The Handbook of Christian Family Finance

The first thing we need to do is to go to the Lord in prayer. We must humble ourselves before the foot of the cross and confess to the Lord that we have sinned against him. We have been poor stewards of the resources that he has entrusted to us.

We must ask God to clear our minds and spirits and to give us a clear knowledge of his will regarding matters of stewardship, including financial recovery, management, and investment.  We should also ask for wisdom and patience. Ask God to give your friends and family patience as well as you move through this reorganization and, possibly difficult, time.

Ask God to put a shield of angels around you to protect you and your family during this time of great trial. Ask for God’s mercy and protection from the dark forces in the universe that want to confuse you. Ask God to keep issues and people at bay that could lead to more debt or distract you from your stewardship goals.   

Then finally thank God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for giving you the opportunity to glorify him with this stewardship recovery situation. There is an old saying that goes, “You may be the only Bible some people will ever see.” This could be your opportunity not only to resolve your own financial issues but also to be an effective witness for our Lord Jesus Christ as well.

To be good stewards of God’s resources means to get our family finances under control (get out of debt). This is accomplished with a formal financial plan. We call financial plans “budgets.”  There are many software programs that can help establish your budget, such as Microsoft Money. The 2004 premium package costs $79.95. It is relatively easy to use and very practical. It will help a family’s budget by tracking everything from account management to paying bills and optimizing investments. It also shows you tax-saving opportunities when they arise. 

QuickBooks offers its bookkeeping software called QuickBooks Pro 2003. It is an advanced form of bookkeeping software that can help just about anyone control spending, but its price of $179.95 is a little steep for those on a modest income. It contains over 100 templates to create professional forms, enabling you to create almost perfect paperwork. A complete monthly budget can be created with only a few clicks of a mouse.

If you have internet access, there are many professional and financial web sites that offer free access to their money management software. Several of these sites, such as Yahoo Financial and Quicken, offer impressive personal budgeting systems. The down side is that you must input all your personal financial information into a computer database that is not your own. If their computer crashes, you could lose all the information. Or worse, if it is hacked (broken into), all of your finances would be revealed. Such information in the wrong hands could ruin a person’s life.           

The advantage of using personal budgeting software in your home computer is that it continually keeps track of your spending and paying of bills, as long as your financial information is fed into it. The disadvantage is that the input must be done in a timely manner, which can become very tedious work. Most people will enter their information for a few months and then begin to slack off to every other month and soon three or four months will pass with no entries. Shortly, the software ends up in the garage with the rest of the unused or unwanted software.

People who truly want to change their financial lifestyle usually do better if they get their hands a little dirty in the process. Writing out a budget in long hand will put a little grit on your nails and a little success under your belt. A handwritten budget is a powerful first step and a testimony to your determination to get out of debt and be a good steward.

Another part of the power of this exercise comes from the actual visualization of how your money is being spent. Your budget can be organized to create a schedule to assist you in the reduction of debt. Every month you will be able to compare it with your checking account statements and monitor your progress. You can also monitor patterns of spending, which can be used to make adjustments or “fine-tune” your budget. This is an effective tool to control impulse buying. This also lets you know if you are moving in the direction of your financial goals (short-range...not operating in the red; and long range...

funds for retirement).