A Biblical Study of Personal Finances

1. A Biblical Study of Personal Finances Ai Jia愛家 April 6, 2011 Week #2: Giving and the Spending Record

2. Review the Spending Plan • Did everyone fill out their Spending Plan? • Questions about the form? • What was your highest expense?

3. Spending Plan Guidelines • Each category should follow these basic percentages of monthly income: • Giving 10% • Housing 33% • Food 9% • Transportation 15% • Debt 5% (hopefully less!)

4. Giving • Even non-Christian financial planners see giving as an important part of a responsible financial plan.

5. From Financial Planners “…It is important to budget contributions just as you budget other expenses. If contributions are not planned into your budget, they are likely to fall short of your own expectations...

6. From Financial Planners “…Like the electric bill, planned giving is part of your budget. It gives you guidelines for how much you can afford to give and provides a plan to be executed.” ~Sharing the Wealth, Minnesota Public Radio

7. From Financial Planners “…Whether you want to give hundreds of dollars or hundreds of thousands, a planned approach to charitable giving will help your donations go farther and have a bigger impact...

8. From Financial Planners “…By integrating your charitable giving goals into your financial plan, you can use your assets to their fullest potential and make financial contributions as effective as possible.” ~Ameriprise Financial

9. From the Wise “The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” ~ Albert Einstein

10. From the Wise “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” ~ John Wesley (1703 – 1791)

11. From the Wise “He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.” ~ Lao-Tzu

12. From the Wise “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.” ~ Billy Graham

13. From the Wise “Remember this– you can’t serve God and Money, but you can serve God with money.” ~ Selwyn Hughes

14. From the Bible Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

15. From the Bible Deuteronomy 15:10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

16. From the Bible Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

17. Giving • As Christians, we should lead the way on giving. • 10% Tithe is a minimum guide. Our goal should be to give as much as possible of our time, talent, and treasure. • We cannot ‘out-give” God!

18. Open Hands by Matt Papa

19. The Spending Record • Keeping track of our expenses is the only way to know if we are following our Spending Plan, if we need to adjust our Spending Plan, and if we are meeting our financial goals.

20. Keep Track of Your Finances Proverbs 27:23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds.

21. The Spending Record

22. Homework • With your spouse, decide who will be responsible for entering receipts into the Spending Record. • With your spouse, select a location where you will put receipts. Use an envelope, plastic bin or other container. • Begin tracking your spending. Enter all your receipts and non-receipt purchased into your Spending Record.

23. A Biblical Study of Personal Finances Ai Jia愛家 April 6, 2011 Week #2: Giving and the Spending Record