- Part 47

Thrift Store Bargains

Corey — February 5, 2010

Before our trip to Haiti, my wife, Michelle, and I were shopping at Goodwill to buy some work clothes we could use and leave there. But while we were there, Michelle found a great bargain in the shoe section.

She found a pair of Nike Air Zoom Elite Women’s running shoes for $6.97. Here are a couple pictures:

Michelle's Shoes

Michelle's Shoes - Price Tag

These shoes are in great condition, very clean, and look like they’ve barely been used at all. The amazing thing is these shoes retail for $65.00 new at shoedeals4u.com. That’s a savings of $58.03! Granted, they’re not worth the brand new price since they’re used, but they’re definitely worth more than $6.97.

These shoes wouldn’t be a great deal if Michelle didn’t actually need them and wouldn’t actually use them. But she does and will. I think this example can teach us two things:

You need to keep your eyes open to spot deals.

You shouldn’t ignore thrift stores because of stigmas or misconceptions.

And believe me, there are more bargains to be found in thrift stores than just the shoes. I saw a suit from Nordstrom, jeans from Gap and Calvin Klein, shirts from Tommy Hilfiger, and nice leather jackets – all in great condition. I’m not saying you should focus on name brands only, but it just goes to show you that you can find quality items at low prices in thrift stores.

Your Best Thrift Store Bargains

What’s your best thrift store bargain? Let me know in the comments!

In Contentment, Frugality, Stewardship

What Makes Christian Personal Finance Different?

Corey — February 4, 2010

If you spend much time reading personal finance advice for Christians (either on Provident Planning or somewhere else), you’ll probably start to realize that it’s not all that different from other personal finance advice. Most of the good advice for Christians applies equally to non-Christians as well. Stick to a budget, spend less than you earn, avoid excessive debt, keep an emergency fund, minimize your taxes, don’t buy insurance you don’t need, save for the future – none of those things are particularly Christian in nature.

There may be some points in which Christian personal finance and secular personal finance will differ, but, generally speaking, good personal finance advice is the same regardless of your religion. The difference – and this is a major difference – is in the ultimate purpose, the final goal, of following that good advice.

As far as the world is concerned, it makes sense to make smart personal finance decisions because that’s what is best for you. Good money management will help you meet your goals, maximize your wealth, and get the most out of the money you’ve earned. And according to the world, that’s what you should do with your money. Use it for the things you want. Use it to meet your goals and fulfill your dreams.

But for Christians, making smart decisions in our finances is not important just so we can maximize our wealth and meet all our desires. Our purpose is not to find fulfillment in this world and the things it offers. Our purpose is to honor and glorify God – to serve Him with our entire being in everything we do. Our goal is to do His will. And part of God’s will for us is to share His love by caring for those in need through generous giving. We don’t try to maximize our wealth for our own use. We try to maximize our wealth for God’s use.

I want you to remember this as you read the articles I write. Many times there won’t be a Bible verse in a post. Personal finance in the Bible is more about the principles that should govern our decisions – not specific applications (like how to get out of debt). But it’s very important that we remember the purpose of seeking and following good financial advice.

When I talk about spending less, it’s so we’ll have more to give. When I talk about earning more money, it’s so we’ll have more to give. When I talk about making smart financial choices, it’s so we’ll have more to give. It all comes back to giving – giving motivated by love that flows out of our response to God’s Gift to us.

Yes, making good financial decisions will have benefits for you personally. But our focus as Christians is on the benefits those decisions will have for the Kingdom. In our efforts to follow good financial advice, let’s keep our eyes focused on Christ and our minds focused on how we can serve Him fully.

The advice we follow may not be all that different from non-Christians. But the motivation, goals, and results should be very, very different. And that difference will serve as a witness for the power of God’s love working in our lives.

What do you think makes Christian personal finance different? Let me know in the comments!

In Budgeting, Contentment, Debt, Estate Planning, Frugality, Giving, Insurance, Investing, Marriage, Personal Finance Bible Study, Prosperity, Retirement, Saving, Stewardship, Taxes, Work

Review: Prudential’s Retirement Red Zone

Corey — February 3, 2010

I’m not sure if you’ve seen the commercials for Prudential’s Retirement Red Zone website, but I had and decided to see what it’s about. The commercial claims there’s a video on the website that will help you learn how to plan for a successful retirement when you’re near or just entering retirement.

But when you get to their website, all you’ll find is one huge sales pitch for variable annuities – probably one of the worst choices you can make when it comes to retirement investments. Not only will you pay high expenses for the insurance side of things (the guarantee of income for life), you’ll pay high expenses on the investment side of things as well (the variable part of the annuity). Variable annuities, especially deferred variable annuities, are only suitable for a small number of people – and it’s not usually retirees (or those near retirement). Annuities can have a place in retirement planning but they’re not for everyone (which is what Prudential and other insurance companies would like you to think).

The video you’ll find at Prudential’s Retirement Red Zone is not educational either. If you want to learn about annuities, you need to go somewhere else. They’re not something I’ve discussed yet on Provident Planning, but I’ll get to them eventually. Just know that there are some good reasons you probably shouldn’t be buying a variable annuity any time soon:

High Fees – The fees for most annuities are quite high, and this is even more true with variable annuities. Costs do matter, so it’s important to consider them when making investment choices.

Complexity – Each annuity comes with a prospectus, which is supposed to explain the product and costs to you, the buyer. But trying to read one of these documents is almost impossible. First, they’re HUGE. I downloaded a prospectus for one of Prudential’s annuities and it was 264 pages (8.5″ x 11″)! Second, they make up their own meanings for words so you must check their definitions, but even those can be difficult to parse out. And third, they’re not laid out in a way that’s easy to understand – even for financial professionals, much less the average consumer.

Better Options – Finally, there are better ways to secure guaranteed income in retirement than variable annuities. As I said before, I’ve not explored these options so far, but I will as time goes on. Just know that you really need to consult a trusted financial advisor before purchasing an annuity. Once you buy it you can’t change your mind. (You can switch to another annuity, but you generally can’t get your money back without huge penalties.) And when I say trusted financial advisor, I don’t mean your stock broker or insurance agent. You need to find someone who is held to a fiduciary standard – which means they are legally required to put your best interests first when advising you.

So that’s my public service announcement for today. If you want to continue learning about personal finance without the sales pitch, then sign up for free updates to Provident Planning today!

In Insurance, Investing, Retirement, Reviews

Personal Finance in the Bible: 1 Kings 11:28

Corey — February 2, 2010

The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he put him in charge of all the labor of the house of Joseph.

1 Kings 11:28 (WEB)

Jeroboam was put in charge of all the labor of the house of Joseph because he was industrious. He was a hard-working, diligent man who did his job well. He took pleasure in his work, and this was so evident to Solomon that he promoted Jeroboam to a position of power.

Jeroboam is a good example of the value of hard work. When we’re steadfast and skilled in our work, we will find more opportunities are available to us. Options open up to us because of our hard work and because others recognize our abilities and determination. Those who do their job well will be rewarded for it in time – if not here, then eternally.

It’s important for us to realize that when we work, we’re not working for men. We’re working for the glory of God. We should work as if Jesus is our boss. We should do what would please Him. In this way, we’ll bring honor to God’s name and lay a foundation for our future.

In reading the story of Jeroboam, it’s clear that his hard work laid the foundation for his future as well. Solomon recognized him, and God recognized him as well. If you read through chapters 11 and 12, you’ll see that he was given ten of the tribes of Israel. While it seems that Jeroboam did not continue in the ways of the Lord, he at least began by following God’s call to hard work. And it was that hard work that was rewarded.

How has your hard work been rewarded? How have you kept your focus on eternal rewards when your hard work has not been rewarded? Let me know in the comments!

In Personal Finance Bible Verses, Work

Frugal Tips from The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Track Your Spending for 3 Months

Corey — February 1, 2010

I borrowed The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn from my local library a while back because I’d read so much about it on other personal finance blogs. I started reading through it, and I found so many good tips and ideas that I decided to buy a copy for myself from Amazon. This post is the first in a series where I’ll share my take on some of my favorite tips from the book.

Track Your Spending for 3 Months

One of the first tips you’ll find in the book (on page 9, in fact) is to track your spending for 3 months. Amy says the first step for anyone who’s looking to become more frugal is to find out where your money is going now. I agree with her. It’s hard to know where you should start looking to save money if you’re not sure what you’re spending it on.

By taking the time to track all of your expenses, you’ll learn two things. First, you can categorize your expenses into essentials (needs) and non-essentials (wants). Breaking things down this way will help you see where you can make room in your spending.

Second, you’ll see just how much you’re spending on your budget categories. Knowing this helps you target the biggest expenses to get the most impact. It will also make you more aware of where your money is going. Blind spending is a quick way to destroy your finances.

How to Do It

So if you want to track your spending, what are your options? Here are some ideas:

Paper – You can always do it by hand with pencil and paper. This is a time intensive method and makes it difficult to work with the data you collect. I wouldn’t recommend this method.

Spreadsheet – Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc, Google Spreadsheets, or Zoho Spreadsheets can be also be used to track your expenses. This is another manual method that takes a bit of time, but at least you can sort and use your data. If you’re not dedicated to routinely entering your expenses, it won’t work for you.

Budgeting Software – Three of the best software choices for budgeting and tracking expenses are Quicken, You Need a Budget, and Gnu Cash. The advantage of these programs is that they store all the information on your computer, and they can automatically download your transactions from your banks and credit cards. They also offer more advanced reports than you’ll want to create in a spreadsheet. This is a much easier solution than the first two.

Online Budgeting Websites – There are multiple options if you’re interested in using an online budgeting website. Mint, Thrive, Wesabe, and Yodlee all offer a free, online solution for budgeting and tracking your spending. You might not be able to use these sites if you bank at a credit union or small local bank, and you might be concerned about security issues with having all your info in one place. Security was my initial concern, but I did some research and decided to go with Mint. I like it so far, and I’d recommend you read their FAQ if you’re interested. This is by far the easiest solution. It only took me about an hour to set it all up the way I wanted.

Sign Up for Free Updates!

If you want some more good ideas on saving money from The Complete Tightwad Gazette, make sure you sign up for free updates from Provident Planning. I write on a wide variety of personal finance topics, so even if you’re not interested in frugality I’m sure you’ll find something useful here.

In Budgeting, Frugality, Reviews

Raising a Cow for Beef: Month 5

Corey — January 29, 2010

       Last month, I posted an update about how my wife and I are raising a cow for beef. This is a summary of our activity and costs for month 5. First, let’s check Bambi’s growth. Here he is at four months old:

Bambi - 4 Months Old

       And here he is today at 5 months old (plus a week):

Paul & Bambi - 5 Months Old

       It’s clear he’s growing quickly now. He’s much bigger than he was a month ago. I’ve had to switch him from a collar to a halter so I can handle him better. (The collar was getting too small as well.)

Costs & Time

Again, there haven’t been any huge changes in the amount of time it takes to care for him. It’s pretty easy right now.

We spent quite a bit more than last month because I stocked up on feed, hay, and straw before we left for Haiti. Here’s what we spent this month:

Miscellaneous – $6.97 (for his halter)

Calf Feed – $77.85

Hay – $21.00

Straw – $6.00

Total Spent this Month – $111.82

Time – 7 hours

And here are our total costs over the past five months:

Cost of Bambi – Free!

Castration & Dehorning – $16.00

Milk Replacer – $45.54

Miscellaneous – $46.87

Calf Feed – $160.35

Hay – $52.00

Straw – $15.00

Total Spent – $335.76

Time – 49 hours

So after five months we’ve spent a total of $335.76 and 49 hours raising a cow for beef. We won’t need to buy much feed for the next month, and his feed will cost a little less from now on because he’s old enough to go on steer feed (as opposed to calf feed).

A major hindrance of raising animals (whether as a pet or for food) is the need for someone to be home to feed them. We were in Haiti for a week and a half, but luckily my wife’s mom volunteered to feed Bambi while we were gone. (Or we volunteered her…I’m not sure how that went.) I included her time in my calculations, but you’d have to pay someone if you can’t find anyone to do it for free while you’re gone.

That’s it for this month. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. And make sure you sign up for free updates to Provident Planning if you’re interested in knowing what it takes to raise a cow for beef!

In Miscellaneous

I’m Back from Haiti

Corey — January 28, 2010

Bonjou! I’m back from Haiti now. I had planned to share some of my reflections on my short-term mission trip, but I don’t feel like I’ve had quite enough time to process it all yet. I will say I definitely agree with the pros and cons brought up in GotQuestions.org’s article on short-term missions.

I have a much better understanding of what’s going on at the YWAM base in St. Marc, Haiti (even though they were in earthquake disaster mode while we were there). I also understand the needs a little better and feel even more motivated to give – especially after having developed relationships with some of the Haitians. I also saw God’s power working in Haiti and in our team, and I feel the trip drew me closer to Him. Our plans changed completely but they still glorified God. And that’s only because His hand was upon it all.

But it was an expensive trip, and I still don’t fully comprehend what’s required of long-term missionaries. I saw a bit of it, but you can’t really know what it’s like in just a week and a half. And while we were able to renovate a rundown building into a hospital for refugees from Port-au-Prince, we probably didn’t have a huge long-term spiritual impact. We couldn’t speak the language (though I did learn some), and we didn’t have enough time to develop meaningful relationships with the local people. I’m sure God will work through what we did while we were there, but the mission field needs long-term people more than short-term.

That’s all I’m going to share for now. I want to take some time to think about what I experienced and saw in Haiti. I also want to wait to get some pictures from other team members so I can share them with you. I’ll be getting back to regular posting now, but I’m sure I’ll be updating you on what’s going on in Haiti at the YWAM base in St. Marc. One of our team members kept a blog updated about our activities while we were there, so you can check that out if you want to read specifics about what we did. Also, you can find several videos about the earthquake relief efforts in the video gallery of YWAM Haiti’s website. Finally, Emily Troutman of AOL News wrote up an article about the and mentioned the YWAM base and our work. I even made it into a picture at the end of the article.

Stay tuned for more info, some pictures, and my reflections on the experience. And as always – thanks for reading!