house, you are missing out. They can really save quite a bit of money off the bill by continually circulating air. If you have an electric water heater, don't use as much hot water when the temperature is sweltering. Leave comments on some other ways to save on the electric bill in the heat.

3. Drink tap water. While this is always a big savings over bottled water, it is especially true when you are drinking gallons of water. I try to drink at least 3 large glasses of water each day (about 16 ounces each). However, I found myself drinking 4-6 each day this Summer, and I have been drinking quite a bit over the last few days as well. If you are truly worried that tap water is unhealthy, invest in a small filter. It will still be much, much cheaper than bottled water.

4. Drink other liquids. Water is good, but if you get dehydrated (or are "on the verge"), you need something more. Gatorade (or similar drinks) really has helped me in the past, including when I did get dehydrated in the Summer of 2006. Lemonade is also a good help.

5. Learn to work outside in short bursts. While efficiency and frugality always seem to go hand-in-hand, it is never more evident than when the quicksilver is shooting up. When the temperature was over 100, and I had to weed-eat, it was amazing how efficient I got! This can carry over into saving time in the yard while still doing a good job year round.

6. As if I needed to remind you, don't forget to take care of the kids. If they are stuck in a car seat (like mine are), don't just leave them in the car, even with the engine running. Get them out of the car and into a building with air-conditioning. It is better for them to be out in the sun and heat with some air moving than in a car with "still" air.

I hope these help you. It's supposed to start cooling off later this week, and I hope it does. But, when the heat begins to rise again, we can all use these tips to help save some money...and maybe our own lives!

WYTI Links 10.03.2007

Some links for your Wednesday:

• The Simple Dollar Book Club: Your Money or Your Life (via The Simple Dollar) I'm two chapters away from finishing my current reading material (Visioneering by Andy Stanley). When I finish (hopefully today), I plan to start Your Money or Your Life and read Trent's detailed reviews. He's previously published a review of the entire book.
• Top 50 Christian Business & Finance Blogs (via Bootstrapper)

From ChristianPF.com (who might have commented on one of Wes's recent posts):

• What is an IRA account? I know we've mentioned IRA's before, but this is another helpful summary about them. If you're a preacher or paid minister, opening an IRA of some sort is a very helpful thing...chances are, you have no other retirement, like a 401k. Some congregations will even match (either 100% or 50%) your donations to an IRA...thereby giving you free money.
• How to Budget with ING Direct This highlights the usefulness of online accounts--specifically the ING Direct savings account, which allows for easy multiple accounts.

Giving Our Way to Prosperity (Lesson Thirteen)

This final lesson deals with giving throughout the Bible. As its purpose the chapter has, "to impress upon our minds that God through the ages has taught man to give of his means" (75). There is no way, in a brief review post, that every aspect of this chapter could be discussed. This final chapter deals with one subject, but goes deeply into that subject, making the student understand that giving is not some thing God "made up" to torment Christians.

Giving is good for us. Giving to God is even better. By sacrificing, we put our trust in God and we show our appreciation to Him. This chapter simply deals with how that has been done over the centuries.

Section one deals with 3 tithes that Old Testament Jews were required to make. The first is called The Priestly Tithe by Brother Black because the purpose was to aid the priests in their work (75-76). The other two tithes are not given specific names, but are listed to impress upon us that Jews were required to give a significant amount of their wealth often (76-77).

With that reminder in place, brother Black turns the student's attention to the New Testament law. What are we to give? As we have noted, there is no "set" amount listed in the New Testament, but Christians are still commanded to give. We are to be good stewards of our blessings and we are to give liberally to the cause of the Lord. How do we do that? Section two deals with the mental side of giving. It takes a mental recognition of the need for stewardship (77-78).

Finally, to close the book (79), Black helps us see the fallacy in giving only what is left over. David, in Second Samuel 24:24 understood that he needed to sacrifice in order to please God, not just give Him "something." David said that he would not give to God something that did not cost him anything. I need that same attitude! I need to learn the meaning of sacrifice, and I need to trust God to protect me.

After having read through this book again, and having written these posts, it is cemented in my mind that Christians (me included!) need more teaching on money, stewardship and sacrificial giving. This book may be somewhat hard to find, but it will be worth finding. Adult classes (and even youth classes) would benefit greatly from a study of this book. It is not long (just 80 pages), but it covers so much. If you are looking for material for a Bible class, find this book and teach it. Then, live it!

Keep Reading...

I noticed some amazing words just today in Proverbs 3. Normally we turn to Proverbs 3:5-6 for inspiration and guidance--and rightfully so. I think it's a better reading to read through verse 8:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."

Obviously that's good stuff. Now notice the very next two verses (9-10):

"Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine" (emphasis added, JS).

The key to financial "peace" or "security" is realizing "peace" and "security" can never come from money or things we can buy with it. Only the Lord is capable of truly comforting us in this life and the next (Phil. 4:4-7). He will only bless financially those who will bless Him (and therefore others, Mt. 25) with those same blessings. Obviously, this goes a lot further than the collection plate.

WYTI Links: 09.28.2007

Just another dial-up week :) [But we're still extremely thankful for the internet we do have]

• Do Student Loans Affect a Mortgage Application? (via Kiplinger Personal Finance)

• Top High-Yield Savings Accounts: Interest Rates & Some Thoughts (via Money, Matter, and More Musings)

• 6 Places Where Precision Matters (via Dumb Little Man)

• Simple Tips to Organizing Your Vital Information - Are You Prepared? (via My Estate Planning Career Blog)

• Is the Value Menu Really a Value? Comparing the Homemade Double Cheeseburger to The McDonald's $1 Version (via The Simple Dollar) This is a classic post. The post itself is intriguing. I think Trent conducted his "experiment" pretty fairly and thoroughly...and in my opinion, the health factor trumps price anyway. It's also amazing to read the comments and see how many people almost seem "offended" that even the cheapest thing on a fast food menu isn't that great of a financial deal. I guess we're still not ready to accept that something we've been told is a good deal is not really as good as it is presented. BTW, advertising is the only difference between Mickey D's and Trent's experiment. Equipment is a moot point (because homes already have cooking equipment and McDonald's billions served have more than paid for their burger presser). My guess is that they're still making dough off that $1 Double Cheeseburger (and an even greater % on those fries and drink). James, you have anything to add from behind the scenes we might not be aware of?

Have a great weekend...

"Giving Our Way to Prosperity" (Lesson Twelve)

This next-to-last lesson in V.P. Black's book gives an interesting perspective to giving. It walks us through the story of the Magi (or wise men) to see their attitude and the gifts they brought to the child Jesus. This lesson is unlike others in the book in that it basically is a sermon. One could read this chapter straight through and it would read like a sermon or lecture on giving. There are no lists or long parentheticals as in other lessons.

To emphasize the giving of the wise men, brother Black mentions these four points about their giving:

1. "They made ready for the offering" (page 69). To emphasize the modern-day lesson, brother Black reminds us of Matthew 6:33 and also the Old Testament story of the widow of Zarephath.

2. "They guarded their offering" (70). While not stated in the text, it is obvious that these men had to guard the gifts they brought, simply because of the distance they traveled and the value of each gift. We often "lose" our gifts by robbers. Brother Black enumerates some of these "robbers" as "need," "carelessness" and "automobile!" (70-71)

3. "They presented their offerings to Christ" (71). They went directly to Jesus to offer these gifts. This shows the desire of their heart as much as the gift itself.

4. "They provided for Christ's needs in their offering" (72). Do we give with needs in mind, or do we just give because we "have to"? That's a question that only I can answer for myself, but that will teach me much about my heart.

The Greatness Of My Cause

Back in the early part of the twentieth century, Booker T. Washington was struggling to build a school for the education of black people in the South – in Tuskegee, Alabama. He had very meager beginnings. He was attempting the impossible. Anyway, Mr. Washington was granted an appointment with the great philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to ask for monetary help in the work. He went. He made his appeal. Mr. Carnegie reached down in his desk drawer for his checkbook and gave Mr. Washington a check in the amount of five thousand dollars. Of course, five thousand dollars was more than now, so it was nothing to be ungrateful for. However, Mr. Washington looked the check over and handed it back with the words, “Mr. Carnegie, it is obvious I have failed to impress you with the greatness of my cause.” And he asked for another appointment. He went home, did his homework a bit better and returned. This time Mr. Carnegie gave him a check for five hundred thousand dollars – one half million dollars! – and the Encyclopedia Britannica says he sent that amount every year for some years thereafter to the work of the Tuskegee Institute for the education of black people.

WYTI Links: 09.21.2007

Sorry for no links thus far this week...my internet has been even slower than normal. Maybe these will load...

• The Simple Dollar Guide to Eating Out (via The Simple Dollar) Look past his advice regarding alcohol; I'm intrigued by his philosophy. Plan to eat out big and expensive (just not very often). We love a meal done right, but we often settle for eating out at cheaper--but lower quality--places too often. We may try to implement a similar approach ourselves.

• Seven Pieces of Financial Advice for High School Students (via The Simple Dollar)
  

• Pre-Career Advice (via Wise Bread)

• Burger King to Offer Healthier Menu Options for Kids (via Consumerist)

• How to Clean Your Home in 19 Minutes (via CNN Living)