Personal Finance 101for the Christian Home

RESOURCES AND BUDGETING

Suggested Resources for the Christian Home Personal

Finances•Christian books•Secular books•The Bible

Res

ourc

es: C

hris

tian

Boo

ks

Res

ourc

es: C

hris

tian

Boo

ks

Res

ourc

es: C

hris

tian

Boo

ks

Res

ourc

es: S

ecul

ar

Boo

ks +

Opdyke’s Cardinal Rule of Love and Money:

Never join your finances outside of marriage.

Debt Facts according to Opdyke

•Conflicts over spending inflict the most damage on a marriage during the first year•Debt - one of the most difficult hurdles•Root of money fights

Six Questions Every Prospective Married Couple

Must Ask Each Other•Q1: Do you have a basic understanding of money?•Bankrupt couples only understand spending•Evidence of “understanding money”

•Q2: What Is Your Money History?•Q5: What Are Your Financial Assets and Debts?•Q6: How Do You Use Debt?•How much debt do you each have?•What type of debt?•Q7: Will we operate from 1 checkbook or 3?

Six Questions Every Prospective Married Couple

Must Ask Each Other

Opdyke’s Suggestion for a Debt Philosophy

“We agree together to purposefully live below our means, not to pursue material wants without the money to afford them, never to use emergency savings for consumer purchases, and to take on debt only when it benefits the family’s long-term goals or needs.”

Res

ourc

es: T

he B

IBLE

Psalm 128.2—For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.I Tim. 5.8—But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Labor is Good: We work to provide for our families and shun get-rich-quick

schemes

Proverb 22.7—The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.Ecclesiastes 5.4b-5—[P]ay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Debt is Servitude: We pay our debts and carefully weigh the costs of incurring

more

Acts 20.35b—[R]emember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.Ecclesiastes 5.13—There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

Life is a Stewardship: We give in response to God’s generosity and choose to live

simply

Three Critical Ingredients in Any Successful Family Budget

•A monthly budget• IN—net payroll checks, average draws•OUT—every pay period, every month, Budget Busters

•A payday method•Staying on track between paydays

Visit us at www.MinistryCPA.org for more presentations or to connect with a tax

professional.

Visit our Q&A blog at www.MinistryCPA.blogspot.com

Member: American and Wisconsin Institutes of Certified Public Accountants