The words “Lessons for Daily Life” sit above Proverbs chapter six. It’s a small chapter, but full of wisdom. I pulled three lessons shared here, but I’d encourage you read through the entire chapter for even more insights and wisdom. 1. Don’t Overextend Your Wallet The Bible encourages generosity, but it is very careful to warn us about extending credit to others as well as getting into debt ourselves. Signing loans for others is discouraged because it can ruin relationships... Read more
It’s time to start thinking about holiday jobs. With Christmas just a few months away, your chances of getting a part time seasonal job increase if you start looking now. The Wall Street Journal gave warning this year that the outlook for part time jobs this Christmas may be the lowest we’ve seen in years. Their research showed that 25% of the major retailers interviewed had suggested that a lower number of seasonal workers would be employed in 2011. Businesses,... Read more
I’m excited to share with you a new book from Dave Ramsey. It’s called EntreLeadership and it’s designed to be a road map for entrepreneurs who want to develop in leadership while growing their business. With over 20 years of business experience, Dave Ramsey has become a respected voice in personal finance, especially in the area of debt management and budgeting. What makes this book different from all his other books is that it shares how his company (the Lampo... Read more
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment that is designed to deceive investors and ultimately make the originator very wealthy. Most follow a similar design: Promise extraordinary returns Show historical returns and potential for profit Build credibility with testimonials Leave with investors’ money While it’s simple in concept, some Ponzi schemes may be difficult to spot. One of the most recent and largest Ponzi schemes in history, run by Bernie Madoff, went unnoticed for years. Madoff promised excellent market returns... Read more
What would you guess the cost to be for checking a bag at an airport? Twenty five dollars? Fifty dollars? Four hundred fifty dollars? The answer? All the above. Depending on the airline and destination, you may pay as little as $0 and upwards of $450 for one checked bag. As you’ll see below, most airline carriers charge $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second checked bag. Anomalies like Southwest Airlines stand out with their ‘bags... Read more
Getting out of a recession is easier said than done. Some economists would rather see the economy work its way out naturally without government intervention. Others (particularly Keynesian economists) believe that the best way to get out of a recession is through government intervention via fiscal policy. Put simply, fiscal policy is the government’s attempt to tax or spend its way out of a recession. We hear the term tossed around in the news all the time, but what does... Read more
This guest post was written by Mike Young who writes about improving lives one marriage at a time at his blog. If you’re interested in writing a guest post for Faith and Finance, let us know. When debt overwhelms our life, it often happens slowly. I have yet to meet anyone who planned to rack up a pile of debt. It happens a little here and a little there over time. You may even find yourself in a situation where... Read more
I read the book Quitter this year, but I don’t want to quit my job. I actually enjoy what I do and don’t plan on quitting any time soon. But I still read it. Why? I read it because I’m an entrepreneur. I’m an entrepreneur with a day job who wanted to hear how another entrepreneur turned a bunch of day jobs into a dream job. The author, Jon Acuff, spent years working at jobs that paid the bills all... Read more
While the use of credit has been around for hundreds of years, the actual credit card has evolved in the last 50 years to make access to credit much easier. You can use your credit card to pay for almost anything, including toll road charges, funding your IRA (obviously not recommended), and to pay for college. Most people use a credit card on a daily basis, including myself. For responsible credit card users, the rewards can really add up if... Read more
The US Postal System has made its way into the news once again and its problems just seem to get bigger with each month that goes by. Unless a solution passes Congress, these issues will leave the USPS broke and jeopardize the nationalized mail system altogether. US Post Office Problems Congress micromanages the post office. A surefire way to run a bureaucracy into the ground is to make it so that changes are difficult to implement. When decisions have to... Read more
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