Bible Money Matters » Commentary

Merry Christmas To One And All: The Original Christmas Story

Peter Anderson — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:53:07 +0000

It can be easy to get caught up in all the commercialism that comes along with Christmas these days, and allow the focus of the day become more about us – instead of about Him (Jesus Christ). For me, one thing that always gets me back into the celebratory mood is a reading of the Christmas story. Jesus life is the greatest story ever told, and when you think about how it all started with his birth in extremely humble surroundings, it’s even more amazing.

So without further ado… here it is. The original Christmas story.

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

God bless and have a Merry Christmas!

Black Friday Madness: How I Almost Got Trampled At Walmart’s Black Friday Sale

Peter Anderson — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:07:26 +0000

At the last moment on Thanksgiving eve I decided that it would be a good idea to head over to my local Walmart store for their Black Friday sale. While a lot of the high impact Black Friday deals weren’t going live until midnight, there were some deals that were available at 10pm, and one of them was a video game that I had been thinking about getting. Instead of being on sale for $50 as it normally was it would be on sale for $15.

I figured that things would be pretty busy at the store, but given that a lot of the bigger deals didn’t go live for a couple more hours, I didn’t think it would be that bad. Boy was I wrong.

Lines Of Cars, Streams Of People And No Parking

Before I even got to the store I knew I was in for a spectacle. There was a line of cars coming off of the main highway, waiting to pull into the shopping center that held the Walmart, Sam’s Club, Best Buy and other stores. It was pure insanity. I had come in off of a back road and as such was able to pull directly into a parking lot. But there were no spots available. I had to circle around with other cars until someone else pulled out of their spot.

At that point I probably should have just gone home because I knew things were going to be crazy, but to be completely honest I had a morbid curiosity about what it would actually be like when I got inside the store.

I ended up having to walk a couple of blocks just to get to Walmart. There were constant streams of people walking to the store like me, it was almost like a strange pilgrimage as we all made our way towards the doors.

I Didn’t Know Walmart Could Fit That Many People

When I finally got up to the door and walked through I saw a scene like I never could have imagined. They had walkways roped off so you could actually walk in, but then it was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see. I tried to make my way towards the area where I knew the video games I wanted were, but there was no way that was going to happen. I just had to go with the flow of people and try to circle back around.

My wife had given me a couple of things to find at the sale as well, but I quickly realized that even though I had gotten there at 10:05pm, they were already gone.

I kept walking through the store and every so often there would be a plastic wrapped pallet with a long line of people waiting next to it – waiting for their $100 TV or $40 Blu-Ray player. Each pallet had a Walmart employee standing next to it, guarding it until the clock struck midnight. It was nearly impossible to make your way through the crowd.

In the end I took a few more quick videos, saw some good friends waiting in line (they actually bought a couple of the things I had been there to get and missed out on!), and escaped out the exit without buying anything.

Has The Consumerism And Greed Taken Over?

While I was walking through the store it occurred to me what a crazy scene this was. While most people were pretty nice to each other, people were pushing and jockeying for position around the most popular items. By all accounts people across the country weren’t all as well behaved. On one site today I saw a list of Black Friday stories that made me cringe:

Among the stories I saw were stories of shoppers macing each other, ladies punching each other to get articles of clothing, mayhem over cheap waffle makers, and gunfire erupting at one mall.

The question that comes to my mind is, has consumerism and greed overtaken so many of these people to the point where they’ve become violent and out of control?

In my opinion they would do well to heed the words of the Bible when it says:

Proverbs 28:25 A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper

The mindless greed that is on display is a little scary. We would do well to seek contentment in Christ, and to follow the example of Paul when he says,

1 Timothy 6:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that

Are a great deal on a TV or an article of clothing enough to get us to lose our ethics and morality?

Thanksgiving Day: Should It Be The Only Day We Give Thanks?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:09:09 +0000

Thanksgiving is here again. It’s amazing how fast the years pass us by, and even more amazing just how much can happen all in one short year. This past year has seen us go through so many ups and downs at our house. We’ve had health issues, a rough pregnancy and the birth of our first son, a transition to parenthood, family crises, and so much more. Even though the year has been a stressful one, I know without a doubt that we have so much to be thankful for. My prayer is that I can be thankful every day this coming year, not just on Thanksgiving!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

We Should Be Thankful In All Circumstances

As the verse above tells us, we should be joyful always, pray and give thanks in all circumstances. Why? Because it’s God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Why should we be thankful in all things? Because by being thankful we focus on the good things in or lives, and focus on our blessings that God has given us. By focusing on the good we have a better outlook on life, and we’re happier people!

I know first hand that it isn’t always easy to be thankful, especially when you’re in the midst of hard times. It’s so much easier to dwell on the misery and allow the negative to overwhelm. Looking back, however, I see that even the hard times have been used for so much good in our lives. I know this may sound a bit weird to some, but I’m so thankful for how God has used the hard times in our lives as well – taking negative situations and turning them for good.

Being Thankful Requires Discipline

I’ve found over the years that most things that are worthwhile will require some sort of discipline. Being thankful is one of those things that will sometimes require discipline – just like exercise, reading your bible or writing a blog post every day.

For me one thing that I’ve started doing is to start off all my prayer sessions first with words of praise and thanksgiving – before I jump into my list of “wants and needs”. More often than not by thanking God for all of his blessings, his saving grace and the positive things he’s doing in my life, by the time I get to my requests they don’t seem as important anymore!

Another thing I want to do this coming year is to thank Go for my blessings when I’m feeling down or upset. Again, feeling thankful can change your mood extremely quickly.

I Am Thankful Because I Know I Have Been Given More Than I Deserve

One of the reasons I am so thankful this Thanksgiving is because I know that God has seen fit to bestow so many more blessings on me than I deserve. I’ve got a wonderful and loving wife, a new baby boy, 2 wonderful extended families, loving friends, a church we love, a good job, a nice house, clothes to wear, more food than we could ever eat, and on and on. Just trying to list things out here makes me realize just how blessed we are. I could never list all of his lavish blessings!

What have I done to deserve these blessings? Not much. But God is a loving father who blesses those who follow Him, always giving them more than they deserve.

I Am Thankful Because I Know My Savior Has Redeemed Me

I am a sinner, as we all are, and I know that I haven’t done anything in this life that can earn my way to heaven. None of us is good enough to just get into heaven on our own merits. We need Jesus Christ.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)

We have all sinned, and we all need Jesus Christ to save us by his gift of grace. We can’t do it on our own – we needed Jesus to die for our sins on the cross so that we might spend an eternity in heaven with him. That’s the ultimate gift to be thankful for!

Today I thank Jesus Christ for saving me from my sins, and giving me his gift of grace so that I might spend an eternity with him.

Do you want to receive that gift as well? It’s available to anyone who accepts Jesus Christ into their heart. If you want to ask him into your heart, and make your life whole, just pray this prayer. When you’re done, tell someone the good news (or tell me)!:

Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen

Happy Thanksgiving!

Learning Contentment Before Achieving Self Employment

John Frainee — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:13:56 +0000

I‘ve always wanted something different. Not the same old, same old. Something exciting!

I was a waiter but wanted to be a pastor.

I was a pizza delivery driver but wanted to be a counselor.

I was a lackluster movie suggester but wanted to be an online entrepreneur.

The things I have been doing haven’t always been the things I’ve wanted to do. But that discrepancy has taught me a lot about myself and my abilities.

The latest iteration of my pastor/counselor/online entrepreneur ambitions is becoming more fully realized in The Christian Dollar, but something always seems to hold me back . . . like money!

Don’t get me wrong. I make a good income. But not enough to jump from the dock to the boat – not enough to go full time online.

Finding Contentment Where You Are

This has led to a nagging dissatisfaction because I’m doing something I like, not something I love. Well, then again, I’m doing something I like part time and something I love part time. It’s just the perfect mix to foster a bit of restlessness.

Recently I’ve been reading through Genesis, and I found that many of God’s people worked a long time to get what they truly wanted. Take Joseph. He went through years of slavery before being recognized for his abilities. And what I’m going through is not slavery. It’s just a job that I like, not love.

It may take me another year, 5 years, or decade to get where I want to truly be in my career. So during that time I’m going to try something new: contentment.

Where To Find Contentment

It seems that the Lord allows us to go through trying times for a reason. He pushes us to be satisfied with what we have before he gives us something more. Have you noticed that?

Be content John. Be content.

A period of years is only a drop in the bucket on God’s timeline, and you can be content as well. I’ve learned a few good things about contentment that I’d love to share with you below:

Contentment is found in the search for the good qualities in people (like your managers).
Contentment is found in casual conversations while preforming the difficult task at hand.
Contentment is found in the humility of knowing you’re not perfect and never will be.
Contentment is found by the grace of God – people on their own can never be content.

At my current day job, I’ve been a counselor and a pastor. I’ve asked how people were really doing after they’ve given me the automatic “okay” answer and gotten a genuine response. My job isn’t to do these things, but I do them anyway. Why? Because I care and want people to have a different kind of experience when shopping. I want them to remember their humanity, remember that there is good in the world, and somehow change the course of their day.

My conviction is that you can find the same satisfaction in the everyday mundane. You can do things that make a real difference. You can be what you want to be wherever you are. This will lead to a great deal of contentment, more than you’ll be able to measure.

If you’re like me, seeking self employment and on the journey to find what you love to do, reach out to me. Maybe you’ve had some success you’d like to share. Or perhaps you need some guidance in the area of contentment in your life. Peter and I would be happy to respond to your comments below. We’ll meet you there!

The Downside Of Facebook: Facebook Envy

Melissa — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:37:24 +0000

Facebook is a great tool to keep up with family and friends, share pictures of your kids, ask for advice, keep others posted about what is happening in your life and learn what is happening in other people’s lives. I have some friends from college that I don’t talk to regularly, but I know what is happening in their lives through Facebook, so when I do have a chance to reconnect with them on the phone, it makes reconnecting easier.

Since its inception in 2006, Facebook users in the U.S. have grown to 116,010,760, or more than one third of the U.S. population of 309,003,000 according to Mashable Social Media.

Facebook: An Overly Positive Look At People’s Lives?

While Facebook has many positive aspects, there are also downsides, one of them being Facebook envy, a new phenomenon that leads to Facebook users feeling depressed or unhappy with their lives when they compare their own life to their friends and acquaintances’ lives as documented on Facebook. I learned about this early on.

I have a friend who lives several states away. I know that she has trouble with her husband; he works hard at his job, but when he is home, he often goes upstairs and spends hours on the computer. She misses spending time with him, as do her children. However, if I didn’t know her better, I might be envious of her life because when she posts on Facebook, she only writes about the positives in her life, and I even venture to say she makes things look more positive than they really are.

Early Show technology expert Katie Linendoll states, “Most of us tend to play up the positive aspects of our lives while excluding the negative. The result is that a Facebook profile never tells the whole story. And we end up comparing ourselves to a one-dimensional version of someone else’s life.” Because I know my friend so well, I know her life is not necessarily the ways she chooses to portray it on Facebook. Armed with this knowledge, I read all of my acquaintances’ posts with a bit of healthy skepticism.

Facebook Can Lead To Keeping Up With The Joneses

In addition to believing others have better relationships than you do, you may believe others have more fun and more money than you. In short, Facebook has become yet another way to compare yourself to others. It has become an electronic view into the lives of others that makes you want to keep up with the Joneses.

Psychologist Dr. David Swanson told CBS News, “What you put on display is how great your life is — the cars you drive, the vacations you go on. Nobody’s life is that perfect and so, whenever you start to compare your life to those images, you’re going to be depressed, because you’re going to feel like your life is lacking.”

If we are not careful, Facebook can lead us to spend more money, either to keep up with what are friends are doing or because we are depressed that we can’t keep up with what our friends are doing. The simple fact is that we almost never know exactly what is going on with other people. We don’t see behind closed doors; we don’t know exactly what their relationships are like. We don’t know if they have debt; we don’t know of their financial struggles. Perhaps instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should see Facebook for what it truly is—a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and a way for our friends to reveal the way they wish their lives were, not necessarily the way they actually are.

Do You Really NEED it? Or Just Want It?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Do We Really Need That?

A while back my wife and I were talking about how we needed to get a new TV in our bedroom. It was 2009, and with the digital switchover happening that year, we had two options to consider. First we could buy a digital to analog converter box for about $10 after using our $40 government coupon. Second, we could buy a new digital TV for $400-500. After considering it we both decided we wanted that new TV, after all, we’ve earned it right?

We considered the expense over the next few weeks. We asked ourselves, “Do we really NEED to buy a new TV for our bedroom? Or do we just want to buy it out of a sense of entitlement?”.

We ended up not buying the new TV, and instead bought the $10 converter box. The TV works like new, and we saved ourselves a ton of money.

Entitlement Blurs The Line Between Wants And Needs

The whole experience got me thinking about the sense of entitlement people have in this country today. They want to be able to have everything their parents had, but at a younger age. They want the house, but without saving for a big down payment. They want the fancy car, and they sign up for a 5 year loan at 9% interest. They want the new TV, so they put it on the credit card.

In an article on bankrate.com psychotherapist Olivia Mellan talks about how people confuse needs with wants:

A lot of us in wealthy, overspending America are either born or raised with a tremendous sense of entitlement. We say to ourselves,”I work hard or, I work at a job I hate — at least I should be able to have a Starbucks coffee every day or eat out for lunch.” But of course, those are not needs, they’re wants. They’re pleasures.

Wants and pleasures turn into needs because we feel like we deserve it – even if sometimes we don’t deserve it or can’t afford it.

Having a standard of living beyond our income is almost expected these days. Spending has gone beyond the actual needs of food, water, shelter and clothing, and have expanded to include things like a cell phone, cable tv, bottled water, eating out every day and new furniture. The things people enjoy having become needs in their mind, and without them they don’t feel like they’re living to the fullest.

The better off we become financially, the more we realize that true happiness can never come from the things we own. Instead they come from faith, family, friends and through helping others. All other sources of happiness are fleeting at best, and corrupting at worst.

Are you aware of your wants and needs – and how the line has become blurred in your own life? My challenge to you is to keep close track of what you’re spending this month, and see just how much of your spending is on things you want, but don’t NEED.

Avoiding Impulse Spending On Things We Want

So how do you avoid impulse spending when you’re trying to save or pay down debt? Here are some ideas that I came up with, along with a few from MSN Smart Spending:

Implement a “touching and talking rule”: Either touch the item 3 times, or talk about it 3 times with a spouse or loved one before actually purchasing it. If you still can justify the expense after that, consider purchasing it if it will fit in your budget.
Wait it out: Wait a while before making a big purchase. Give yourself some time to mull over the decision before dishing out the big bucks. At our house we try to wait at least a month before buying something, and if we still consider it a good purchase, we’ll go ahead with it.
Don’t Buy it, Try it: Try borrowing the same or a similar item from a friend. Try it out and see if it is all you thought it would be. Chances are you may realize that you don’t need that Ipod as much as you thought you did.
Save up and pay cash: Save for the item you want and pay cash for it. By the time you have enough money you may realize you don’t want it anymore.
Ask yourself if you really need it: Ask yourself, “Do I really need this? If I get it, will my life be significantly improved? If I don’t get it, will my life be substantially diminished?”

When you think consciously about your purchasing decisions, and actually ask yourself if you NEED the things you buy, you’ll be well on your way towards living a less cluttered and more fulfilling life. You might even be able to save some money in the process!

Have you found yourself rationalizing your purchases by telling yourself that you “need” it? Tell us about it in the comments.

Why Do You Really Want To Be Rich?

Peter Anderson — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:22:24 +0000

When I look at the search results for this site it’s pretty common that people find themselves here when searching for phrases like, “how to get rich“, “how to make more money“, or “how to become a millionaire“. Judging by their searches, and the sheer volume of the number of those searches I’m beginning to think that there are a lot of people out there who want to become wealthy. Not surprising really.

The question is, what are their reasons for wanting to become rich? Have they actually thought out the proposition of being rich, and what it means? Why will they need all of that money?

They all start with this as the proposition:

I wanna be rich

So they start searching out high paying careers, ways for making money on the side, get rich quick schemes. In other words, finding ways to make as much money as they can as fast as they can. And that’s where I believe far too many stop. They don’t make any consideration of what the real reasons are of why they want to be rich. They just want to be rich. Period.

Why Do You Want To Be Rich?

So if you want to become rich, why is it that you want to become wealthy? Do you want to enjoy the finer things in life? Do you want to travel to far off lands? Do you want to be able to help others with your wealth?

Thinking about why you want to be wealthy is an important exercise, and if you don’t, you can easily get lost in a meaningless circular pursuit of wealth, where nothing, and no amount of money ever satisfies.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

For me, as a Christian, I think it’s also important to remember that we need to be careful of pursuing wealth and other material things as part of our long term goals. When we do those things can quickly become counterfeit gods and idols in our lives, keeping us from focusing on the things that are truly important like a relationship with Christ. Can a rich man still enter the Kingdom of God? I believe so, but it can be hard when wealth competes with a reliance on God.

Are Riches In Themselves A Bad Goal?

For far too many I think that being rich in and of itself is the end goal. Being rich is the ultimate in status that will allow them to “be someone”. They believe that wealth validates them, will make them popular, and in the end make them happy. It is the universal score card. But then, when they finally do become wealthy they realize that it comes with a whole new set of problems and pressures – and doesn’t make them happy. Far too often the riches are just temporary anyway, as we’ve seen recently in the economic downturn.

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 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.

Money is just a thing, a tool to be used to further our goals. Being happy is a decision that happens regardless of whether you’re rich or not.

So what are your goals?

Setting Goals And Expectations For Wealth

For me, I don’t have any aspiration to be rich or to be living a gaudy lifestyle, but I do hope to be a good steward of the resources I’m given, and to provide well for my family. I want to be able to provide a good home for my family, an education for my kids, and I want to be able to travel and experience different places and cultures. I also want to be able to earn more to be able to give more to our church, as well as to other causes that we believe in. I also want to be able to work because I enjoy it, not because I have to – or because I’m worried about eating, getting health care coverage or losing my home.

So my goals for earning wealth would be:

To provide for my family.
To give more to our church and other causes.
To provide freedom and peace of mind.
To give us ability to enjoy travel and family time.

So, with my goals for wealth put out there, tell me why you might want to grow wealth, and what your goals for wealth are?

Remembering 9/11 10 Years Later: Where Were You On That Fateful Day?

Peter Anderson — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:33:03 +0000

Today marks the 10th anniversary of a sad day in our country’s history, a day when 2,740 Americans and 236 people of other nations lost their lives in a horrific terrorist attack.

For my generation September 11th has often been compared to Pearl Harbor, or the Kennedy assassination in the fact that if you ask anyone where they were on that day, they’ll each have their own remembrance and story of what happened to them on 9/11.

While we’ve been fortunate that we haven’t been hit by another attack of that magnitude since that day, I think it’s a good idea to never allow ourselves to forget the horror that was unleashed so that we can remain ever vigilant against those who hate our way of life, and the freedom that we enjoy here in America.

September 11th, 2001

Ten years ago today I was working at the same company that I work for now, but at the time our offices were in another city 10 miles away from where we are now. I remember waking up to a beautiful September day, looking up at the unusually blue skies and thinking what a beautiful early fall day it was. I got ready for work just like any other day.

I was driving to the office, and was just pulling onto the street where I work around 7:50am central when the first reports of the first plane hitting the tower came through. I remember the station I was listening to breaking into the broadcast with some confused reports of a small plane hitting one of the World Trade towers, and that they weren’t certain at this point as to what exactly had happened.

I remember thinking at the time about a story I had recently read about a military plane that had crashed into the Empire state building in dense fog during World War II. I thought to myself how it must have been something similar to that happening here. There must have been bad weather or fog out in New York, and a small plane must have gotten off course or had problems with their instruments.

I parked my car and walked into my office building and went into the warehouse office space that I shared with 3-4 other people. I sat at my desk and began to get down to work, checking my emails. A few minutes later I remember one of my immediate superiors coming into the room to tell me that a plane had hit the second tower of the Trade Center as well. I remember thinking that this probably could no longer be categorized as an accident. Both towers of the World Trade Center had been hit. This was an attack of some sort! There was no way two separate planes would hit the towers on accident.

My boss told me that my co-workers were all in the front conference room watching the coverage on the big screen TV if I wanted to join them.

Watching The Towers Fall, The Pentagon Attack And Plane Crashes

I walked into the conference room where someone had turned on one of the local NBC affiliate. They were showing footage from a news helicopter, showing smoke pouring out of the windows. We all watched in horror as the buildings smoked, and we talked about how many people probably worked in those buildings. 20,000? 30,000? How many had probably already been killed in the fires?

At some point later, it seemed like 20 minutes or so, there was word that there were more hijacked planes, and that possibly one of them had flown into the Pentagon. This was war. Who would want to do this? Terrorists? China/Russia? Iran or Iraq? It didn’t make sense. Looking around the room everyone just had looks of shock on their face, trying to figure out what all of this meant.

We continued watching until around 10am, all of a sudden the south tower started to collapse. I heard an audible gasp in the room where we were watching the coverage. It seemed to be only a matter of a few seconds and the building was completely gone. I watched in horror and utter disbelief as the huge cloud rose into the air, and I realized that thousands of people had probably just lost their lives. We then heard news about another plane crashing somewhere in Pennsylvania. How many planes had been hijacked, and how many more crashes would we see on this awful day?

We continued watching as the second tower continued to smoke, and we wondered if it would fall as well. The news was reporting that the second tower seemed to be leaning a bit and probably wasn’t stable, and about 1/2 an hour later the north tower fell as well. I remember multiple people gasping and one saying “Oh my God!”. Others were choking up. All those lives snuffed out in an instant.

The dust and debris cloud rose from the north tower as well, and it was just shock and disbelief in the room at what had just happened.

We continued watching the coverage in a daze for a while, and slowly people started filing out of the room to try and get some work done and process what had just happened.

Processing The Disaster

I remember working on some things that day, but I wasn’t really able to focus on anything. In the end I remember surfing the web a good deal of the day reading news reports and accounts of what had happened.

I left work at the normal time that day or a bit early, and then headed home to watch the news reports to try and figure out what happened. I sat in front of the TV watching the news until the wee hours of the morning. I had a sick feeling in my stomach, I knew thousands of lives had been lost that day.

The next day I just wasn’t up to going in to work, so I called in sick and then sat on the couch the entire day watching the coverage. I remember that they didn’t completely know what had happened yet, although some were speculating that it was a terrorist attack from radical Islamic groups.

I remember being outside that day and it was so weird that there were no planes flying overhead. Normally we hear a lot of planes in the house where I lived because we were on a flight path heading into the Minneapolis/St.Paul International airport. We wouldn’t hear those planes again for some time. It was an eery silence.

I also remember hearing at some point that my cousin who lives and works in New York was OK. She had been in Manhattan on that day, and had been able to walk across one of the bridges to get off the island and get to her home.

10 Years Later

All these years later thinking about that day still gives me that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, thinking about all those people that lost their lives, and the fear and pain they must have felt before they died.

Last summer I was in New York City for work and had the chance to visit the site of the World Trade Center disaster for the first time. I saw the empty holes where the towers once stood, and the construction on the new towers as it progressed. Watching the new towers go up did give a sense of hope.

While I was there I also visited a World Trade Center museum where they house artifacts, remembrances and tributes to loved ones who died that day. One wall had thousands of photos hanging on it, showing pictures of people lost on that day. One art piece hanging on that wall caught my eye. It was a heart (see above).

When I saw what it said it brought tears to my eyes. It was from a small boy named Kevin who had lost his father that day. He made the heart for him, hoping he was having a “great time in heaven”. That truly brought home the human impact of the day for me.

While time does seem to heal wounds to a certain degree, we’ll always have a scar on our hearts from that day, one that we’ll remember until we die.

Where were you on September 11th? Were you in or near New York City on that day? Where were you when you heard, and what is your remembrance of that day? Tell us your story in the comments.

7 Tips For A Frugal Wedding

Peter Anderson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:45:00 +0000

My wife Maria and I got married about 9 years ago now, and our wedding was a beautiful affair. We had a reception held at a local country club, we had over 200 guests, and we spared no expense on catering, flowers, decorations, dresses, DJ and party favors. After all was said and done we ended up spending over $30,000. Luckily for my wife and I her parents were the ones footing the bill, and they really wanted to pay for it since my wife is their only daughter.

Looking back my wife and I cherish the memory of our beautiful wedding, but if I had gotten my way we wouldn’t have spent quite so much money on the wedding. Wouldn’t it have been much nicer just to have her parents give us all that money, and have a smaller affair?

My cousin and her fiance are getting married this weekend, so I thought today would be a good day to share some tips - of ways to have a more frugal wedding.

Ways We Could Have Saved Money On Our Wedding

If we could do it over here are some places I think we could have saved some money on things we probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

Photographer: We spent a ton on a photographer for our wedding when we probably could have found someone cheaper. We have friends who for their weddings had family friends and acquaintances who were good photographers take wedding photos that looked just as nice or better than some that the professionals take. Of course you need to be careful when doing this, but if you find someone talented, it doesn’t need to be as expensive. You also can have access to the originals when you have an acquaintance do it, which is an option you don’t have with professionals.
Reception location: Our reception was held at a local country club, very beautiful, exclusive and expensive. Friends of ours had receptions that were almost as nice at local VFW or Knights of Columbus halls that were substantially cheaper. Just make sure to check them out ahead of time to make sure they’re not too small, smoky or dingy.
Keeping the wedding small: We basically invited everyone we knew to our wedding, and the more guests you have the more things cost. You need to take into account the costs of paying for dinners, party favors, valet parking, etc. It adds up quick. Keep the wedding smaller and it will be cheaper – I guarantee.
Make your own invitations: We spent a fortune on creating and mailing our custom printed invitations. Make your own invitations for a substantial savings.
Wedding cake: Our cake was beautiful, delicious and monstrously expensive. Have a family friend who bakes well to make cake for the reception. We have friends that did this and no one even knew the difference.
Don’t rent a limo or fancy car: While it can be fun to rent a limo to ride to and from the reception, and home afterwards, remember that it can be pricey. A good way to save some money is to borrow a nice car from a family friend (we borrowed the in-laws Mercedes), or just use your own vehicle. Just make sure that if people are going to be decorating your car not to use anything that will damage the paint job.
Plan ahead: Try and make sure you’re planning your wedding with plenty of advance time. If you have longer to plan, you’ll have longer to research your options, and find the choices that give you the best value for your money.

Do Your Research And Plan Ahead

Those are a few areas where I think you can safely cut out some expenses when planning your wedding. Of course you need to be careful, and realize that sometimes you’ll get what you pay for. But as long as you plan ahead, and give yourself plenty of leeway for making some small mistakes – you’ll be fine.

When things get busy on your big day, don’t forget to enjoy the day and your new spouse! You only get married once and all the small details and things that seemed so important beforehand really won’t seem so important once you’re looking into their eyes on that big day! Have fun!

What are some ways you cut expenses on your wedding, or do you plan on cutting for your upcoming nuptials? Tell us in the comments!

My 7 Links

Peter Anderson — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:35:44 +0000

A blog called Tripbase came up with an interesting idea called My 7 Links, where site owners nominate other blogs to pick a post from each of seven categories that they’ve written over the years. Tom over at Canadian Finance Blog nominated this site to join in the project (Thanks Tom!) so today I thought I’d share my posts from the 7 categories. Let’s get started!

Your Most Beautiful Post

I think my most beautiful post, and one that seems to have touched quite a few people was when I talked about my dog buddy, and how we had to make the hard decision to put him to sleep because he was in such pain in his older years. The post, “It’s So Hard To Let You Go. Rest In Peace Old Friend“, seems to have touched quite a few people who have also had to go through the hardship of losing a beloved pet.

Your Most Popular Post

My most popular post by far is my post talking about how to watch all your favorite tv shows without paying for cable TV. It was called “Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable Or Satellite“. In the post I talk about our home TV setup where we stream shows via Hulu.com, Netflix.com and a variety of other online sources via a software called Playon through our gaming console to the 50″ Plasma TV. It’s an affordable way to watch a ton of TV, without paying for expensive cable or satellite bills.

Your Most Controversial Post

My most controversial post was the post called “Dave Ramsey’s New House: Did He Follow His Own Advice And Pay Cash?“. The post takes a look at financial guru Dave Ramsey’s beautiful new multi-million dollar home, and asks whether he paid cash as he always advises his radio show listeners to do. Records show that there was no mortgage recorded on the property, so he did pay cash, but the comments section erupted into a back and forth about whether or not a Christian like Dave Ramsey should be purchasing luxury items like a mansion. The post became so controversial that Dave Ramsey himself ended up stopping by and commenting as well, which turned into a second post in the series (also somewhat controversial).

Your Most Helpful Post

A post that I believe quite a few people have found helpful is the one titled, “How To Get The Best Deal When Signing Up For Cable Or Satellite TV“. In the post I was able to talk about how my wife and I saved a good deal of money when signing up for a cable TV package. I’ve heard that the advice in the post has helped quite a few others as well.

A Post Who’s Success Surprised You

A post that I didn’t spend a ton of time on, but that ended up getting a lot of traffic, and apparently helping quite a few people was my post about the government “Making Home Affordable” refinance and loan mod program. I guess I underestimated just how many people were having problems paying their mortgages, because the post that only took me a short time to write ended up being one of my highest trafficked articles of all time. Government Making Home Affordable Refinance And Loan Modification Program: Do I Qualify?

A Post You Feel Didn’t Get The Attention It Deserved

A post that I don’t feel got the attention it deserved was the post series called “How To Have A Healthy Marriage (Series) Part 1 | Part 2“. Basically the posts go into detail talking about things a married couple (and in some cases people in general) can do to have a healthy relationship where the other person feels valued and loved. It was posted on a slow week and I don’t think got promoted much or at all. But I think it deserves a bit more attention.

The Post You Are Most Proud Of

The post I’m most proud of is “Bible Verses About Money: What Does The Bible Have To Say About Our Financial Lives?“, in part because I finally got it done. The post has well over a hundred bible verses about money and took quite a while to write. The problem is that it took me almost 3 years to finally get around to writing the post. I had it sitting in my drafts for well over 2 years. This past month I made myself proud by finally putting it all together, writing the article and publishing it! Finally!

My 7 Links Nominations

When you’ve listed all of your posts in the 7 different categories, you’re supposed to nominate 5 more sites to list their own 7 links. So here are the ones I’ve chosen, mostly because I’ve come to know these folks pretty well over the past few years, and all of them blog in the same niche – Christian personal finance. I think they’ve got a lot of great posts to share. They are: