Faithful Finance (Lit Lowdown)

Faithful Finance: 10 Secrets to Move from Fearful Insecurity to Confident Control

By Emily G. Stroud

My rating: 5/5 stars – It was amazing!

Read: January 2018

This book is for you if… you are a Christian who spends money, talking about finances stresses you out (two hands raised over here) but you know you need to know this stuff, or you want a Godly perspective of maintaining your personal finances that is simple enough to understand and apply.

My thoughts: I will be the first person to admit that talking about finances gives me heart palpitations from the stress. Personal finances have always overwhelmed me, so I’ve chosen to simply ignore them and let my husband deal with everything. I just spend less when he tells me to spend less, and everything is fine. So when I picked up this book, I knew I would be stretching myself outside of my comfort zone, and it took several self-motivational speeches to talk myself into opening it. But I am so glad that I did!

Stroud combines her expertise in personal finance and her personal faith in God to provide a book that is easy to understand, easy to digest, and easy to apply to a Christian life. She reminds readers right off the bat that the money we have comes from God; He just let us borrow it while we are here on earth. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of household money, and Stroud weaves Scripture and a Godly perspective throughout each topic. She even shares the gospel in the chapter about insurance, encouraging readers to first take care of their “eternal insurance” through a faith in Jesus Christ.

Faithful stewards of the money God has blessed them with do the following:

Seek Out Wise Counsel (Find a financial advisor)
Create a Budget and Build Up a Cash Reserve (Make a monthly budget and stick to it!)
Give Generously and Prayerfully (Tithing plans and tips)
Manage Debt Carefully (There is good debt and bad debt.)
Make a Savings Plan (Saving money is a means of freedom, not restriction.)
Insure Themselves Against Disaster (Life Insurance, car insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, etc.)
Invest Wisely in Real Estate (The ins and outs of purchasing a home)
Invest for Retirement (Start as early as you can, and protect it!)
Save for College (Start as early as you can, and protect it! – yes this is the same plan as retirement)
Create an Estate Plan (Make your family’s life easier after you’re gone.)

Stroud makes these secrets easy to apply by providing online links and templates for readers to access at no extra cost. There is even a list of resources at the end of the book to help readers take the next step in each area. She discusses the “why” behind each secret, then gives details on the “how” to make it a reality in any reader’s life. The goal of the book is to “give an overview of what a successful financial plan looks like in real, everyday life,” and I would say Stroud does just that.

My wonderful husband is already on top of most of these tips, but since reading this book, I have asked him to show me the details too (and I’ve promised not to cry from anxiety every time we talk about the budget). Faithful Finance has helped me to not only be able to discuss the topic of finances confidently but also approach the topic with the perspective that it is part of my spiritual walk, not just a part of life.

Order your own copy of the book here.

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