“Wise people store up choice things but a foolish person consumes everything he has” (Proverbs 21:20). Ever wonder how people who seemed not to have much end up with significant amounts of money when they need it?

“He who gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11). Some of the harshest words Jesus spoke were about the “wicked” servant who didn’t put the master’s money in the bank so it would earn interest (see: Matthew 25:27).

“We spend everything we earn (and more) and then complain how unfair it is when we can’t make it through a rainy day. Here’s a 2,000 year old news flash… It’s gonna rain! Are you ready for a stormy year?”(Glen Williams, EHF, Web-church.com)

The Bible says that “it rains on the just and the unjust” so we can count on the fact that we will encounter storms at times. And when the storms come, we can also lose a lot in the process. That’s when we can encounter financial problems and sometimes our relationship with each other is compromised to the point that one or both spouses believes divorce is the only way to solve things.

But there is a better way —a way in which God would be more pleased. As financial expert Dave Ramsey says,

“There’s a joke that says ‘Marriage is grand, but divorce is 50 grand’ (which means that divorce is multiple times more expensive than people realize in many, many ways). If you can’t make it financially together, you’re going to have a real hard time making it apart.

“What I tell couples is that the enemy is out there —hang onto each other and work through these problems together, rather than separately.” (Dave Ramsey, quoted from the August 3, 2009 program of the 700 Club)

But how do you work together to deal with situations which cause financial and relationship chaos? First off, BE PREPARED. The Bible talks about being wise in building your home upon the foundation of Christ and His principles for living. Jesus stated,

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

To help you to wisely prepare and/or deal with financial trouble when a “storm” hits, there are three web site links to insightful articles provided below. Within these articles, you can learn ways to get through times of crisis and also learn how to better build your future financial house on a more solid footing.

One article is written by Dennis Rainey and is posted on the web site for the ministry of Family Life Today, another is written by Deborah McNauton, and is posted on the web site for Marriage Partnership Magazine. And the last one is written by Mary Hunt and is posted on the web site for Crosswalk. Click onto the links below to read:

• HOW DO WE DEAL WITH FINANCIAL TROUBLE?

• SURVIVING FINANCIAL CRISIS

• RECOGNIZING CRITICAL FINANCIAL DECISION POINTS
  

If you have additional tips you can share to help others in this area of marriage, or you want to share requests for prayer and/or ask others for advice, please “Join the Discussion” by adding your comments below.

Answer: Genesis 2:24 says God created a husband and a wife to be one. That means that a budget must work for two people and not just for one. A common error in budgeting is to try to over-correct previous bad habits. Crash budgets may work on paper, but not where people are involved.

I saw this principle demonstrated in one of the first couples I ever counseled. The husband was a financial analyst with a Harvard College MBA, but he didn’t know how to balance his own checkbook. After our second counseling session, I asked them to go home and develop a budget to control their miscellaneous overspending. (Miscellaneous is that category that eats up your money, and you can never remember where it went.) In their case, they were over-spending [a large amount of money] on a variety of things.

They left and came back in about two months. I asked the husband, “How do you like the plan so far?” He said, “This is great! I’ve got our spending under control and we’re not going any further into debt. In fact, we’re actually paying off some of our indebtedness and have a small savings.”

I asked the wife, “How do you like the plan so far?” She said, “This is absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. I thought you told me this would be a plan that would work for both of us.” “That’s right,” I said. “Well, let me tell you something. He has decided that my hair is miscellaneous, our kids are miscellaneous, my car is miscellaneous, the house is miscellaneous…”

She went on to name the things that he had trimmed out of the budget. “But,” she said, “his bass boat is not miscellaneous. When the motor on his bass boat broke and he had to spend two hundred dollars on it, it was a necessity of life.” Obviously, he had made out a budget that worked very well for him, cutting his wife’s discretionary spending, but sacrificing none of his own.

I shared a reference in Proverbs that I thought would fit the situation perfectly. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel” (Proverbs 12:15). The primary counselor of any husband is his wife.

The question/answer article above was written came from the book, Answers to Your Family’s Financial Questions, written by Dr Larry Burkett, published by Focus on the Family Publishing. Unfortunately, we regret to say that this book is no longer being printed.

But the ministry of Focus on the Family has a few insightful articles posted on their web site which could help you, that further addresses this subject of conflicting attitudes and budget struggles. To read these article (and other related articles as well), please click onto the link provided below:

• ATTITUDES THAT LEAD TO BUDGET STRUGGLES

• WORKING WITH YOUR DIFFERENCES

It’s difficult to comprehend the damage that can be done in marriage because of money matters. Little (and big) things that each partner purchases can add up so quickly that it can eventually become like a raging fire that is out of control destroying everything.

How can two people who made their finances work for them as individuals before they married, have such financial problems after they marry and find themselves in a continual battle with each other?

“One of the most basic reasons for conflict is that, as husband and wives, we come from different backgrounds. Sometimes we share a common view of how to handle money, but more often our perspectives set us apart from one another. We spend years shaping and honing our individual beliefs, watching the financial habits of our parents, friends, and mentors. Even when a couple agrees on a broad financial principle — such as the avoidance of debt or the importance of saving money — there are apt to be wide variations on how to interpret and apply these principles in everyday life.” (Ron Blue, Money Talks and So Can We)

Basically, it comes down to the fact that money means different things to each of us in how we handle it and until we find ways to bridge our differences in partnership, there can potentially always be problems.

“But in reality, there is no such thing as a money problem. What looks like money trouble in a marriage is almost always symptomatic of something else: a distorted view of money, a lack of understanding about the true purpose for marriage, or a basic inability to integrate the two and communicate effectively with your spouse about finances.” (Ron Blue, Money Talks and So Can We)

Marriage is about teamwork. And working together to make your finances work for your marriage is just part of what needs to be done to grow closer, rather than farther apart from each other. So working together on budgeting your money is important to the foundational strength of your marriage.

One problem however is that “putting together a budget” seems so restrictive and difficult. However, in reality:

“The purpose of budgeting is to free you, not confine you. God expects us to be a participant in planning a budget, not an observer. As Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Therefore, as we apply practical concepts in handling our money, God provides godly wisdom. It should free you from worry about whether the annual insurance payment will be made, whether you put money aside for the taxes on your home, and whether enough money will be available to by the clothes the children need.

“If those are not problems for you, you’re one of the fortunate few. They are problems for the majority of [people], and they may well be problems for your children when they have families. If you’re not willing to live on a budget, you will not be able to help them live on budgets. So a budget can be a good teaching tool, as well as a good measure of self-discipline.” (Dr Larry Burkett, Answers to Your Family’s Financial Questions)

But what do you do if your spouse doesn’t want to work with you on budgeting your money?

We are going to provide below a few links to some helpful web sites that have articles posted that could possibly help you with this. To read the first articles, posted on the terrific web site for the ministry of Focus on the Family, please click on the links below:

• GETTING A RELUCTANT SPOUSE ON BOARD WITH BUDGETING
• STORY: RECONCILING BUDGET DIFFERENCES
  

There are two additional articles posted on the insightful web site for Crown Financial Ministries that may also help you deal with this situation. They appear in their “Contact Us” section under “Frequently Asked Questions.” There are several questions posted in that section (which you may want to read) but the ones in particular that we believe will help you the most are:

• #2 “Husband Doesn’t Want to Budget” and

• #19 “Wife Doesn’t Want to Budget”

To make your selection:

• CLICK HERE

Keep in mind that (as Crown Financial Ministries says, and we agree):

“We are all stewards of what God has entrusted to us —talents, possessions, income, gifts, family, and jobs —and we must be prepared to give an account of how well we managed all that He has provided.” “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

We pray this is helpful for your finances and especially to your marital partnership.

Our society
It is commonly accepted in our current American society that in most households the cost of maintaining and operating a home requires that both spouses work. It doesn’t take much arithmetic to determine that the costs of new homes, cars, food, private school, and clothing are beyond the income ability of the average one-income family. Currently, the housing expenses on the average new home would require almost 70% of the average husband’s income. So, logic dictates that two incomes are needed to maintain the average American family lifestyle.

More and more married women are beginning to accept the pressures of a job as normal. That is unfortunate, because wives provide a good family balance for their husbands, who generally have a tendency to work too much and too long. If wives begin to adjust similarly, then ultimately the family will suffer. Since many women are the primary organizers and planners in the home, these gifts may be lost to their families if they become burdened by the daily work routine.

Loyalties and priorities
When wives shift their need for approval from the home to their work, problems generally follow. There is often a mixed loyalty between the demands at work and at home. On one hand, a wife may sense a lack of closeness to her family as a result of the time spent away from home and the normal mental fatigue of work stress. On the other hand, she may recognize the need to dedicate even more time to the job in order to succeed.

Just as many Christian husbands/fathers abandon the important priorities —God and family —because they believe they must be a success for their families, many wives/mothers rationalize in the same way.

Because there are negative side effects of working wives/mothers does not mean that it is scripturally wrong for them to work outside of the home. The fact that many women choose to work outside the home is not the problem. The fact that so many women have to work outside of the home to maintain the family’s finances is the real problem. If the family is so overextended that the wife/mother has to work, then the family has too much debt and changes have to be made.

Biblical priorities
There are 4 priorities that should be prerequisite with regard to wives/mothers working outside of the home:

1. Desire. Nowhere in God’s Word does it say or imply that wives/mothers should not work outside the home. But the lack of prohibition does not necessarily mean that it is best for families. The first prerequisite of a working wife/mother is a desire on her part to work. When a wife is compelled to work by design or circumstance, resentment often will develop.

2. Husband’s approval. Many working wives are able to gain approval from their husbands by pressuring them. Although some husbands don’t actually agree with their wives working, they relent under pressure. This is not the approval that a wife should seek or desire. Pressured approval will eventually undermine the marriage relationship.

3. Disciplined children. The role of the mother as the teacher of her children is incontestable. The father usually provides the policy decisions, but it is his wife who establishes discipline and direction on a day-to-day basis. The successes or failures of children as individuals will, in great part, depend on the mother’s success or failure as their guide. The greater the trend toward women’s fulfilling their emotional needs outside the home, the more children seem to become undisciplined.

4. Confused authority. God’s Word establishes the husband as the head of the household. For the working wife/mother, the loyalties between job and family may get confused.

Possible dangers
If both husband and wife feel the need for the wife to work and both agree that she should work, some very specific goals should be established for the wife’s income; otherwise, additional debt will result. At least once a year every working couple should reevaluate their goals and objectives, particularly the purpose of the wife’s income. A young couple would be well advised not to merge the wife’s income into their budget. To do so invites future disaster in the event of the birth of children, illness, or the husband’s job change.

They should learn to live on the husband’s income and use the wife’s for one-time purchases (car, furniture, or down payment on a home), debt reduction, or comfort and special occasion purchases (presents and gifts, vacation, or private school).

Conclusion
God’s Word describes the wife’s role as equal spiritually and dependent materially. She is her husband’s helpmate —supporter and companion. The husband is commanded to love his wife, care for her needs, and accept the responsibility for the family. If a wife’s working outside of the home doesn’t interfere with these biblical priorities, then the decision should be one of mutual consent. But if it does, then the marriage continuity must come first.

This article is an adaptation of Larry Burkett’s, Biblical Principles Under Scrutiny article entitled “Should Wives Work?” Christian Financial Concepts. This and many other wonderful articles (within their “Library” section found at the upper left corner on their Home Page) and other very practical financial materials can be found on the web site for Crown Financial Ministries at www.crown.org. We can’t recommend this ministry enough to obtain straightforward, Biblical financial help and resources.

Or you may even consider shopping once a year because you see that it can help you better make your financial ends work —  which is what the Reed family discovered.

Below you will find a link provided for the web site to Marriage Partnership Magazine which tells the story of the Reed family and how they made this concept work for their budget. For them, it started out as a necessity and as they became better at it they found out that they gained much more beyond the financial benefit.

It may even give you ideas of how you could make this work for your family or at least adapt some of the ideas for your lives together.

To read this article, please click onto the link provided below:

• ONE-STOP SHOPPING

But, why don’t they realize that they can use the same amount as a tax deduction if they pay off their mortgage as soon as it is possible and give the same amount they would have paid to the bank for charity?

What a great way to help support various ministries and yet still have their “tax deduction” for the income tax forms and also be better prepared in case you go through difficult financial times! At least your house is paid off.

This is what Steve and I have worked on for years (by making many sacrifices) so we can give more for the Lord’s work and less to banks.

To explain this concept further, we are providing a link to the web site for Crown Financial Ministries that has an article posted which you can read on this subject. We believe you might find it helpful.

To read this article, please click onto the link provided below:

• PAY OFF HOME MORTGAGE— LOSE TAX DEDUCTION?

It has a listing of some of the favorite money-saving web sites that financial expert Mary Hunt provides that you’ll most likely want to visit.

Because we feel it would be so helpful for you to read what Mary has to say we’ve provided a link below which will take you directly to the article for you to read.

To view this article:

CLICK HERE

When you’re done reading the above article:
You can then arrow back to our web site to:
• read another article
• or you may want to leave a comment or a money-saving tip
that could help others
in the space provided at the bottom of this page.

If you want to slash your food budget, learn the law of supply and demand. Shop for groceries when they’re in season. Because the supply of a product might outweigh the demand, prices drop when markets have an abundance of certain foods.

“Seasonal” doesn’t always refer to harvest. Holidays and life cycles also have an effect on prices. For instance, when children go back to school, you may see a jump in the price bf bananas because bananas are a lunch box staple.

Retail Dateline: A friend who runs several hundred miles each year goes through several pairs of running shoes. When he finds his shoes for less than half off, he purchases two pairs and puts one in his closet… that is a savvy consumer. He knows when to find shoes on sale because he knows the retail dateline.

Want a general guideline to the dateline in purchasing clothes? Start watching for spring clothing closeouts around the last week in April. Watch for any holdover spring, as well as all summer clothing, to close out around the last week in July. Most fall and all back-to-school clothes should close out around the end of October, and winter clothe and the holiday season get slashed around the end of January.

Note to Keep in Mind: A good department store will be out of seasonal merchandise at the peak of the season. If you wait until out-of-stock price slashing, the nice selection will be long gone. However, retailer dramatically reduce prices on goods that have lingered beyond the peak selling period.

So, with all of this in mind, here is a Seasonal Shopping Sales Guide to help you better keep within your budget:

January:

• Food: Standing ribs, steaks, chicken, pork, grapefruit, party foods.
• Other: Amazing sales due to holiday excess.

February:

• Food: Steaks, citrus, young turkeys.
• Other: Furniture, home furnishings, lease-return cars, audio-visual equipment, men’s apparel, air conditioners. Also, watch for Valentine’s Day and President’s Day sales.

March:

• Food: Corned beef, cabbage, fresh fish. Pay attention: many markets increase cost on some produce because supplies diminish.
• Other: Garden supplies, winter sports equipment, laundry detergent, infant wear.

April:

• Food: Mexican foods (last week of month), ham, eggs
• Other: White sales (linens and tablecloths), TV or VCR, hosiery, painting supplies, stoves, lingerie, cleaning products, off-season rates at some resorts.

May:

• Food: Mexican food (first week), roasts, asparagus, strawberries, Texas onions.
• Other: Baskets, clocks, knives, silverware, musical equipment, power tools, small appliances, luggage.

June:

• Food: Beginning of hot-dog wars, early melons, corn, picnic food, ketchup.
• Other: Charcoal, paper plates

July:

• Food: Fourth of July specials, hamburger, corn, bell peppers.
• Other: Beachwear, fabric, fuel, men’s shoes and shirts.

August:

• Food: Produce, marshmallows (think popcorn balls at Christmas)
• Other: Sports equipment, garden furniture, nursery plants (trees and perennials).

September:

• Food: Apples, winter squash, end of barbecue and picnic season.
• Other: Paint, school supplies, office supplies. Buy Christmas and birthday presents at summer closeouts. Watch for car clearances. The best time to buy a car is at the end of a month.

October:

• Food: Candy sales end of month, baking supplies, apples, hard-skinned squash.
• Other: White sales, tire wars, camping gear.

November:

• Food: Baking supplies, cranberries (can be frozen right in the bag for future muffins). Watch for sales around Thanksgiving.
• Other: Watch for Veteran’s Day sales. The day after Thanksgiving is notorious as the busiest shopping day of the year—watch for early-bird sales.

December:

• Food: Baking supplies, nuts, bananas, boneless chuck, potatoes, yams.
• Other: Coats, children’s wear, power tools, blankets and quilts. Watch for phenomenal sales between Christmas and New Year’s, as well as throughout the month. Early in the month, thrift stores display ornaments, toys, sleds, winter wear, skis and skates. The good selection goes fast.

The above article came from the book, LIVING WELL ON ONE INCOME In a Two-Income World -By Cynthia Yates, published in 2003 by Harvest House Publishers www.harvesthousepublishers.com. This book can be considered to be your own seminar—in the privacy of your own home. Cynthia Yates shares her method for living satisfactorily on any income and leads you to the start of a new path, one that will guide you as you journey towards living well on one income, toward living with compassion for others, and at all times living to the glory of God.

• WHEN TWO BECOME ONE: Living on One Income

These are suggestions for gifts you can give for Christmas or other holidays or occasions that won’t break your budget. In many occasions—it is the thought that counts:

• You can give a Photo Calendar. Put together with photos that are meaningful to the recipient. Office Max, Kinko’s and other places like these offer to put this together for you for about $25 or so. Or you can get the program to put a calendar together on your computer.

• Give some Homemade ornaments or order a personalized ornament.

• Dessert of the Month Gift. It’s the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.

• Bake up a dessert (Christmas cookies, brownies, etc). Put it in a nice container with a note in it that promises a dessert once a month for the whole year.

• Make a coupon that entitles the recipient to a free night of babysitting so they have a night out together with their spouse without the cost of babysitting. You can also give a gift certificate to a restaurant or whatever so the night out is a free one for them.

• Find a note card that has a picture on it that reminds you of that person. Then write a note of appreciation inside explaining why you chose that card with that picture and let them know some of the things you appreciate about them. (One of our sons who was in college did that one year and everyone thought that was one of the best gifts they’d ever received.)

• Give a magazine subscription so the recipient receives a type of “hug” every time their magazine comes to them throughout the next year.

• Give a journaling book so they can write their life story in their own words. This will give them the opportunity to give a “lasting heritage for their children and grandchildren.” A few suggestions: Word Publishing has the journaling books entitled: “Reflections from a Mother’s Heart”, and “A Father’s Legacy” which have questions on each page and space to write a personal answer.

• Give a simple gift (funny or otherwise). Talk to your sibling(s) about simplifying Christmas. Instead of giving each other more “stuff” that’s not necessarily needed, agree to give a humorous or sentimental card and/or a small gift and give the money you would have spent on a larger gift to a charity or ministry in their honor.

• Decide together with your siblings that instead of giving gifts to every one of them put the names together in a hat before Christmas and each person selects one name that they would give a gift to (determining ahead of time the amount that would be the most they could spend on that person).

• Go to garage sales, praying that God will show you what you could give to your loved one that will bless them (and yet be kind to your budget).

• Give a gift of yourself. Give a card with a gift certificate in it for a grocery store near them and make a date to take that loved one there and then promise to spend the day together doing errands that need to be done.

• As a family make up a coupon book to give to a loved one. The coupon book could contain coupons that include: raking leaves, mowing their lawn, baking a dessert for them, renting and then watching a video together, running errands together, walking their dog, babysitting, or any number of creative acts of love that you can come up with.

• Find a picture of you with your loved one when you’re together in a favorite place. Have the picture enlarged and frame it as a gift.

• Give them days of laughter. Buy for them a cartoon book that they would find humorous. They could be Snoopy, or Far Side, or Family Circle, or Calvin and Hobbs, or Fox Trot, or Herman, or “Uncle John’s Bathroom” books, or whatever you think they’d find funny. You could even get them at a used bookstore to help the budget out even further.

• Put together a “Memory Jar.” Make up little notes with little memories you’ve had with them of the blessing they’ve been to your life. You can put scripture verses in the jar to encourage them, and prayers you’ve prayed for them. Just be creative in finding things to put in it that will be a blessing to them.

• Get a basket and put some of their favorite foods in it.

• Give them a coupon for “Just You and Me Time.” We know of a grown son that gave that coupon to his mom. They chose a date and the son picked up his mom, took her to dinner, and to the symphony—”Not the best seats in the house” according to the son “because of a tight budget”— but they were million dollar seats to the mom. It was one of the highlights of her life. Another year, it was a day out to a wonderful lunch and then a trip to a museum, talking, laughing, and loving the time together. There have been more— but you get the idea. I know for a fact, the mom would have been happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a walk in the park. Just the quality time together made them the best gifts possible. (I [Cindy] know— because I’m the mom).

• There are a lot of different “coupons” that you could make up. One wife suggested that the husband could make up a few coupons that the wife could redeem for “guilt free” times together. It could contain coupons for him to do the dishes when she’s tired, or making dinner while she sits back and watches TV or whatever relaxing thing she could choose to do. There could be coupons in there for a foot massage, or a back rub, or a picnic lunch out together where he packs the lunch, or playing a table game together like Monopoly or Scrabble (with no complaining on his part), or having her write down several “honey-do” jobs that he’ll do within a certain amount of time without complaint. The possibilities are endless. And ladies, the coupon giving could be done on your part for your husbands. The possibilities could be endless there also.

• Make Hot Chocolate mix, putting it in a nice container (and include the recipe). One recipe for this could be: Powdered milk (that makes 8 quarts of milk), 1 pound of Nestles Chocolate Quick, 8 ounces of Coffee Creamer, 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Mix all ingredients together. Use 1/3 cup of mix to one cup of boiling water.

• Give a book on tape so they can listen while driving.

• Put together a basket of fruit and healthy snacks (and maybe even some not so healthy ones).

• Give them a work certificate giving them “a day with you helping them do their spring cleaning.“

• Give an inspirational book. You could even purchase it at a used bookstore.

• Give tickets to an event that would bless them.

• Make up a personalized photo album for them. Of course you’d have to obtain photos of them— but you could gather them from family members and make it unique. It could even be a humorous one.

• Make a homemade wreath.

• Give a book for journaling. One gift my husband gives me [Cindy] every Christmas is a new Devotional Journal fro the upcoming New Year. It’s especially meaningful to me because it’s a gift from him.

• As a family, make a cassette tape together, or a videotape to send to grandma in another state that contains messages of love to her.

• Make a meal for them, or the promise of a meal so they can have a “not having to cook” day.

• Give a certificate for a massage, or a day at the spa, or a manicure.

• Invest in their marriage. Give them a subscription to a marriage magazine, and/or some cassettes, or a book, or tickets to a seminar that would bless their marriage and their future lives together.

• Giving Phone Cards can be a blessing.

• Give them a photo box or two and a promise to sit down with them to help organize their photos.

• Give them a photo scrapbook of “Christmases of the Past.”

• Give a Gasoline certificate.

• Baked goods that they can eat soon and some they can freeze to enjoy later is a great gift.

• Give a photo collage in a simple frame.

• You can give Movie gift certificates or ones to a video rental store.

• Give a gift certificate to a favorite coffee shop of a fast food restaurant.

• Give Christmas cassettes or CD’s.

• Homemade candles or homemade soaps can be nice gifts. (You can get these kits at craft stores.)

• Give a basket with stationary (It can even be homemade), envelopes, and stamps.

• Grandkids can send a card that says, “I’ll write to you one a month for a whole year.”

• Notebooks/scrapbooks that contain meaningful things (like photos, awards, honors, etc.) can make lovely gifts. It will take time to do this, which is the most precious gift we can give.

• Have a favorite family picture made into a jigsaw puzzle for your loved one.

• Instead of gift-wrapping the gift, hide it and then give the recipient a card with a clue as to where they can start a “treasure hunt” for their present and then at each location have another clue waiting for them to figure out until they finally locate the mystery of where their present is. (You’re giving them a gift and a fun time finding it. We had great fun with this idea with our sons.)

• Put together a “Personal Web Book” that contains web sites you think your loved one will like.

• Pass on some prized possessions. Some of the most meaningful gifts are ones in which you give something that you own that you know they’d enjoy. It could be a treasured piece of jewelry, or a photo, or an heirloom of some type.

1. You should be able to contact the retailer through a variety of methods, including e-mail, telephone, and live interactive chat.

2. The retailer should prominently display customer service options throughout their Web site so you have no difficulty finding them.

3. You should expect responsive and prompt replies from your retailer regardless of how you contact the.

4. The customer service agent should be knowledgeable and equipped to answer your questions.

5. Steer clear of new companies. If a company is new, chances are they’re still working out the kinks at your expense.

6. Look carefully at legal disclaimers. Some say they have the right to take up to 3 weeks to notify you if they’re out of stock, which could make yo 3 weeks late on your project.

7. Beware of early billing. Some stores invoice you before you receive the merchandise. Make sure your credit card is charged at the same time the produce is shipped and not before. And if you get a second invoice before you get the item, cancel the order.

8. Pay by credit card instead of debit card or check. Using a credit card provides more legal protection if a dispute arises.

9. Read the warranty before buying an item, and check for limits on the company’s liability if something goes wrong with the item.

10. Make a printout of the Web page, the item being purchased, the warranty, and any messages between you and the seller.

As you surf the Net, just remember that to avoid the tidal waves, you must be on guard and not be cradled into a false sense of security. Let wisdom and prudence guide you, and you’ll avoid meeting cyber sharks in cyberspace.

The above tips came from the helpful book, “How to Save Money Every Day” from the author of “Shop, Save, and Share” Ellie Kay, published by Bethany House www.bethanyhouse.com. Ellie Kay first gained fame by teaching families everywhere how to painlessly save a lot of money each week on groceries and household supplies—and have a bounty to share. Now, with her signature humor and practical creativity, she reveals simple ways to save money each and every day!

As Dennis Rainey, the Executive Director of Family Life says of Ellie, “What can I say? Ellie Kay’s the Coupon Queen of the world! Actually Ellie’s ministry is one of the great services to families across our nation. I applaud her in helping all of us be better stewards.” You can also read more about her on her website at www.elliekay.com.

It’s amazing how susceptible Christians are to get-rich-quick schemes and how logical they seem at first. Every year, thousands of Christian families risk and lose money they cannot afford to lose while seeking that “big deal.” This can be avoided but not on the basis of human wisdom. We cannot get caught up in our own desires and fail to yield control to God’s wisdom.

To avoid financial traps, we should establish our standards by God’s Word: seek God’s plan for our lives, stick with what we know, seek good counsel, and wait on God’s peace before acting.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10:22)

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. (Proverbs 12:15)

A man of great anger shall bear the penalty, for if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again. (Proverbs 19:19)

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone; for wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. (Proverbs 23:4-5)

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. (Proverbs 24:3-4)

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1)

The prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naïve proceed and pay the penalty. (Proverbs 27:12)

A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 28:20)

A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth, and does not know that want will come upon him. (Proverbs 28:22)

She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies belts to the tradesmen. (Proverbs 31:16,24)

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 a pang. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

The above article comes from the book The Word on Finances, by Larry Burkett, published by Moody Press, www.moodypublishers.com, pgs. 342-344. This book is topically arranged with New American Standard Bible passages and a concordance which focuses attention on key issues on finance and stewardship. Author, Larry Burkett, has organized this invaluable collection of relevant Scriptures into an easy-to-reference volume and has given practical wisdom which opens each topical selection. It contains more than 70 topics which are included under eight comprehensive headings: • Right Attitudes • Wrong Attitudes • Credit • Giving and Providing • God’s Blessing and Curses • Investing • Work and Wages • Government.

• NOT by LYING—“Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death” (Proverbs 21:6).

• NOT by INJUSTICE—“Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice” (Proverbs 16:8).

• NOT by AN EVIL EYE—“A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him” (Proverbs 28:22).

• NOT by GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES—“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 28:20).

• NOT by SLOTHFULNESS—“How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:9-11).

• NOT by THE REVENUE OF THE WICKED—“In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.”

• NOT by CHEATING—“Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight” (Proverbs 11:1).

• NOT by DISHONESTY—“Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase” (Proverbs 13:11).

The above information is contained in the study booklet, Financial Turning Points by Dr David Jeremiah. For additional information from Dr Jeremiah on this subject, you can order the CD, “Proverbs About Prosperity” from the Powerful Principles from Proverbs series.

Dr Jeremiah is the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, and chancellor of Christian Heritage College. His radio and television broadcast, “Turning Point,” is heard on more than 1000 outlets. Information about all Turning Point books, study guides, and message albums are available in the United States by calling 1-800-947-1993 or visiting www.turningpointonline.org.

That’s what most Followers of Christ believe. Things like this just can’t happen to Christians! But it does. And when it does, that’s when you’re faced up against a barrier of belief. Are you going to hang onto your faith that God still loves you and hasn’t abandoned you? Are you going to still going to stay in close relationship with God or are you going to allow yourself to move your heart away from Him so you are not only bankrupt financially, but also spiritually bankrupt as well? It’s something to think about.

Below, we are providing a link to an article which is posted on the web site for Marriage Partnership Magazine which tells the true story of Tim and Melinda who thought they had done everything right and yet they still ended up in bankruptcy court. You can read of their painful journey and then what eventually happened in their lives afterward.

To read more, click onto the link provided below:

• BANKRUPT!

What she didn’t know was that the very qualities she loved would prove to be destructive when applied to handling their finances. He was a free spirit — if you have it, spend it. He had a checking account but didn’t know how to manage it. Often he wrote checks without knowing the balance in the account.

By contrast, Nancy kept a detailed budget and knew where every dollar went. She worked as a nurse, and lived frugally. “I bought little for myself, and I put most of my money into savings,” she says. “I was saving for specific things.”

It was a recipe for disaster. And since they married only nine months after they met, they were unprepared for what happened. “During engagement you’re still very well-behaved and you don’t understand how you’re so different in all your thinking and spending,” Nancy says. “I never really knew what kind of a spender he would be.” Unfortunately, it took eight years of frustration and isolation before they finally could take no more.

Jerry believes that handling finances is one of the most practical ways we can live out our faith here on earth. “It is so integrated into everything we do. It tells everything about us.”

So when Jerry looks back on those early years of his marriage, he recognizes that how he handled his finances was just one symptom of a bigger problem — the lack of spiritual discipline in his life. “It’s a barometer of the fact that I wasn’t walking closely with God during that time.”

Yes, he was vitally involved in his church, he led Bible studies, and he met regularly with good friends who encouraged him in his faith. But he wasn’t spending time regularly with God. He wasn’t planning for the future.

After their wedding he and Nancy moved to his hometown Des Moines, where he expected her to fit in with his lifestyle, his church, and his friends. “I would go off and play softball or basketball with my friends and bring them back and expect Nancy to take care of us. I was doing my own thing, making my own decisions, and she wasn’t part of it. She was very isolated, dealing with a very irresponsible husband.”

Nancy found it difficult to manage a budget when her husband would make purchasing decisions without consulting her. He wanted to landscape their yard, for example, and a friend convinced him to purchase railroad ties, dozens of plants, and create a beautiful three-tiered backyard. He never gave Nancy the opportunity to tell him they couldn’t afford it.

Jerry couldn’t understand why Nancy was so upset by his behavior. He thought she was a nag. “I didn’t see I was making any mistakes,” he recalls. “I thought she had a real problem with anger.”

Within a few months of their marriage, they would lie in bed at night thinking, “How did I get myself into this mess” How can I get out of this thing?”

Only nine months after their wedding day, Nancy attended a class at a local church on renewing the love in marriage. The other women in the group, each of whom had been married for a number of years, were surprised to find a relative newlywed in their midst, and took her on a class project. One of the best pieces of advice they gave her was to write a list of all the things she didn’t like about Jerry, and then give them to God. “I wrote down 14 things on my list,” Nancy says. “I decided to pray about those things instead of telling him about them.”

Nancy prayed faithfully for God to change her husband, and she tried to avoid nagging him. But as the years went by she grew discouraged when his behavior wouldn’t improve and their financial pressures gradually grew more acute. By 1983 their income had gone up, but so had their spending. They seemed caught in a downward spiral. “I would call out to God, ‘Why aren’t You making it better?’” she says.

Not until 1986 did Nancy begin to see some answers to her prayers. Says Jerry, “We reached a point where we were broke— financially as well as spiritually and emotionally. I was just ready to give up. We both were.

“It must be a spot that every marriage hits somewhere along the line. Unfortunately, that’s why a lot of them end.”

But that’s when Jerry and Nancy made a different choice. In their minds, they could see nothing but failure if they continued on their present path. So they both decided to surrender their lives again to the Lord. “It was through that feeling of brokenness,” Jerry says, “that God was able to have His way with us.”

They also attended a financial seminar by Larry Burkett (from www.crown.org) and heard Biblical principles for managing their money. They learned, for example, about their need to recognize that God was their provider, and He had given them stewardship over a section of His resources. Their responsibility was to manage those resources in a way that would glorify Him and promote His kingdom.

As Jerry took over the management of their personal finances, he began to understand the need for financial responsibility. “We aren’t going to do this any more,” he decided. “We aren’t going to let this thing control us for the rest of our lives.”

He and Nancy started analyzing what they were spending in different categories and wrote up a detailed budget Nancy worked off a cash (envelope) system for household expenses, and they decided each could only have a small amount of pocket change each week. Their entertainment fund eliminated Jerry’s lunches out, and provided for only a few date nights out together. They also listed all their debts and set up a plan for eliminating them. At the end of the first month of controlled spending, they even had money to put away for saving.

As Jerry began saving, and living according to the plan, Nancy began to trust and respect him more. “That was something I hadn’t had for him in many years — trust and respect. That was a real turning point for our marriage.”

They were so serious about obeying God in managing their money that they decided to sell their home; a friend offered to let them live rent-free in an old, decrepit house he owned. “We were willing to do whatever it took to pay off debt,” Jerry says.

During this process, though, something happened that the Fosters consider a miracle. Late one afternoon, Jerry was working alone at his office (he sold insurance) when a stranger walked in and purchased a huge life insurance policy. Jerry’s commission from the sale was quite large. With that money they were able to pay off some debts and take their home off the market.

“I want to be careful in how I say this, because not everybody has the same experience,” Jerry says, “But I think God was looking for us to be obedient to Him, and then He chose to bless us. Not that we haven’t had struggles since then, but the albatross was taken off our necks that day.”

Jerry Foster’s turnaround in financial responsibility was so dramatic that he actually started his own financial planning business in 1989 and spent several years obtaining the designation of certified financial planner. By the end of 1999 he had 10 employees with plans to hire at least two more. There is no logical explanation for the way God is blessing us today,” Jerry says, “other than it’s a God thing.”

In his business Jerry has the opportunity to counsel many young couples who are facing the same problems that nearly destroyed his marriage. “I think my generation was the first that didn’t understand that principle of living within our means,” he says. “We live in a society with an inflated idea of what’s normal, with high expectations of how we ought to be living. Young couples think they need to start out in nice homes, establish a certain lifestyle in order to create the right image. I see people in their 20s and 30s now who are so taken in by this, and I’m scared of what that’s going to mean for the next generation.”

As painful as his experience was, Jerry believes it was God’s way of disciplining him. “I believe God disciplines us for a purpose. I don’t think I would be in the career I’m in if it hadn’t been for that lowest point in my life. We may have no clue about why we are experiencing what we’re experiencing, but He knows the last chapter of the story.”

If Jerry has any doubt about how God has changed him, Nancy provided further confirmation recently when he asked her how he could improve as a husband. Just nine months into their marriage she had listed 14, but now she mentioned just two sources of frustration.

As Jerry finished writing down her response, she said, “Wait, I’m not done yet. Now let me tell you thing things that you’re doing right, that I love about you.”

She spent the next half-hour praising him for the positive character qualities in his life. And when she was done there were 10 items on a new list that symbolized a life and marriage that had been reborn.

This article came from the book, “I STILL DO: Stories of Lifelong Love and Marriage, written by David Boehi, published by Broadman & Holman Publishers. It tells the testimony of couples who have been successful in building marriages that last for a lifetime. From businessmen and women, pastors, ministry leaders, professional sports figures, authors, professors, and others from various walks of life, the examples Dave Boehi presents have endured by remaining focused on the vows made to each other to be lifelong partners. “I Still Do” offers encouragement to couples by calling them to “finish the race” and remain committed to marriage.

About the Author: Dave Boehi is currently editor of Family Life’s Homebuilders Couple Series and Real Familylife magazine. He has been editor for Dennis Rainey, Charlie Boyd, and others and has co-authored two books, The Tribute and the Promise and Preparing for Marriage. Boehi, his wife, and their two daughters live in Little Rock, Arkansas.

It’s foolish to make promises we know we can’t keep. That was true when this proverb was written, and it’s still true today.

Yet we can be in such a hurry to get what we want that we find ourselves over our heads in debt. We can’t stand to wait, so we sign on the dotted line and get what we want now with the promise to pay later. Then, we cross our fingers and hope our ship comes in before the bill does!

Even though the Book of Proverbs was written thousands of years ago, the advice is still relevant: if you don’t have the money up front, don’t buy it!

Agreeing to make a regular payment, such as a car payment or a house payment is not foolish as long as your income ensures you have the ability to make the payments. But agreeing to pay for something when you don’t have the means to honor the loan is the honest and irresponsible.

Agreeing to guarantee someone else’s debts is even more foolish! Proverbs warns you never to bind your life with the foolish choices others have made.

Be careful, especially now while you’re young, that you don’t saddle yourself with debt. Get sound financial advice from your parents or from a good financial counselor. Keep yourself free to respond to God’s leading.

Wouldn’t it be tragic if God called you to seminary or to the mission field and you were too shackled with unnecessary debt to obey!

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another;
for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8)

“The rich rules over the poor and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” (Proverbs 22:7)

The above article (other than the last scripture verses, which we added from the Bible) comes from the daily devotional book, The Experience, by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, published by Broadman and Holman Publishers. This is not a book on finances, but rather a devotional book covering a wide variety of different subjects intended to help your spiritual walk with the Lord. The above thoughts can be found in the June 12th section of this devotional.

“There is an incredible vulnerability that comes when we give another person access to our finances. The reality is they can now hurt us very badly by taking or misusing the information we have given them.

“Prior to marriage, many of us had to answer only to ourselves. A major shift occurred as we began our married life. We are now accountable to each other. How do you react when someone limits you? This is where ‘iron sharpens iron’ (see Proverbs 27:17) and the sparks begin to fly.

“What I want can seem so much more reasonable than what you want. Will my contribution be valued as much as yours? What if you use ‘my money’ to purchase something I disapprove of? Will I be able to influence you? Is the money I earn my money, your money, or our money? What if I delight in spending money on us while you spend money only on yourself? Often money fights end up fueling insecurities rather than resolving them.” (David and Janet Congo, contributing authors to: The Complete Marriage Book)

How true! It’s amazing how differently we view money. People might think the arguments are about not having enough money for all of the expenses that occur. And yes, that can be a big part of it. But often it goes deeper than what you are immediately arguing about. Because we come from different back grounds before marrying, we bring into the marriage different ideas about the true value of money and how it should be handled.

Something else that David and Janet Congo wrote that we’ve found to be true is that:

“Money may be an inanimate object, but we attach great emotional significance to it. One of the prerequisites for partnering in the matter of money is an understanding of the meaning of money to each of us.”

Because money means different things to each of us, it’s easy to find yourself clashing about “cash” issues. In order to truly be marital partners in every area of your lives together, you need to examine what is below the surface of what it means to each of you and then how to bridge the gaps between you.

To “look below the surface” of your money issues, we will provide a link for the web site for the ministry of Focus on the Family which has an article posted that deals with this very issue.

To read this article plus several more they provide on this subject as well, please click onto the link below:

• CASH CLASH: WHAT’S BELOW THE SURFACE?

• Never try to work through money problems while angry. Calm down, and then make an appointment with each other to try again. When you meet for that appointment, try incorporating some of the suggestions in this list.

• Listen carefully to the other’s suggestions without putdowns.

• Read what other people have tried, such as the one-income family who sets aside two budget categories under the wife’s management—one for all household needs and the other for herself to spend as she sees fit. This helps her avoid the guilt involved when she’s forced to choose continually between groceries and her own clothing items. Another one-income couple avoids conflict by having all the income under the wife’s management. She pays all the bills and divides any remaining funds. This couple feels that this arrangement gives the woman more freedom to fulfill her role as manager in the family while maintaining her personal dignity.

And now some “always” ground rules:

• Always take time to discuss and thoroughly understand your income, insurance plans, investments, and assets as a couple. Put this on your “every six months” agenda.

• Always try to understand your spouse’s hidden agenda in money fights. Don’t worry if you must agree to disagree. Studies show that unless one partner feels a need to totally dominate, agreeing to disagree doesn’t mean you can’t work together.

• Whether you have a joint account or a separate account always set aside a monthly amount of personal spending money for each of you. Even a dollar will help!

A joint account has always worked best for us. From the beginning of our marriage, we prayed for the attitude of “What’s mine is ours” and God has enabled us to feel that way. Even though there have been times when one of us has written a check and forgotten to record it, times of seeing that check returned with a NSF written in red ink across it, and times of despairing that we’d ever learn, we still feel that this arrangement reduces the potential for conflict.

But the important is not whether you have one account or two. It is, rather, the love that is shared in mutual trust of each other—and in trust of God.

• To help foster and maintain that unity in financial matters, let the books be open. One of the easiest ways to create problems for each other is withholding information. When partners refuse to confide matters that are important to both, then all sorts of misunderstandings spring up.

• Another essential guideline is, make mutual decisions. We have a rule at our house that any purchase over fifty dollars (Christmas can be an exception) has to be agreed upon. It used to be much less! But a working plan, a system of priorities, and an outline for the future—which is crucially important—probably even more important than a budget, because it discusses the values you want in life, not just “what” and “how” you go about buying. Call it a working attitude toward life, a common understanding on values and priorities, is a plan for Christian stewardship. But whatever you call it, work at setting long-term financial goals in choosing a lifestyle that is really worthy of the kind of life you want to live, and God wants you to live together.

Often the question comes, which spouse should handle the money? Well, the one who has that gift, of course! And husbands: remember that handling the money has nothing to do with God’s declaring you to be the head of the home.

I love this statement on money matters in marriage (by David Augsburger):

It’s high time for Christians to choose to travel light. It’s time to sort out our values and to pare those we keep down to the core, and to put the long-term eternal values in the first place.

And so as a husband and wife, choose values that are worthy of people who want to live the Jesus way in life—simply, openly, honestly, and putting persons first. That might help money mean some things to you both in your marriage.

Money can be the major problem in marriage—because of all its many mingled and mixed meanings. That is, unless. Unless communication worms its way through the emotional thicket of financial dreams, of wild expectations, of spending habits, and our values, and our wants and needs. And it can be a major problem until. Until understanding tears out some of the underbrush of tantalizing attractions, of seductive appeals to consume, of compulsive needs to compete with other couples.

Money: the responsibility of handling it is awesome. The call to use it wisely is great. The service it renders is incredible. And let me tell you, if you’ll let God into that area in your life, you may never again have to say with Eeyore [the sad donkey in the Winnie-the-Pooh books], “Pathetic! That’s what I am.” Your profits will be in Heaven, and so will be your heart.

The above article is edited from the terrific book OPPOSITES ATTACK, by Jack and Carole Mayhall, published by NavPress, www.navpress.com. This book is aimed at turning your differences into opportunities and helping polar opposites turn into the best of friends. As they often say, “different doesn’t mean wrong — it just means different in the way you approach life.”

There are so many things that are so good about this book, one of them being that this is such a practical book. It really gives a lot of helpful insights into how to get along better with each other. What’s great about it is the fact that Jack and Carole take their own differences and their own opposite ways of approaching life and help you to see, as you look into their lives, how you can turn your diversity around to HELP your marriage rather than hurt it. We HIGHLY recommend this book!

“Most of us have had the occasional heart-to-heart talk with our spouse over family finances. It probably comes as no surprise, then, that arguing about money is one of the most common arguments married couples experience.

“However, when a married couple continually argues over money, it puts a tremendous strain on their relationship, regardless of how much or how little money is coming into the home.”

Disagreeing about money isn’t the problem, it’s how you work through your disagreements and differences so you both eventually become satisfied with the outcome. After all, it’s only natural that you find things you disagree with — you both came from different vantage points in spending money before you married. But as a marital team you need to work through your differences.

So, how do you deal with your differences when it comes to money so it doesn’t destroy your marriage (like it does in so many cases), and build relationship bridges together?

To help you with this question, we will provide a web site link to the ministry of Homeword.com so you can read an article posted on this subject. To do so, click onto the link below:

• DEALING WITH 5 WAYS COUPLES DISAGREE ABOUT MONEY
  

Another article that could help you deal fairly with each other in this area of your marriage and finances, can be found on the Marriage Partnership Magazine web site. Please click onto the link below to read:

• WHAT FIGHTING ABOUT MONEY WILL COST YOU

In addition, the ministry of Focus on the Family has an article that may help you in this area of your marriage as well. Please click onto the web site link below to read:

• MONEY TALK: THE “U” IN “UNITY IS SILENT

“It’s not enough to just earn money and expect to have it for the things we need.  We must use the money in a planned and careful manner… the “B” word… budget.  Some teach that Christians should have no concern for money, as ‘worldly’.  And, Jesus said not to ‘worry’ about food, clothes, etc. (Mt 6:25-34).  Planning isn’t worrying… it’s being a good steward of what God has put under your oversight.” (Glen Williams, EHF, web-church.com)

So how do you become a good steward of “what God has put under your oversight?” Part of the answer to this is realizing what God is entrusting to your care and then learning how to take care of it.

[A Christian financial counselor told us] “Most Christian couples I talk to don’t understand that all they have is God’s and that they’re only stewards for Him. They may know this intellectually, but it hasn’t become a part of their attitudes or lives. Consequently, they get themselves into debt, quarrel about money, and spend excessively on themselves. I’m convinced that if we could get people to understand the truth of the fact that all they have belongs to God and they’re only stewards handling His property, most of their problems would be overcome.”

My mind probed the truth of what he said. A “steward” is a person put in charge of the affairs or the estate of another, including supervision and management of accounts. The steward acts as an administrator of the finances and property for another. To be good stewards in our Christian lives, then means that we realize deep within us that we’re only managers and administrators for what belongs to God and is temporarily loaned to us. God tells us to be good stewards of our time, talents, and our possessions. But in reality, they’re His time, His bestowed talents, and His possessions— not ours at all. (Jack Mayhall, Opposites Attack)

So, if that is the case, that I am an administrator for what belongs to God, what are some rules for managing His money?

To help you in your quest for learning how to manage money in God’s way, we’d like to refer you to an article written by Mark Rutland, which appears on the web site for New Man Magazine. To read this article, please click onto the link below:

• THREE RULES FOR MANAGING MONEY

-ALSO-

Another article that could help you manage your money is found on the web site for Marriage Partnership Magazine. To read, please click onto the link provided below:

• NOT ENOUGH MONEY?

-ALSO-

There is something that most couples neglect when they are managing their finances — something that none of us, according to financial expert Dave Ramsey, says we should neglect. Please click onto the link provided below to read:

• WHY YOU NEED A LOVE DRAWER

If you have any additional tips you can share to help others in this area of marriage, or you want to share requests for prayer and/or ask others for advice, please “Join the Discussion” by adding your comments below.

As Dr Larry Burkett said, “Because tithing involves money, it is a prime candidate for controversy between a husband and wife.” And it is. But the situation is about more than money — it’s about priorities and better understanding why tithing should be a priority.

Dr Burkett went on to explain the significance of the tithe by saying,

“It’s imperative to understand that tithing is not a law but, rather, an indicator of a desire to be obedient to all of God’s laws. Giving always should come from the heart. And, because the tithe’s purpose is to be an individual or family testimony of God’s ownership, it was never intended that everyone should give the same amount or even in the same way but that each should give bountifully and cheerfully” (see 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). (From the article, Tithing When Your Spouse Objects, Baptist Press, 7/31/2003)

So, what about the situation where you’re conflicting over this important issue? And what do you do when one spouse is a follower of Christ and the other is an unbeliever? That could cause even more conflict.

To address these questions and more, we have provided web site links below to the ministry of Focus on the Family and another posted on the web site for Lifeway Magazine.

To read more on this subject click onto the links below:

• TITHING WHEN YOUR SPOUSE OBJECTS

• WE DISAGREE ABOUT TITHING

• TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT TITHING

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