Seeking Financial Freedom Part 12

Welcome if you are visiting us for the first time here on Wednesdays!! If you want to start at the beginning of this series click on Seeking Financial Freedom on the right hand side of the screen..you will have to scroll down a bit to find it....

This week we will be addressing INVESTING....

All of the little details of investing I am pretty uneducated about......I get lost when people start talking about Money market, bonds, stocks, ect, ect....This is actually an area Justin and I are trying to get some counsel. If any of you have a wealth of knowledge, or know a Christian Financial Advisor we could talk with PLEASE feel free to email me and pass along that info.....

Here is a story to open the chapter...FROM THE BOOK:

One problem Allen and Jean wanted to address was their inability to save. "We've never been able to save consistently," Jean admitted. "We realize this has been a mistake, and we've suffered for it." Every time the car broke down or something else went wrong, we ended up going in debt because we didn't have savings to pay for these unexpected expenses. What should we do?"

So this week we will address this question.....But before we do, I thought I'd share this tidbit of info. According to one source, the average person in our nation is three weeks away from bankruptcy. He or she has little or no money saved, significant monthly credit obligations and a total dependence on next week's check to keep the budget afloat.

WOW!!!! We are a nation in trouble!!!! This book was also wrote way before this country was in the economic state we are currently facing. So stay put to get some encouraging advice, and Godly counsel from the author, Howard Dayton.

Proverbs 21:20 "The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets."

The first question you need to be HONEST and ask yourself is....which "man" does my family look like??? The wise man or the foolish man?

~~WARNING~~Answering this question in a very honest way, may cause you to make some remarkable changes in your life.

~~~~~HOW TO SAVE!~~~~~

Justin and I learned this important principle when starting our journey to FINANCIAL FREEDOM: The first thing we do when we get paid is write a check to our church. Then we write a check to the missionaries we support. Second, we pay ourselves. The reason behind this principle for us was knowing that we have given back the FIRST fruits of our income, not what is left over. The other reason is similar for paying ourselves second. We wanted to make sure that we are always adding to our savings. We found that if we waited until after the bills were paid , the cars are full of gas, groceries were bought, and misc. stuff was taken care of WE WERE OUT OF MONEY! By tithing and paying yourself (in that order), you learn what your monthly "spendable income" is and then learn to life within those means if you are not currently doing so.

The book advises "Steady Plodding". This is how they explain it (p 101)...

The fundamental principle you need to practice to become a successful investor is to spend less than you earn. Then save and invest the difference over a long period of time.

Proverbs 21:5 "Steady plodding brings prosperity, hasty speculation brings poverty."

I wanted to share this important piece of the puzzle with you that the book addresses. (p105)
It is scripturally permissible to save and invest ONLY when we are also giving. Jesus told a parable that illustrates the danger of saving without giving.

I won't take the time to type it all out but I strongly suggest you look it up in your Bible and see what Luke 12:16-21,34 has to say.

This chapter about investing talk about so much more: long-term and short-term saving, wills, inheritance, investment goals, avoiding risky investments, unacceptable investment goals.......but I think I will just keep in simple with where we need to start........

COMMITMENT: Establish a pattern of saving. Start with you next paycheck!

Feel free to chime in whenever you like... I love reading your comments and hearing feedback from you more than you know!