“I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple — in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world […]
Archive | Generosity
A Hand Up
In the midst of all the bad economic news there are some positive stories. Like the story of Hal Colston’s Good News Garage in Burlington, Vermont, which repairs donated cars and then makes them available to people in need for as little as a few hundred dollars. Quoted on Oprah.com, Colston said, “In so many […]
Amish Money Management
There was an interesting post on the Houston Chronicle’s web site about the money management habits of the Amish. According to the story, Amish children all learn a trade such as farming, welding, or woodworking. Money earned through apprenticeships goes to their parents, who give the child 10 percent for spending and put the rest […]
Home Improvement
By Matt Bell on May 1, 2009 in Faith & Finances, Budgeting/Planning, Generosity, Saving, Credit/Debt
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” – Psalm 119:16 In the mid 1990s, Kevin Bauman began photographing abandoned houses in his hometown of Detroit. It was a creative outlet, a way to express his amazement and concern that “a once great city could find itself in such great distress.” Viewing […]
Thanks GIVING
In the midst of all the belt-tightening going on during these turbulent times, many charities are seeing an increase in donations. As reported by the Associated Press (which I heard about through Dan Miller’s excellent eNewsletter, 48 Days), Washington state’s largest food bank is getting calls from companies whose employees have decided to forgo their […]
Why We Feel So Bad
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, nearly 60 percent of Americans believe a depression is “somewhat likely” (38 percent) or “very likely” (21 percent). However, the CNNMoney.com article that reported on the findings noted that economists “generally don’t believe another depression is likely.” If “irrational exuberance” helped drive the market up, “loss aversion” may […]
Click and Give
Did you know that just by performing Internet searches you could help support your favorite charity? As reported in the Wall Street Journal, each search through Search Kindly or Good Search generates a charitable contribution of about a penny. That may not sound like a lot, but with lots of people doing lots of searches […]
Time Banking
For all who really believe that time is money, now there’s a bank for you–a time bank. As described in an article on Mainstreet.com, the concept works like this: you spend an hour doing something for another member of the time bank. That hour then gets “deposited” as a time dollar, which can be spent […]
The Heart of a Giver
“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.” – Luke 6:38 It’s tricky business teaching about giving these days. Preachers of the prosperity gospel are packing their […]
Privileged Money Management
“For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” – 2 Corinthians 8:3-4 According to American Express, “Membership has its privileges.” Its copyrighted phrase is designed to […]