For our married lives, Cathy and I have sought to understand and apply the Scripture’s truth on handling our finances. During the fall 2010, I taught a class at our church using Your Money Map, from Crown Financial Ministries. The book provides an overview of the Scripture’s teaching on money and organizes us to apply it through 7 destinations (see below) .
- Class notes:
- Introduction/Chapters 1-5 – Money Map overview; Who is the Real Owner?; We Are Managers
- Chapters 6-9 – Giving; honesty; celebrating progress; our life purpose and money
- Chapter 10-11 – Getting the Most Out of Your job, Savings for Emergencies
- Chapter 12 – Destination 1 – Your Spending Plan / $500 in emergency savings
- Chapter 13 – Destination 2 – Credit Cards Paid Off /Increase emergency savings to 1 month
- Chapter 14 – Destination3 – Consumer Debt Paid Off / Expand Emergency Savings to Three Months
- Chapter 15-6 – Destination 4 – Saving for Major Purchases/Starting Your Own Business
- The list of budget categories from the book and those we use, in a spreadsheet. You can adapt it for your own use.
- Life purpose and goals worksheet (Word). When we know our purpose and our major goals, we can make better spending decisions to reflect our priorities (rather than the professional marketers who aim to guide us).
- Personal Financial Statement (balance sheet – assets vs. liabilities) as a PDF document or as an Excel spreadsheet.
- Links to other helpful resources:
- An article from Consumer Reports entitled, “Debt or credit: Which card to use?“, July 2010.