Little Things Add Up

JosephSangl.com has a great post showing how the little things we spend money on each day add up to real money over the course of a year. Follow the link for the full story. "Trivial Costs Don't Mean Anything."

Budgeting Tools

If you are trying to get your household budget in order, follow the link to ten free household budget worksheets. Worksheets

It Just Makes Sense

Tim Stevens has a great entry on his blog Leading Smart. In the article Tim gives some great tips on handling your money and teaching your children how to handle money. Click on the above title and head over to Tim's blog to read more.

Journey to Financial Freedom

We are hosting Crown Financial Ministries "Journey to Financial Freedom" seminar today at Alice Drive Baptist Church. Attendance is over what we anticipated. A lot of prayer has gone into preparing for today's event. The attendance itself is an answer to prayer. We had hoped for 50 people and at last count we had 131. There is a tremendous need for educating people in handling finances the way God intended. He does have a plan for our finances. Money and greed are powerful lures in our daily lives. To be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, we need to turn every area of our lives over to Him - including our money.

If you are seeking an answer to the chaos of your finances and you were not able to attend today's seminar, come to Alice Drive Baptist Church on Wednesday nights beginning 1/30/08 at 6:00 PM in room 201 for the Crown Small Group Study.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24).

Money Management Tools

As you begin to develop and live by a budget it is necessary for you to keep track of your spending and income in an organized fashion. There are many tools available to set up your budget. Keeping your budget on paper is one option. However, I would recommend trying an electronic budgeting system. There are many great products on the market which cost anywhere from $19.99 on up. One great product I personally use is Ace Money Light. It is a freeware program. You can download and use the program for free. It offers the same features as many of the programs you can buy. The one option the free version does not offer is the ability to track more than one bank account. If that is a feature you need, the full-featured version only cost $30.

This is a powerful, full-featured program that is user friendly and easy to set up.

If you personally use another program that you would like to recommend, send me a comment and I will check it out and put a link on the page for others to see.

Ten Things to Find Financial Freedom

Crown Financial Ministries has a practical top ten list of things you can do to find financial freedom in the new year. They are:

10. Build a budget – Develop a monthly budget and make it your guide to financial freedom. (Proverbs 16:3)
9. Give it away – Give to God’s work; it’s His money anyway. (1 Timothy 6:18)
8. Reduce your use - Develop discipline in your spending habits. (Proverbs 22:7)
7. Get a grip – Spending doesn’t lift depression. (Proverbs 21:17)
6. Look at your paycheck – Spend less than you make. (Jeremiah 22:21)
5. Cook a meal – Discover the kitchen occasionally and reduce the number of restaurant visits. (Proverbs 13:18)
4. Get in the car – Take a local vacation this year. (Proverbs 16:9)
3. Don’t keep up with the Jones’s – They’re in debt too! (Ecclesiastes 4:4)
2. Keep the “ultimate driving machine” – You know…the one that’s paid for.
(Luke 14:28)
1. Pray each day before you pay – Emotional and spiritual balance will lead to financial freedom. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

For the full article visit: http://www.crown.org/LIBRARY/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=518