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Financial Freedom>> Financial Freedom: Getting Your House in Order

The more we know about money, the more we can control it in a purposeful and liberating way.

In this issue, your fellow Rhema grads talk about how to get out of debt, manage the money you have, and build toward a bright financial future.

Franklins

Developing the Habit of Money Management // James and Maggie Franklin //

>>James and Maggie Franklin (’89, ’90)

James and Maggie Franklin discuss how a budget can help your faith and lead to financial freedom. James and Maggie pastored New Covenant Bible Church in Moreno Valley, California, for 15 years. Today, they are itinerant ministers.

James Franklin points out that money—in one form or another—is attached to every area of our lives. “Ecclesiastes 10:19 says that ‘money answereth all things,’ ” he says, “so being a good manager of money is important. “As ‘Word people,’ we know we should give tithes and offerings,” he continues, “but how do we manage the other 90 percent?
The Lord wants us to live by faith, but also to count the cost concerning our life and lifestyle.”
As the Franklins point out, God wants us to know the numbers in our budget. “We are creatures of habit,” Maggie says, “so the habit of managing our money is more important than the amount we have.”
The Franklins say that a budget has been vital in helping them develop the right financial habits—and their faith. “A budget is our financial wisdom written down,” says James. “It keeps us from living beyond our means, because we always know where we are. And it shows us where we need to exercise our faith and ask the Lord to help us. Because of a budget, we can know how to pray weeks or months in advance. The discipline of working with a budget actually helps our faith.”

Tips For Managing Your Budget

• Be aware. “Know how much is coming in, from where, and when. Know what expenses need to be paid, and when, so you can avoid late fees and other problems.”

• Prioritize. “List your expenses in the order you must pay them.” (Remember to include life insurance and savings in your budget.)

• Save. “Start saving now. If you save $150 per month at 10 percent from age 25 to age 65, you would end up with nearly one million dollars!“

Moore

Delivered From Debt // Marianna Moore //

>>Marianna Moore (’02, ’03)

As a single mother, Marianna Moore applied both natural and spiritual principles to overcome overwhelming debt. Marianna is the founder of Grace and Mercy Ministries, and is also currently the RMAI/RAA receptionist. At the end of a tumultuous marriage, Marianna Moore found herself almost a million dollars in debt.

“My house was in the red for more than three times its value, but I wanted to keep it for my children’s sake,” says Marianna. “Every time I opened the mailbox, there were more bills. My wages were being garnished, and there was no end in sight.”

For the next two years, she worked at paying down what she could and living off the little left over. Then on December 24, 2000, Marianna gave her life to Jesus.

“Slowly, I started to believe that God could show me a way out,” she recounts. “I began reading every library book I could about money, and asking for help. I started owning the debt instead of it owning me.”

As Marianna paid toward her debt each month, God moved supernaturally on her behalf. Several debtors forgave bills completely, and her house tripled in value.

“By October 2005, I sold my house, paid off the remaining debt, and bought my current house,” Marianna says. “I found out that when you do your part in the natural, God is faithful to deliver you!”

Tips for Getting Out of Debt

Put everything in your budget. “Besides bills, plan everything from gifts and haircuts to groceries and activities. Locate what takes you by surprise so you can be prepared.”

Get a clear picture, and then release your faith. “I made a list of every bill, then prayed over it every night before bed, calling it ‘paid in full’ in Jesus’ Name.”

Make extra money. “I babysat, wrote cards, and wrapped presents for a reasonable fee. I even rented out the extra bedroom in my home.”

Don’t spend raises. “When I got a promotion, all the additional income went toward the debt. My budget didn’t change.”

Tighten your belt. “Instead of going to movies, we got them from the library. I prepared menus and shopped only once a week. Clipping coupons and comparison shopping saved me from the ‘dollar here, dollar there’ trap.”

Take inventory. “I sold a set of china plates that was gathering dust and paid off a bill. Don’t part with things you’ll regret losing, but sell anything you don’t need.”

Buy on sale. “If you’re paying full price, you’re paying too much! And don’t buy anything you don’t have to.”

• Save. Have a savings account, even if it’s just a jar on the shelf for now. The time will come when it grows.”

Seek wisdom. “Read, talk, and ask questions.”

• Tithe. Never, ever compromise your tithe. Period.”

Have faith. “It can move mountains of debt!”

 

Using Financial Wisdom in Itinerant Ministry // Fred and Tracey Arseneault //

>>Fred (’00, ’07) and Tracey (’06, ’07) Arseneault

Newly married and just starting out in itinerant ministry, Fred and Tracey Arseneault share a common-sense approach to balancing money and ministry. They currently travel and minister in the U.S. and around the world.

When we first heard about short-term Rhema mission trips, I wanted to go on all of them!” laughs Tracey. “But since I’m not the only one involved in the decision, I asked Fred, and he answered, ‘Sure you can go, if you get your money.’ ”

So Tracey worked, wrote support letters and believed God, got the money, and went to Peru. Since then, she and Fred have graduated from Rhema and traveled around the world ministering.

“I’ve learned to get the money first, so we don’t get behind,” Tracey says. “Working a secular job doesn’t mean you aren’t in ministry.”

Fred says, “It’s like Pastor Hagin says: ‘The natural and supernatural coming together make an explosive force for God.’ So we budget and see where we are, then see where we can go—and whatever we can’t do, we ask God to handle it.

“Credit cards are a huge issue,” he adds. “I see people who plan poorly, use the credit card, and just hope God will take care of the bill. That puts their financial future in jeopardy.”

Among other things, Tracey does contract work in the corporate world to earn money for ministry trips. “God didn’t give us our talents, skills, and abilities, then intend for us to stop using them when we go into the ministry. Those skills are to bridge us into the person He’s called us to be.”

Tips For Traveling Ministers

• Combine other income streams with ministry. This can include jobs, contract or temp work, direct-mail campaigns, fundraising, and anything else you can think of. “I’ve applied to work a part-time job at night,” Tracey says. “I can pursue ministry during the day, go out preaching on the weekends, yet still earn money for my household and other trips.”

Connections says— J-O-B is not a dirty word (Eph. 4:28, 1 Thess. 4:11), and it doesn’t have to be an either-or proposition. A secular job can use your gifts and talents, give you seed to sow, provide for your family, and help you pay bills so you can maintain a good witness and a good credit score. The Apostle Paul worked at his trade while preaching the Gospel (Acts 18:1–3, Acts 20:33–35, 2 Thess. 3:8–10). You can too.

• Use The Traveling Minister’s Handbook by Marvin Yoder. “It helps you plan for where you are now, where you’re going, and how much it’ll cost as you move forward,” Tracey says.

• Don’t use credit cards if you don’t have the money. Period.

• Listen to your spouse. Lean on each other’s strengths, and work hard to stay in agreement. “You are there to balance each other,” says Fred. “Don’t work against each other.”

Debt Wiped Out—One Step at a Time // Dawn Strelow //

Dawn Strelow

Dawn Strelow became desperate enough to educate herself, say ‘no’ to overspending, and get free from over $91,000 of debt! Dawn is a member of Church on the Move in Omaha, Nebraska, pastored by Tony Finley (’93, ’94).

Dawn was young, single, and over $50,000 in debt when she realized she was in financial trouble. “I had a car loan, student loans, and credit card debt,” she says, “and I battled unsuccessfully for almost four years before it started getting fixed. I’d tell myself, ‘I’ll just spend less and pay it off next month.’

“I even took part-time jobs, but I used the extra money to increase my standard of living. I had no grasp on how to budget or track my spending,” she says. “I wanted to go out to dinner with my friends more than I wanted to pay off the dinner I’d charged last month.”

Things didn’t start to change until Dawn attended a financial class at her church. “I learned how to budget,” she says. “I discovered I was spending about $1,000 more per month than I was making!”

After she created a budget, she got serious about making it work. “My first step was going a whole month without using my credit card,” Dawn says. “The first thing I said ‘no’ to was going out to dinner with my friends on the weekend. They went out, and I sat home—it was hard!

“And I cut out everything extra. I changed my cell phone plan and canceled my home phone, Internet service, and cable. I let people know that I loved them, but I wouldn’t be buying extravagant gifts for a while. I stopped my gym membership. I clearly remember getting near the end of the first month and eating marshmallows for dinner!”

But Dawn knew the sacrifices wouldn’t last forever. “I was desperate enough to do it,” she says. “The class and the books helped show me that there was hope. There was a date on the calendar when I would be out of debt, and that gave me the fortitude to say, ‘I can do this.’ ”

This time when Dawn got a second job, she used the whole paycheck to tithe and pay down debt. Along the way, her priorities began to change. “The satisfaction I used to get from buying things, I started to get from writing checks to pay off debt. I got excited paying bills because I felt responsible. I was working toward something, and I could see it happening!”

Although she paid off over $10,000, when Dawn married Eric in June 2004, their combined debt grew to over $91,000. But as this issue of Connections goes to press, they have just paid that debtcompletely off. “It’s been worth it all,” Dawn says, “and anyone can do it if they put their mind to it!”

Tips For Paying Off Debt

• Read. After the class at her church, Dawn read Are You Being Seduced into Debt? by John Cummuta (www.johncummuta.com). “It helped me to figure out where I was spending the money I didn’t need to spend,” she says. “And it gave me hope that I could get my debts paid. The book went a step further to tell me that if I invested that money, here’s how much I’d have in 20 years.”

• Use a budget system. Dawn uses the Mvelopes® online budgeting system from Crown Financial (www.mvelopes.com). “I’d encourage anyone to take a tour of their tutorial,” she says.

• Keep learning. Dawn has continued to read books on finances. “I’ve also read Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt,” she says. “I knew I had to get educated.”

Keeping Spending Under Control // Don and Denise Burns //

Don (’04, ’05) and Denise (’97, ’98) Burns

For managing daily expenses, Don and Denise Burns recommend an envelope system that has worked for them. The Burnses live and work in Round Rock, Texas. When we get paid, we pay our tithes and regular bills (mortgage, utilities, and so on) with checks,” Denise says. “Then we get the rest of the money in cash and put it into envelopes marked ‘groceries’ or ‘babysitting’ or ‘pet care’—and that’s all the money we have for the month for that category. On each envelope, we write the month and what’s inside. Then, each time we spend, we write the date and the expense so we can track where we’re spending.”

Denise carries all the envelopes with her in her purse. “It really keeps you on track at places like the grocery store,” she says. “You want to splurge, but you look in that envelope and see you only have this much money left until the end of the month, so you think twice. It’s also cool because some months you may not use all the money in an envelope, so it keeps stacking up for when you do need it.”

Tips For Using An Envelope System For Budgeting

Figure out the categories you want to use. There are several areas where you might want to set aside money each month, including groceries, babysitting, toiletries, pet care, kid’s activities, gasoline, dry cleaning, gifts, car repairs, hair care, entertainment, and “extra.”

• Get help from the experts. For more information, see Dave Ramsey’s envelope budgeting system or theCrown Financial envelope system.

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