Dover Apostolic Church

Here's a great article on finances I wanted to share. A well-written article by Shana Chickering of The Link Church. So true!

Let's be Millionaires

“You can have it all, so why not do whatever it takes to get it all?” That would be the society we live in today. The number one cause of divorce in America is finances…do you think maybe there’s a connection? This is a topic that has recently grabbed my attention and held it captive. It’s a touchy, hush-hush issue, but I’m passionate about this stuff called money, and I want to get the word out.

This isn’t about how much you make, but how you manage what you have. For a moment, think about what your life would be like without debt. Really stop, and ponder the thought of not having to send in a car payment every month. Not wondering what credit card you were going to switch to that has a lower introductory rate than the current card you carry. Not having the drudgery of working at a job you hate, to make sure you can pay all your bills, because everything that comes in goes right back out; getting sick is not even an option. Now think again about that ‘no debt’ life. Not the fact that it seems as if that could never be the case, but the fact that it is a real possibility. Smile. It feels good.

In the words of Bishop Ellis, “debt is killing the American church”. Or from my pastor, Shaun Eller, who recently planned to teach a leadership lesson on stewardship and finances, felt God told him the lesson was really about World Missions. Think about what we could give if we had no debt. When a missionary comes and gives a compelling presentation and your heart is ‘pricked’ and you’re ready to give, give, give--then you look at your checkbook. Well, this week we have the car payment…and the credit card is due… and with gas prices these days… The missionary over in some country you never heard of doesn’t seem as important as your daily life. Giving at this point is not even an option. So the missionary goes from this church to that, getting $20 here, and $20 there trying to get support to live in that country you never heard of. To let those people know there’s hope out there in a world that seems hopeless. Well, the same message is for you. There is a way out.

From the mind of Dave Ramsey, founder of Financial Peace and My Total Money Makeover, comes a detailed plan to get your finances in order. He has been a multi-millionaire twice in his life. Meaning he had millions, lost millions, and then with discipline got millions again. Millions.

That alone is something most don’t ever think is possible, or even right. How can you have all that money if the Bible says its sin. But, the Bible doesn’t say money is sin; it says the love of money is sin. Money is a must to evangelize the world, and even your city. We, as the church, need to be the ones that have it. Do you think the gospel will be spread because someone who doesn’t even go to church decides to fund your next evangelism effort? ‘Down in the dumps, I’m always broke’ days need to be gone. God wants to bless His church, so we can in turn do His work. For that to happen we need to show we can handle what we do have, so we can be trusted with more.

Here is the ‘life application’ portion. To start you’ll need to get a working money management plan, i.e., a budget. As John Maxwell said, ‘telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.’ It will take a few months to get one that works, but once you do, you’ll feel like you got a raise. This is mandatory to get your house in order. A business could never be run by spending and sending off money whenever it was thought to be needed. You must have a plan. Beyond that, the following is 7 steps to a Total Money Makeover, with a brief description of each. This is discipline, and hard work, but you will get results!

1. $1,000 Emergency fund. Fast. Sell something, have a yard sale, get a second job. As soon as you determine to get things right, something will go wrong. This is to cover emergencies so you don’t reach for the credit card.
2. Debt Snowball. Cut up all credit cards. Determine NEVER to go into debt again. Take your lowest monthly payment (ignore interest rates), and put anything and everything extra on that debt. Once the first is paid off, put that payment, and all the extra, and add it to the second, then the third, etc. By the end you’re making some really big payments, and the debt goes very quickly. All debt except the house.
3. Fully-funded Emergency fund. 3-6 months of expenses in savings. (remember, by this step all debt except the house is gone.)
4. Invest 15% of household income in Roth IRA’s and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding.
6. Pay-off home early.
7. Build wealth. Give, Save, and Spend!


Just for some more fun stuff here’s what could be done once the debt is gone. If a 30 year old couple making $40,000/yr would start investing 15% of their income ($500/mo at 12% in a growth mutual fund through a Roth IRA) until the age of 70--remember you have no debt by this step except your house-- they will have $5,882,386.26 tax free. That’s $5.8 Million dollars tax free!!! You could pay yourself $480,000/yr giving yourself a 4% raise each year to cover inflation, and not touch the principle. That’s $40,000 a month!

So you just took an extensive European tour, and thought you would come home and visit with the great, great grandchildren, for whom you’ve jumpstarted a college fund. A missionary from a country you’ve never heard of comes, and you feel a prick in your heart because they need a mere $30,000 to build a school. You smile kindly and say “$30,000? Do you accept checks?”

Shana Chickering is a member of The Link Church, Canton, OH, and an enthusiastic Dave Ramsey fan.
For more information see http://www.daveramsey.com or email her direct at shawshe@msn.com.