Bible Money Matters » money

Cutting The Cord And Getting Your TV On The Cheap (Without Using The Big Bad Cable And Satellite Companies)

Peter Anderson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:20:47 +0000

A couple of years ago I wrote a post on this site called Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable Or Satellite where I talked about a variety of ways that you can find free or cheap TV, movie and other entertainment content online – while not spending an obscene amount on a monthly cable or satellite TV bill.

In the article I gave an inside look at the setup we have used at our house that gave us pretty much all the entertainment options that we would ever need.

While our setup still works, it’s been a while since I wrote the post so today I thought I would write another post and do an update. I’m going to look at some of the new ways you can access free or affordable video content online, examine some of the new features of the software that we’re using, and talk about some of the new devices that will work in helping you to cut the cord. So without further ado, let’s look at ways to get free or cheap tv and movie content.

Why Do People Want Alternatives To Cable And Satellite TV?

Why is it that there is such a huge demand for alternatives to paying a monthly cable or satellite TV bill? For one main reason - it’s expensive. Not only is it expensive, but the companies have a myriad of ways to rope you into long term deals where incentives run out, and you end up paying crazy amounts of money every month. It’s not uncommon to be paying $100+/month. I think premium TV is starting to feel the pinch, however. Because of lower subscriber numbers they’re beginning to try and find ways to offer cheaper alternative plans.

While subscribers to fiber-optic service and satellite saw last year’s average monthly bills jump 15% and 12%, respectively, research firm Centris found that cable subscribers are now paying 1% less,an average of $69.70. (It’s also cheaper than the average $76.80 for satellite and $99.67 for fiber-optic.) Experts say it’s the start of a shift as cable companies introduce new, lower-cost plans with a more limited selection of channels to grab market share from other pay-TV providers — and keep budget-conscious customers from cutting the cord altogether.

The introduction of more and better streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant has shown the premium TV providers that they can’t ignore budget conscious consumers anymore. They have to come up with some cheaper alternatives.

The thing is, even their “cheaper alternatives” really aren’t that cheap when you compare them to our plan, and they often leave out popular channels that many people want.

How Our Home Entertainment System Is Setup

Because we wanted to have an alternative, we setup our own home entertainment system that didn’t include cable TV. It basically involves a combination of our PC, our big screen TV, a networked media device, and a software called PlayOn installed on our desktop PC. Here’s everything we use, and what they cost:

TV: We have a 50″ TV in our basement entertainment area. We use this as our main TV watching area. Most people already have a TV, so this shouldn’t be an extra cost.
Networked Media Device: We have an Xbox 360 at our house, although any DLNA compliant networked media device should work. Things like Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Roku, Google TV, Android and Apple devices should all be compatible for this setup. If you already have one of these it won’t cost you any extra to buy it. Otherwise devices like the Roku are very affordable – around the $100 mark. We found a second Xbox 360 for $50 on Ebay as well.
PlayOn Video Streaming Software: This software is one of the keys to our setup. It can be found at Playon.TV and allows you to stream online video from popular services like Hulu.com, Netflix, Amazon Instant and others straight to your TV through a networked media device. The software costs either a one time fee of $49.99 (on sale now, normally $79.99) or an annual fee of $19.99. That’s less than the cost of one month of satellite TV!
PlayLater Online DVR Software: The folks that brought us PlayOn have now released a DVR software of sorts that works in conjunction with streaming services to record all of your favorite online streaming shows. It also includes features like being able to skip past commercials. Just queue up shows you want to record, and they’ll be saved, just like a DVR with your cable TV service.The software costs either a one time fee of $49.99 (on sale now, normally $79.99) or an annual fee of $19.99.
Streaming Video Sites: Video streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Instant have been gaining traction the last few years. Now they’re easier than ever to watch as they’re all supported via the PlayOn and PlayLater software! The software also supports plugins, so other channels are being added constantly including CBS.com, Youtube, Comedy Central, HGTV, ESPN the Food Network, NBA/NFL content, and more. Some services may require an extra subscription fee to watch, however, like MLB.tv.

That’s the basic setup we use at our house. A desktop PC that’s always on that streams video content via PlayOn to our 2 TVs with networked media devices (we have two Xbox 360s), along with our Android phones and tablet. We can also use PlayLater to record shows to watch later – especially helpful for services like Hulu that only leave certain episodes on their free service for a short time.

If you want, you can of course also just connect a laptop to your TV to watch a lot of these services, but having something like Playon just makes it easier to have everything all in one convenient package, instead of having to bookmark 10 different sites and manage different logins.

Free And Cheap Video Streaming Services To Use

So now that we have our video setup all set to go, we need to figure out what streaming services to use. Here are a few of our favorites:

Hulu.com: You can use the free version of the service, or pay for a premium subscription. We just use the free version and make sure to watch or DVR our favorite shows.
Netflix.com: We use the lowest possible streaming only plan for Netflix ($7.99), and stream via our Xbox 360′s native Netflix app.
Amazon Prime: If you sign up for Amazon’s Prime membership, you’ll also get access to their streaming video service for free. Only certain videos are available for free, with a selection similar to Netflix – at $79/year, or $6.58/month. We stream this via PlayOn. You also get free 2-day shipping at Amazon, and free Kindle books!
Itunes: The Itunes store is an option if you have certain shows you can’t find online elsewhere at a decent price. One off rentals for your favorite show that can’t be found free online can still be cheaper than cable. Works best if you use a device like an Apple TV or an Ipad.
Xbox Live: If you’re an Xbox owner they have a variety of free and pay TV/Movie options. Not usually the cheapest, but if you want to rent a first run movie or show quickly, it could be an option.

While those are the main services we use and stream to our TVs, we also sometimes use the following, although quite a bit less:

TV Network Websites: PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX all have good full episode streaming options available which we usually watch via PlayOn. I read somewhere that of the top 100 shows, I believe 80+ of them are available for free through the networks.
Vudu.com: Video rental and purchase.
Crackle.com
Joost.com
Veoh.com
Sidereel.com
CinemaNow.com
EpixHD.com
Sports: If you need to get your sports fix, you may need to pay for a premium membership to the league of your choice’s online video streaming. Some may not have live game viewing due to blackout restrictions.

Conclusion

When it comes right down to it cutting the cord and finding free, cheap or affordable video entertainment online really isn’t that difficult. While there may be some higher initial start-up costs if you don’t have any of the equipment, in the long run you’re usually going to be saving hundreds of dollars over cable or satellite TV.

The one caveat is that you need to actually sit down and figure out how much you’re spending on your “affordable” non-cable TV option, as you could easily end up spending more that way than if you had just stayed with cable.

At our house we already had most of the equipment, and we only spent money on the PlayOn and PlayLater software ($99) , on Netflix ($7.99/month) and on Amazon Prime ($79). In total that comes out to about $273.88 the first year, and then $174.88/year in subsequent years. That’s much cheaper than if we had paid $65/month or $780/year for cable like we have in the past. Even if you add in a few more rentals or premium season pass purchases for your favorite shows, it still comes out cheaper.

What is your setup for watching tv at home for free, or cheaper than you could using satellite or cable TV? Do you use options we didn’t mention here? Tell us in the comments.

Mobile Wallet: Path To Future Financial Ruin?

Melissa — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:43:28 +0000

Most Americans carry their cell phones everywhere, so there is great reason to be excited by technological advances such as a mobile wallet. Simply use your phone to pay everywhere you go and leave the credit cards and cash behind.

Benefits Of The Mobile Wallet

Even better, the mobile wallet offers many benefits that credit cards don’t come close to offering. For instance, buy a Groupon using your phone and don’t worry about printing it off or forgetting it; simply pull it up on your phone at the restaurant.

According to Time Magazine, “Mobile wallets can also be your shop-bot, sniffing out exclusive offers—say, $2 off oatmeal at Jamba Juice as you walk by. Not hungry? Save the coupon to the wallet, which will automatically activate it when you buy your next oatmeal.”

Amazon is also using the mobile phone to their benefit, much to the chagrin of brick-and-mortar stores. This past holiday season, “Amazon even offered $5 off to customers who scanned a bar code in a store—so Amazon could offer a lower price on the same item.”

If you are at a busy restaurant and don’t want to wait for the waiter to process your payment, you can use an app on your mobile phone. “To solve the lunch hour crunch at Pizza Express restaurants in London, for instance, PayPal created an app that allows customers to enter the number from their bill into their phone and then pay without waiting for a server to run a credit card.”

Most people will love the mobile wallet because of the convenience. Even vending machines are being fitted to accept mobile wallet payments. We could finally move to a truly cash free society. The frugalistas among us will rejoice in the ability to use coupons more easily and find exclusive discounts.

The age of the mobile wallet sounds like a win-win for nearly everyone involved, but is it?

Financial Dangers Of The Mobile Wallet

While it is true your mobile wallet can help you find additional bargains, there is a real financial danger there.

In the above example, having a coupon for $2 off oatmeal at Jamba Juice was perceived as a benefit. Yet, is it? What if you had no intention of ever buying oatmeal at Jamba Juice, but now that you have the coupon, you feel like you should buy it because it is such a good savings. How many people do you know who buy things they don’t need or didn’t even previously want because they could get such a great deal?

Likewise, convenience often translates to spending more freely. Experts agree that people generally spend more money when buying with credit card rather than cash, though the exact percentage that they spend more than if using cash is up for debate. If a mobile wallet is even more convenient than credit cards, it seems to reason that people will spend even more.

Even the little expenses can add up. If you would like a pop from the vending machine but don’t have the change, you may just skip it. If even that is available via mobile wallet, you may not skip it. Over time, those little conveniences can add up.

A mobile wallet offers convenience unparalleled to anything we have experienced before. In addition, it can be a powerful tool to save on the majority of your purchases. Yet, just like credit cards that offer generous rewards, the benefits of the mobile wallet will be best utilized by those who are already good at managing their money and controlling their impulse to buy when they find a good deal. If you are like many Americans who find themselves mired in credit card debt, the mobile wallet may just offer one more way to spend money irresponsibly in the name of convenience and a good buy.

What are you thoughts on the mobile wallet idea? Would you use one? Why or why not?

Greed Pushed A Neighbor To Commit Insurance Fraud And Then Suicide

Peter Anderson — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:22:31 +0000

My in-laws live in an upscale neighborhood here in Minnesota, a neighborhood where a lot of CEOs, professional athletes and other wealthy folks live. When you first pull into the neighborhood there is one beautiful house on the corner that has a perfectly manicured lawn, beautiful landscaping, a gorgeous fountain and every Christmas, immaculate professional light displays. When you drive by the house you immediately think that the owner must be doing pretty well, have good taste and have everything going for him. That was what we thought, until recently we found out a little bit more about the owner of the home.

We found out that the owner of the residence, who my in-laws said always seemed very polite and soft-spoken, was in a bit of trouble with the law. His carefully constructed veneer of success covered an undercurrent of greed, deception and in the end a possible faked suicide.

The Criminal On The Corner

The home was owned by a young 34 year old named Travis Scott. He was by some accounts a successful business owner, with a company called Security Management Technologies. People around him thought he was doing well – including my in-laws, but apparently part of the reason he was doing so well was because he had gotten greedy and had started engaging in insurance and tax fraud. In May of last year he plead guilty to several charges.

In May, Scott pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding an insurance company out of at least $7 million after submitting false claims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Scott pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Scott’s sentencing was not scheduled after his guilty plea, and he was facing up to 30 years in prison for the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

So Scott had pleaded guilty and was facing a possible 30 year prison sentence for his crimes. What exactly did he do with all of the money that he had gotten from the insurance company?

He used insurance money to buy three aircraft, a boat and three vehicles. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division seized those items and more than $5 million in various bank accounts.

Scott obtained more than $11 million by filing false insurance claims through his business, Security Management Technologies.

So he used the money to pay for a variety of toys – airplanes, boats and other vehicles, and stashed the rest in various bank accounts. Why on earth would someone who was already doing well feel the need to go out and defraud millions of dollars like that? To me it seems like one thing. Greed.

Convictions For Fraud And Suicide

While greed may seem like fun at the time because you’re able to buy things you want like Scott did, it never ends well. In the instance of my in-law’s neighbor, he was caught and convicted and was about to be sentenced to prison for a long time. In what seems like another twist to this tale, Scott committed suicide before he could be sent to jail. Police, however, suspect that his death may have been faked as his body has never been found.

The suicide note found inside the kayak with a bullet hole was from an Eden Prairie man who four months earlier pleaded guilty to of defrauding an insurance company out of $7 million.

The man, oddly, is nowhere to be found.

That’s why he is on a county missing persons list and on a federal arrest warrant.

The at-large suicide note author is 34-year-old Travis Magdalena Scott. On Sept. 10, an 8-foot kayak with a bullet hole was found on the west side of Mille Lacs Lake near a gas station. Inside the kayak was an apparent suicide note from Scott, according to Mille Lacs County Sheriff Brent Lindgren.

Nearly three months after the kayak was found, the authorities’ sweeps of Mille Lacs Lake by foot, boat and air have yielded nothing, Lindgren said.

“It almost appears as though he’s attempted to stage his death,” Lindgren said.

They can’t assume anything, though. They have to investigate the situation like they would any missing person, but they must also consider the possibility that he staged his death in an attempt to avoid prosecution or sentencing, Lindgren said.

At this point it seems like our friendly neighborhood criminal is either dead or on the run. In any event, as I mentioned in another post a while back, greed never ends well.

What does the Bible have to say about greed and riches? That the unhealthy desire for riches can lead to your ruin.

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. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Greed can lead you to do all sorts of things that you shouldn’t, and lead you into “ruin and destruction”. So be wary of what you’re putting first in your life and what is becoming most important. If you’re not careful you could allow money to take an unhealthy hold like my in-law’s neighbor Travis Scott did.

UPDATE: After writing this post this morning, I found an update from a week or two ago that Travis Scott did in fact fake his own suicide, and that he was arrested in Canada right before Christmas.

Canadian authorities said Friday that they had arrested an Eden Prairie man who fled the Twin Cities several months ago in a small plane after faking his own death…

A search of Scott’s apartment in downtown Winnipeg turned up $80,000 in gold coins, $30,000 in U.S. and Canadian currency, $750 in silver coins, an electronic Taser stun device, “bear mace,” numerous forged prescriptions, a number of prescription drugs, computer equipment and printers. A search of a Jeep Liberty that police linked to Scott produced a loaded handgun, Aitken said.

Scott is being held in the Winnipeg Remand Center on charges of possessing prohibited and restricted weapons, Aitken said. She said additional charges may follow after an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Border Service Agency.

Jeanne Cooney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis, said Canadian authorities determined that Scott had left the Minneapolis area in a small plane about Sept. 10 and flew to a remote air strip in St. Andrews, Manitoba. He’s been living in Winnipeg ever since.

Where Did You Get Your Money Smarts?

Tim Fraticelli — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:22:27 +0000

A recent CNN story reported that 42% of people learned their financial smarts from their parents. That means over half of those surveyed felt they received the majority of their financial education from outside of their home. If people aren’t learning from their parents, it begs the question: Where are people learning about money?

It’s no question that others constantly influence us when it comes to spending and saving money. We watch stories of successful millionaires and read articles about successful business people, soaking up small tidbits of how they got there. But we don’t have to go very far to learn about money. In fact, I’d say that while 42% of people said they got their money smarts from their parents, the remaining 58% of people may have had to break some bad habits learned form their parents.

Ask anyone growing up in a home where finances were always tight and saving money wasn’t the main focus and they’ll probably agree that their financial education from their parents was limited at best. Growing up in a family of ten and often one income, our finances were tight and savings echoed that as well. While we learned how to live frugally, our financial smarts ended there, leaving the concepts of investing, long-term savings, and emergency savings unaddressed.

Learning About Money Outside of the Family

Blogs and Online Resources

You know firsthand how easy it is to go online to learn about saving, spending, and investing money. There are quite a few established finance blogs on the web today that do a great job explaining basic topics like budgeting, frugality, investing, retirement and taxes.

College Courses

If you’re in college, take advantage of the business courses available to you and add a personal finance course. If you don’t want to sit through another course, you can find out what book they’re using and go through it on your own time.

Business Books

There certainly aren’t a shortage of business and finance books today. There’s an entire section at Barnes and Noble dedicated to business and finance, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding a book that you can really learn from. Some of the most popular books on personal finance today are Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and Ramit Sethi’s book I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

The Classroom

Your children might be learning more at school than they are at home when it comes to finances. Ask them about what they’re learning. Help reinforce the importance of what they’re learning by encouraging them to learn more through age appropriate books and shows about money.

While it’s true that the majority of those surveyed didn’t learn about money from their family, it can be argued that the resources to learn about personal finance are quite numerous. I personally have grown in knowledge through independent research and by subscribing to sites (like this one .

So where did you get your money smarts? What other resources are out there for learning about money?

How To Become A Millionaire: How Even An Average Income Can Lead To A Million Dollars Saved

Peter Anderson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:01:17 +0000

Earning and saving to reach the milestone of being a millionaire isn’t as unattainable as a lot of people think it is, in fact it’s a very achievable goal. Most people have the idea in their head that the only people who ever reach that goal are people who are born into wealth, win the lottery, or who have huge real estate empires or successful small businesses. But the fact is earning a big income doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a high net worth, and just because you have an average income doesn’t mean you can’t become a millionaire some day.

Today I want to look at how earning and creating a net worth of a million dollars is possible for just about anybody, and how to go about achieving that goal.

How Much Do I Need To Save?

He who gathers money little by little makes it grow. Proverbs 13:11

A question that a lot of folks consider is just how much you’ll need to save in order to have a million dollars by the time you retire at 65. Based on an article over at Kiplinger.com in order to reach that goal, assuming an 8% return over the years, and with zero dollars currently saved – at these ages you would have to save this much to reach a million by 65.

Age 25: You need to save $286 per month to reach 1 million by age 65
Age 35: You need to save $671 per month to reach 1 million by age 65
Age 45: You need to save $1,698 per month to reach 1 million by age 65
Age 55: You need to save $5,466 per month to reach 1 million by age 65

As you can see, the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be due to the powers of compound interest. I’m at age 35, and already have some retirement savings put away (not zero like the article assumes), so I should be right on track to reach that million dollar goal.

Want to calculate where you are today and see how long it will take you to reach 1 million? Check out this millionaire calculator:

Millionaire Calculator

How You Can Become A Millionaire – Baby Steps

So now we have a rough idea of just how much money you’ll need to be putting away for retirement if you want to reach a 1 million dollar goal. So the question is, how do you get there? If you’re not one of the fortunate or highly skilled that are already making huge incomes, here is a strategy for saving up a nice retirement nest egg.

Make Enough Income

The more money you make, the quicker you’ll be able to reach that 1 million dollar goal, but you can retire wealthy on an average income. Check out the link for some stories of people who did. But obviously the more you make, the quicker you’ll reach the goal. How much income you can make may also depend on if you’re single, dual income with no kids – or a couple with kids. Obviously having dual incomes will help quite a bit (as long as one income doesn’t all go to child care).

If you aren’t even making an average income (in the range of $45-55,000), then you may want to think about trying to better your situation by making proactive decisions to find a better job, continue your education or move into a new career field. Changing your income and career path may not happen overnight, but in some cases it may be the only way to improve your chances of making more income.

You could also consider taking on a side job. There are a lot of ways to make money in your spare time, in fact starting a business in your free time is a good way to improve your situation and potentially create a lucrative small business for yourself.

Live On Less Than Your Means Will Allow

We’ve all heard of people who make huge incomes, but then also have expensive tastes and end up spending more money than they’ve made and going into bankruptcy. The problem is if you have caviar tastes, it’s always possible to outspend your ability to earn.

In his book “Stop Acting Rich“, Thomas J. Stanley talks about how far too often we settle for a life where wealth is only an illusion, and we kill our ability to create real wealth.

Ours is a culture of hyperconsumerism. Not only can and do we buy nearly anything (except for the truly outrageously expensive), but we seem to have come to believe that we can and should have it all and that who we are is dependent on the ability to live in the right neighborhoods, with appropriately sized homes filled with brand-name appliances, with prestige cars parked in the driveway with expensive golf bags and clubs in the trunk and so on. And so we spend.

You can act rich or actually become rich. Few of us will ever be able to do both, and we certainly won’t bet rich by acting the part before we have the financial resources with which to pay for la dolce vita.

Stanley goes on to discuss how the truly rich people that he has interviewed are actually very aware of living below their means, and of not overspending. They appreciate value in the things they buy and aren’t afraid to spend a bit more if it will last longer. But in the end, they spend well below their means.

Save And Invest Your Money Regularly

While this may seem to be obvious, far too many people don’t save or invest any money on a regular basis. Too many people live on the edge from paycheck to paycheck, spending until the balance in their account says “zero”, never planning to save and invest their money as a part of their budget.

It’s important to set up a financial plan and a budget in which you’re paying yourself first, putting aside at least 10-15% of your income every month towards your retirement savings – more if you can afford it.

I’m a big proponent of making that savings and investment as automatic as you can, so that it gets to the point where you don’t even notice it every month and your retirement savings slowly grow without too much intervention from you. At our house I have 401k and Roth 401k funds deducted from my paycheck before I even see it every two weeks. That way I never miss the money – it just goes into the retirement account. Then we also have automatic savings goals setup with ING where money is automatically deducted at the beginning of the month and transferred to our online savings account.

Once you’ve setup and are saving money regularly in retirement and savings accounts, make sure that you’re getting the best possible return on your money by educating yourself about stocks and bonds, diversifying your holdings and making sure your investments have as low expenses as you can, while still making good returns. If you’re not a savvy investor, consider getting some professional help.

Wash Rinse Repeat

Once you’ve got a good plan in place, the most important part is to stick with the plan, and keep at it for the long haul. It isn’t rocket science to save a nice nest egg, but it will take determination and hard work over a long period of time. Again, the basic steps to creating a million dollar nest egg are:

Create income
Spend lower than your means
Save and invest regularly
Repeat

While these steps are of course simplified, and there may be other roadblocks in your path, it really is important to focus on the basic principles sometimes because they can often get lost in the shuffle.

Other things you’ll want to consider to make sure that you don’t short circuit your progress is to have good insurance, save up a good sized emergency fund and always keep an eye on your goals. Of course, never forget to always be generous as well, and never allow a pursuit of wealth or money to become the end goal. Make sure you have goals for wealth building, goals that will leave you happy, not just wanting more.

Are you on track to reach a million dollars by the time you’re 65? Tell us what you think 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?

Psalm 49: Important Lessons About Your Personal Finances

Guest Poster — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:04:28 +0000

Because it’s not what you would call a “feel good” Psalm, you rarely hear it quoted. That’s a pity, because sometimes what we need to hear the most, aren’t the easiest things to hear.

This Psalm gives us some very important warnings about our personal finances and wealth in general. Before I give my thoughts, I would like preface things by saying that these are merely my personal opinions on how interpret these verses. I completely respect if you may read them differently.

Psalm 49:1-4

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

The introduction is quite clear. This message applies to all of us; myself, yourself, and “all who live in this world.” That means we all need to pay close attention to what follows.

Psalm 49:5-9

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me– those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him– the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough– that he should live on forever and not see decay.

If I had to summarize the message here, I interpret it as being that foolish people place their trust in money. The wickedness in the fallen world we live in deceives us into placing our trust in wealth… and that will never work.

Whether we like to admit it or not, all of us are guilty of doing this to at least some degree, myself included. Instead of trusting in God to take care of us, our trust begins to drift into things like the stock market and our home value. The past few years have been strong reminders of why we can’t place our trust in such worldly wealth.

Furthermore, our society is obsessed with boasting about riches and that only perpetuates the problem. I remember a few months ago when I was at the airport looking at magazines, I realized that practically all of them had a cover about getting rich. Those in the entertainment category had covers about how much given celebrities were making and spending. The business magazines had headlines that when taken out of context, sounded like something you would hear on a get-rich-quick infomercial. Even the covers of those in the science category were about how to cash in on the next big technologies. Talk about being surrounded by deceit!

With that type of mentality being shoved down our throats, I guess it’s no surprise how the name of the game these days is all about boasting of your worldly wealth. When you think about it, this deceit is what’s responsible for causing most financial problems – we aim to acquire more (on credit) so we have more to boast about. Being that I operate a credit card message board, you may be surprised to hear that I feel the same way as Peter about credit cards, who loves and hates them. On one hand, when used responsibly (as in, paying in full and not overspending) earning cash back, gas rebates, or other types of credit card rewards might be desirable, as long as its on spending you would be doing anyway. However on the flip side, the problem is that many people use credit cards in a different manner… to overspend and buy frivolous things that they don’t have the cash for. When you boil it down, the reason people are motivated to do this is because our twisted culture instills the “more is better” mentality practically from the day we are born, deceiving us to believe that we need to trust in and boast about our worldly wealth and status.

Psalm 49:10-15

For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. 12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. “Selah” Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. 15 But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. “Selah”

In these verses we dive into the contrast between those who place their faith in God and those who place it in worldly riches… and what ultimately happens to each group.

It’s interesting (in a sad way, of course) how true this rings today with the wealthiest people in the world, many of whom do not believe in Christ. For them, they think the way to endure and avoid the grave is to indeed have “named lands after themselves” (whether its cities, company names, impressive buildings, universities, etc). Steve Jobs is an example of this… someone that [in this life] has everything, but afterward he will be one that is “far from their princely mansions.” That is, if he remains an atheist.

A personal finance lesson here is that no matter how much you acquire in life, it is ultimately worthless in the end. Remember, whether you are rich or poor, if you are a believer you already have the biggest prize of all. As someone that probably overworks myself, I am constantly having to remind myself this lesson and recommend you do the same, if you have also have an unhealthy obsession with work.

Psalm 49:16-20

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed– and men praise you when you prosper– he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light [of life]. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Peter discussed Psalm 49:16-20 a couple years back. These verses are the ones I want to discuss the most, because if you haven’t already learned this lesson, you can learn from my mistake.

Like many kids in America these days, I grew up idolizing money and material possessions. Part of this was because I grew up in a single-parent household where we didn’t have much and the other part was probably just because of the unhealthy culture which teaches us this message. As a kid, I am ashamed to say I had the utmost respect and admiration for those who were successful in life, by worldly standards. Ironically after being exposed to those people and that lifestyle which I thought I wanted, I realized what a huge “scam” it was, because most of those people honestly have nothing!

The tiny rural Michigan town I was born and raised in is a far cry from Beverly Hills, California, which is where I found myself working as a young adult. I have many, many specific stories which I will save for another post but in short, these people are the poster children for these verses. They are those who:

Grow rich with the splendor of their houses increasing
By worldly standards, they are counted as blessed and even praised (sometimes worshipped!) by others.
However these great riches come without understanding of the truth

What’s the lesson here? As the verse says “Do not be overawed when a man grows rich.” We see these ultra-wealthy people living in mansions, flying on Gulfstream jets, and paying for everything with a black American Express credit card and think to ourselves… I want to be like them! Trust me… you don’t! For the vast majority of them, that entire splendor will only exist in this lifetime.

So if your personal finance goals are to be like these modern idols, you need to rethink your goals… don’t be deceived! I have known the mighty and have known the meager and what Jesus said is true… the least is the greatest.

This is a guest post by Mike, the creator of CreditCardForum, a place for credit card reviews and discussion.

Dave Ramsey Comments On My Post About His New House, His Debt Philosophy And Giving

Peter Anderson — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:26:35 +0000

A few months ago I published a post about how financial guru Dave Ramsey had built a beautiful new multi-million dollar home in an upscale neighborhood in Tennessee. When I wrote the post I intended to focus more on the fact that Dave Ramsey had built the house without any debt of any kind, and wanted to hold it up as an example of living a financially responsible life. I thought it was pretty cool that Ramsey was practicing what he preaches, and was living a cash only lifestyle.

Soon after I wrote the post the comments section quickly took a turn, and the comments turned from a discussion of paying cash for a home, or living a cash only lifestyle, to a discussion of the ethics and morality of buying such a big home when you don’t need it, and whether you can be a witness for Christ when you have such wealth.

There were some comments that I believe made salient points about how we need to guard against allowing our wealth and possessions to become an idol in our lives, and about how we as Christians always need to be looking to Christ for guidance in our lives to make sure we’re being good stewards.

Photo copyright coolsprings.com

There were other comments that I think were extremely judgmental, that were assuming the worst about Ramsey and essentially saying that he was making money off the misery of others and that he wasn’t a good witness for Christ.

I was thinking about closing the comments on the discussion because it was starting to devolve a bit, when Dave Ramsey himself decided to stop by and comment on the discussion to shed some light on the situation.

Dave Ramsey Comments On His House, His Debt Philosophy, Giving

It was obvious from Dave’s comment that he had read much of the discussion, and I’m sure some of it was pretty frustrating to read. Here is what he said.

I just found this discussion from a twitter link. Wow. Thanks for all of your concern about my soul, my reputation and my witness. Please continue to pray for me because wisdom is sometimes elusive. The teacher in me has to reach out and help with proper biblical and life view points for some of you.

First, None of this is any of your business nor is it your problem, however in an effort to teach I have always been overly transparent. So I will try to help.

1) We tithe 10% of our before tax income to our local church
2) We have a family foundation that God allows us to give many times what our personal home or other items cost, so we give much more of God’s money to his kingdom that we live on percentage wise.
3) No Gary, we don’t have any debt any where of any kind. No corporate debt, no credit cards, no mortgage debt, no blind trusts, and no kind of debt no where no how. Didn’t you hear? I don’t believe in debt.
4) Before making a large purchase of any kind we ask God if that is what he wants us to do with HIS money. Like you I sometimes hear clearly and other times I am not sure. In the case of our home I was very sure.
5) Our home is a very small percentage of our net worth.
6) In the two years we have lived here we have had many many functions to fund raise for ministries, charities, and community causes. Millions of dollars have flowed through those events. We view our home, like everything in our life, as a tool to be used for the kingdom.
7) Yes, it blows my mind how much it costs to maintain a lot of things God has called me to manage. We have a 64,000 square foot office building (paid for) that we spend a lot of natural resources and money to keep operating and from where I came from it is sometimes hard to emotionally grasp the zeros. However, I man up, and step up to do what God gave me to do. It is weird some days though.
I used to say ignorant things like “what does anyone need with a ______ like that” when I was immature. Now I have been blessed to see how God uses people who are obedient when they are broke and when they aren’t. I was with a really Godly guy a few weeks ago worth 2.2 BILLION. He gives 300-500 million a year. Some of you sent him hate mail worried about his soul because he bought a $110,000 car. That does not make him wrong, that makes that person silly, foolish, and spiritually immature. Note: God gave HIM 2.2 Billion to manage, God did NOT assign you to help.

Thanks again for your concern and please continue to pray for me as I am perfectly capable of messing this whole deal up. So far though, I am not inconsistent between my message and my life. So far I have managed to keep God First, Sharon Second, my kids third, and serving all of you fourth. I am having a blast and I thank all you who do understand.

P.S. I will not be visiting back to see your comments because I already know what they are: Some get it, Some don’t.
Yours In Christ,
Dave Ramsey

Dave has said a lot in his comment, and I thought it might be good to dive into some of the things he touches on.

Good Stewardship

In his comments Dave mentions that the money is all God’s in the first place, and that they ask God for guidance on what to do with HIS resources before they do anything. He mentions that like the rest of us he doesn’t always get a clear answer as to how to proceed, but seeking God’s will is important.

So what does good stewardship mean? It means using what God has given us in accordance with his will, and using it wisely. It also means working hard so that we can feed ourselves and our families, while having enough left over to help others as well.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV)

Wealth And Things As Tools Used For His Kingdom

Dave mentions that they consider their house, and their wealth in general as a tool to be used for His kingdom. I think that’s a great way to look at how we should view the material things of this world – as merely tools given to us by God to be used to further his kingdom. When they become ends in themselves, they can become more important and we can start to lose our way.

Importance Of Prayer And Seeking God’s Will

Far too often we negate the power of prayer, and don’t even think to seek God’s will for our lives, and in our decisions. When that happens our own sinful motives far too often crop up. Ramsey touches on the importance of prayer, and seeking God’s will for your life and the resources he has entrusted you with.

We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:1-3

God Can Use The Wealthy (And The Poor)

I was reading in my Bible study this week about several very wealthy men in the bible – and how they were men after God’s own heart. There was King David, King Solomon, and then later on I read about some New Testament Christians who had wealth and used it to help others in need. God can use those who are obedient to his will.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles Acts 4:36-37

Those who have much are called to give much.

We all also remember the story of the widow who gave sacrificially out of faith as well, and how Jesus contrasted that with the showy giving of the pharisees. While God hasn’t entrusted us all with the same financial resources, we can all use our resources to give glory to him. We should try to avoid giving in order to gain approval from the world or other men, but instead give with godly motives.

Humility And Our Need For Prayer

Despite the fact that I believe it’s OK for a Christian to be wealthy, I believe, and I believe Dave understands, the need for humility and a constant seeking out of God’s will. If we aren’t constantly seeking his will, the things of this world can quickly become an idol in our lives, and the money and wealth can become more important than our relationship with Christ.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16 :13-15

As the verse says, God knows our hearts. When we try to justify ourselves in the eyes of others, and use money and position as a justification of our worth, and not our relationship with Christ, that’s when we start to focus more on ourselves and our own self-importance, and not God. It’s something we all need to guard against.

Conclusion

Whether or not you agree with Ramsey’s decision to build such a large house, I think there are things to be learned from this situation, such as our need for Christ, the importance of prayer and God’s guidance in our lives, and our need to be justified only in Christ, and not in the eyes of others through our money and possessions. We need to focus on Christ.

What do you think about what I’ve written here? Do you think I’ve missed the mark on what can be learned here? Do you have a different philosophy on whether or not Christians can or should be wealthy, or if they should give it all away? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Family Gives Back Over $45,000 That They Found In Their New Home

Khaleef Crumbley — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:37:27 +0000

I came across a great story on Yahoo the other day. It was about a man who found money in his attic (at least $45,000), and returned it to the children of the previous owner.

Josh Ferrin recently closed on his new home in Salt Lake City, Utah (actually, in the suburb of Bountiful), and decided to take a look in the attic. He found a metal box that contained a bunch of money:

Then he found seven more boxes, all stuffed full with tightly wound rolls of cash bundled together with twine — more than $40,000. Ferrin quickly took the boxes to his parent’s house to count. Along with his wife and children, they spread out thousands of bills on a table, separating the bundles one by one. They stopped counting at $40,000, but estimated there was at least $5,000 more on the table.

Can you imagine how they must have felt after finding this much cash? I would have loved to see the look on his face the moment he made this discovery. Here is how he describes his reaction to the “found money”:

“I freaked out, locked it my car, and called my wife to tell her she wouldn’t believe what I had found,” said Ferrin, who works as an artist for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City.

I remember the feeling that I had if I found money, even if it was only $1! This amount wouldn’t allow us to completely pay off our debt, but it could get us a long way there! But the “right” thing to do would be to try and track down the owner, and return the money.

Found Money And Proven Character

For many of us, this found money would be enough to pay off debt completely! It would mean the difference between bankruptcy and financial freedom. When you consider the fact that many people have to support themselves and their families on less than this for an entire year, it makes it easy to see how someone would keep this discovery to themselves!

Mr. Ferrin battled with that temptation as well, but chose to overcome it:

“I’m not perfect, and I wish I could say there was never any doubt in my mind. We knew we had to give it back, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t think about our car in need of repairs, how we would love to adopt a child and aren’t able to do that right now, or fix up our outdated house that we just bought,” Ferrin said. “But the money wasn’t ours to keep and I don’t believe you get a chance very often to do something radically honest, to do something ridiculously awesome for someone else and that is a lesson I hope to teach to my children.”

As a Christian, this is the type of response that I love to see. When someone has a chance to either do the right or wrong thing – especially when it comes to money – and they choose to do right, even though they can probably their deed(s) from people.

Here is how the story ended for Ferrin:

He thought about the home’s previous owner, Arnold Bangerter, who died in November and left the house to his children. Bangerter purchased the home in 1966 and lived there with his wife, who died in 2005. After most of the money was counted, Ferrin called one of Bangerter’s sons with the news.

Reading about how he handled this found money makes me realize that there are still people out there who consider the well-being of others when making decisions. He can be a good example of doing the right thing!

Examine Yourselves

I think that this story presents a great opportunity for each one of us to look inside our hearts and determine what our reaction would have been. Before everyone proudly states that they would give back the money, keep two things in mind.

First, this story would not have been one of the most popular articles on the day in which it was released, unless it was highlighting something abnormal! The story had over 9,000 comments – many of them stating how they were shocked and/or pleasantly surprised by Ferrin’s actions!

Also, remember that it can be very easy to assume that we will be able to overcome a particular temptation, until we are thrown in the middle of it! Many people have an attachment or even love toward money and what it can do for them. Listen to what the bible has to say about that:

If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ~ 1 Timothy 6:8-10

As we see from the verses above, the desire to be rich can lead us into much temptation, which can end in ruin and destruction. We are told that because some have a “love of money” (lit. affection for silver), that some leave the faith!

So, be sure to take the time to think about what you are willing to do for money. Evaluate your heart and search for any sin – especially look for pride and affection for money – confess it to the Lord, and put it to death!

Reader Questions

Would you have given this money back to the previous owners?
If you were the son of the man who saved this money, would you give the one who found the money a reward?
Do you find that you have an affection for money?

How Does The Leader Of The Free World Invest? President Obama’s Investing Strategy

Peter Anderson — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:43:53 +0000

This past week the President and Vice-President released their financial disclosure forms as required by The Ethics in Government Act of 1978. Essentially their finances are being completely reviewed by ethics officials to make sure there are no conflicts of interest.

It’s an interesting glimpse into the private financial life of our top politicos, and I think we can take it as a chance to look at what decisions they’re making, and see if those same financial decisions might make sense for regular folks as well.

The dollar figures we’re talking about here are not the numbers that most people can expect in their savings and retirement accounts, however. The Obamas reported millions in assets last year:

The Obamas reported total financial assets valued between $2.8 million and $11.8 million in 2010. That wide range is a function of the reporting rules that allow public figures to disclose their assets within broad bands, such as $100,001-$250,000 or $1 million-$5 million.

So the Obamas have anywhere from 2.8-11.8 million dollars in assets. Not too shabby, but of course most of that is going to be coming from book royalties and other income sources, while only a small portion comes from his income as the President.

So where are they keeping their money?

Treasury Bills And Treasury Notes

The Obamas report having between $1-5.25 million invested in Treasury bills and another $1-5.25 million in Treasury notes. So what does the article say bout those holdings?

They report having between $1.1 million-$5.25 million invested in Treasury bills and another $1 million to $5 million in Treasury notes. T-bills have a maximum maturity of one year, while T-notes have maturities between 2 and 10 years. There were no longer-term bond holdings listed. Maybe it’s just easier and patriotic to stick with Treasuries when you’re the Obamas, but if your household taxable income was north of $1.3 million in 2010, as the Obamas’ was, you should probably give tax-exempt municipal bonds a look see.

So the experts suggest a slightly different tack than they are taking.

Saving An Emergency Fund

Now the president doesn’t necessarily need an emergency fund, but the Obamas do have plenty of liquid cash sitting around just in case. They’ve got between $250,001-$500,000 sitting in a checking account, on which they stated they earned less than $1000 in interest. That means that they’re not really making much interest at all on that money, and they could have certainly done a lot better than that by putting a portion of that money in high yield savings or other investment. In any event, I think regular folks could learn something here by building up a nice cash reserve, an emergency fund, with which they can insure themselves against pretty much any eventuality. Just try to find a place to put it that will earn you a little bit more.

Investments

When it comes to investing I can’t disagree too much with what the Obama’s have done as they’re basically doing much the same what I would have done by passively investing in index funds. According to disclosures the Obamas have between $200,000-$450,000 invested in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. Why an index fund? Because index funds typically have lower costs, and the one the Obamas are using has an expense ratio of only .06 percent. Since they have more than $10,000 invested, they also qualify for Vanguard’s Admiral shares class which lowers their costs even more as compared to smaller dollar investors.

So what can we learn from the Obama’s investments? That passive investing through index funds can be a good idea to have as a core of your investment portfolio because over the long term your returns will be good and your expense ratios will be lower.

Having A Secondary Income Is a Good Thing

One other thing that I think is interesting from looking at the Obama’s disclosure forms is the fact that he’s making substantially more from his sideline pursuits, than from his day job. Last year he made millions of dollars in book royalties.

While I don’t think most people can expect to make millions of dollars in royalties from book sales, they can still take a queue from our commander in chief when it comes to having sideline income. I’ve become a big proponent of diversifying your income in order to help mitigate the risk of a job loss or other problem. Whether it’s starting a blog like I have, or starting a small business on the side, having secondary income to fall back on is always a good idea.

Take Advantage Of Tax Breaks To Invest

Come tax time we all make sure to take advantage of all the tax breaks and exemptions that are available to us, and the President is no exception. One thing he’s done is to take advantage of his self-employed status as a freelancer and book author in order to invest in a SEP-IRA pre-tax. The disclosure forms show that he has between $100,000-250,000 invested in his SEP-IRA.

If you’ve got a sideline income you may be eligible to invest in a SEP-IRA as well. Even if you’re not, make sure to take advantage of tax advantaged retirement savings accounts like our President has. Invest in accounts like the Traditional IRA, 401k, or the post tax Roth IRA if you want to tax diversify.

Saving For Your Kids College With Tax Advantaged Accounts

The Obamas have saved between $100,000-250,000 for their kids college education costs in one of Illinois 529 education savings plans. As long as the money is eventually used for qualified college expenses there won’t be any tax due on the withdrawals – so in that respect it’s a good decision.

While the Obamas are to be commended for saving up for their kids college, experts point out that the 529 savings plan that they chose isn’t necessarily one of the lowest cost 529s. There may be quite a few other lower cost 529 plans out there, as well as other options for savings that some folks may be eligible for – like using a Roth IRA for college savings. Make sure when saving for your kids college, to search around and find the most cost effective option for you.

Being Debt Free Is A Good Idea

The Obamas list no liabilities on their disclosure form, so essentially they are living debt free. The Bidens, on the other hand, have 6 different liabilities listed, including a home equity line of credit. Personally I’m with the Obamas on this one. Living debt free is the way to go! Now if only they felt so strongly about having our country be the same way – living on a budget – not spending more than we make!

What other lessons do you think we can learn from looking at the disclosure forms of our leaders? Are they making sound financial decisions in their personal lives? What do you think they should do differently?

Bible Money Matters » money

Cutting The Cord And Getting Your TV On The Cheap (Without Using The Big Bad Cable And Satellite Companies)

Why Do People Want Alternatives To Cable And Satellite TV?

How Our Home Entertainment System Is Setup

Other Options For Home Video Setups

Free And Cheap Video Streaming Services To Use

Other Cheap Video Content Options

Conclusion

Mobile Wallet: Path To Future Financial Ruin?

Benefits Of The Mobile Wallet

Financial Dangers Of The Mobile Wallet

Greed Pushed A Neighbor To Commit Insurance Fraud And Then Suicide

The Criminal On The Corner

Convictions For Fraud And Suicide

Where Did You Get Your Money Smarts?

Learning About Money Outside of the Family

Blogs and Online Resources

College Courses

Business Books

The Classroom

How To Become A Millionaire: How Even An Average Income Can Lead To A Million Dollars Saved

How Much Do I Need To Save?

How You Can Become A Millionaire – Baby Steps

Make Enough Income

Live On Less Than Your Means Will Allow

Save And Invest Your Money Regularly

Wash Rinse Repeat

Why Do You Really Want To Be Rich?

Why Do You Want To Be Rich?

Are Riches In Themselves A Bad Goal?

Setting Goals And Expectations For Wealth

Psalm 49: Important Lessons About Your Personal Finances

Psalm 49:1-4

Psalm 49:5-9

Psalm 49:10-15

Psalm 49:16-20

Dave Ramsey Comments On My Post About His New House, His Debt Philosophy And Giving

Dave Ramsey Comments On His House, His Debt Philosophy, Giving

Good Stewardship

Wealth And Things As Tools Used For His Kingdom

Importance Of Prayer And Seeking God’s Will

God Can Use The Wealthy (And The Poor)

Humility And Our Need For Prayer

Conclusion

Family Gives Back Over $45,000 That They Found In Their New Home

Found Money And Proven Character

Examine Yourselves

Reader Questions

How Does The Leader Of The Free World Invest? President Obama’s Investing Strategy

Treasury Bills And Treasury Notes

Saving An Emergency Fund

Investments

Having A Secondary Income Is a Good Thing

Take Advantage Of Tax Breaks To Invest

Saving For Your Kids College With Tax Advantaged Accounts

Being Debt Free Is A Good Idea