Financial Empowerment

5 Reasons High-Income Earners Struggle Financially And How You Can Change That

Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need. …But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger!  I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. – Luke 15: 14, 17-18 (Read Luke 15: 11-32)

Does that sound familiar to you; “I make good money; I am just not good at managing it.”?

You have a lot going for you. You’re a child of God and you’re confident in that. You have a great career and/or you run a successful profitable business. You can’t deny that you’re a high-income earner. But there’s a problem: you’re often not sure where your money is going or you never seem to have enough of it. You know there is a deeper issue for not managing your money well.

You know making more money isn’t the answer you need to be financially successful or to reach your life goals. Rather, you know you need to get a grip on your money. You need to start mastering your money from inside-out. That is key to your financial and life success.

Becoming and staying wealthy is not a matter of how much money you’re making but what you do with it that makes the difference. Wealth isn’t defined by that big pay you receive or that high level of business revenue you gain but by how much you save, invest and I dear say, what you give too!

 

The High-Income Earner’s Conundrum

The conundrum you face in relation to money is that more you have of it, the more you think you need to do something with it. Unfortunately, that ‘something’ most often is not beneficial to your wellbeing – financially or otherwise. And sadly you find yourself in a financial bind and in need of help.

There are few reasons why as high-income earners you struggle financially:

  1. Lifestyle Inflation – Often times the more money you earn the more you think you need to spend on expensive homes, luxury cars, whatever is trending or on you’ve always dreamed of having. This kind of spending is often disproportionate to your income level and will often lead to less wealth.
  2. Living to Impress Others – Society has convinced you that you have to live the part. If you are a high-income earner, you have to show it. Unfortunately, even without realizing it, we have bought into that way of thinking and begin to live it out. When your income increases, your auto-response is to spend more and to impress family, friends and foes with your new found wealth.
  3. Over spending – Not only do you spend more as your income increases but you end up spending more than you earn. To make up for shortfalls, you max out credit cards and end up with more debt than you can manage. Why? You thought you could afford the upgraded lifestyle but didn’t count the cost of the new lifestyle.
  4. No Money Plan –  The more you earn, the more you think you don’t need to plan. Often high-income earners don’t have a money plan or even a simple cash flow system. When it comes to money, they often make poor financial (and life-impacting) decisions. They often unprepared to deal with changes in the lifestyle and unprepared for changes in their future earnings or if faced with an emergency.
  5. Live for the Moment – One thing that consistent high-income earners face is that they live for the moment. And even when faced with financial challenges, they will often think “Oh, I will make it up next time.” They are often thinking that the next deal, the next sale, the next client will bring in enough to cover any shortfall they have. The challenge with this is that they are often living at high-stressed levels – and that is not good for their well-being (emotional, mental or physical health).

Does any of this resonate with you? Even if you don’t consider yourself a high-income, I am sure some of this may speak to you.

 

How Do You Fix This?

I am sure you’re wondering: “How do I overcome this high-income earner conundrum Pam?” Don’t’ worry. Here are a few money mastery tips you can act on right now to help you. Though they may seem simple or even obvious they work!

Go on a spending fast for 30 days. – Plan ahead and purchase what you need in advance for the month. If you need some thing during that 30-day period, buy the bare minimum. HOWEVER, if you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Stay away from the shopping mall. Unsubscribe from the mailing lists of your favorite online retailers. Eat at home. Take lunch and snacks to work or wherever you go during the day. I am sure you’ll have extra in your account that you can save.

Save the pennies 😊! – I know you have heard it often enough that your eyes may be rolling when you read this – SAVE your money! Consistently set aside money for your benefit. Give a positive assignment to what you save and/or invest. Save for your Freedom Fund (or what is known as an Emergency Fund). I call it a Freedom Fund because having that money set aside when life happens, frees you from the stress of not having any!

Come to your senses – Ah yes, you have to make a decision that you don’t want this lifestyle anymore where you are spending more than you earn, buying things you don’t need or really want and that don’t satisfy you but rather add more burden to your life. Don’t wait to hit rock bottom like the prodigal son, before you come to your senses. Now is the time to make a change for the better.

Take action – The prodigal son took the decision to ask his father for forgiveness. You to may need to do that too. But along with that, he was willing to make other changes i.e. to go back to his father house and work as a servant if that is what it would take to feed himself! Fortunately for him, the father received him and honored him as a son. Your action to get yourself out of financial challenges will involve some effort too – you will need to make some adjustments to the way you manage your money. But you don’t have to do it alone …

If you want to learn how, I can share with you the exact 12-step process I use to help my clients flourish financially rather than struggle financially.

If you would rather see your wealth increase rather than deplete or if you rather have more than enough than not enough; book a call with me to learn more!

Wishing you success in breaking free from the high-income earner conundrum!

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Health Is Wealth BUT Wealth Is Health Too!

3 John 1:2 AMP – Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

Exodus 15:26 – “… For I am the Lord who heals you.”

I don’t know about you but for me being sick is not fun!

Recently I had to take some time off (about a month) to nurse and recover from being ill. Sickness is often unplanned, unexpected, undesired and totally unfriendly to your finances! It takes the luster out of life when you’re ill. You can’t work or if you can you don’t function at your best. Your finances are impacted either because you have to go to the doctor or hospital. And if you are not able to work at all; you lose your main income stream and the level of your wealth decreases. When you recover from ill-health, you also have to begin the work of recovering – physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.

 

When you have good health, you have good wealth

I consider good health as wealth because when you are healthy:

  • You are happier when you are healthy or healthier
  • You are productive and when you are productive you can create wealth
  • You get to make solid, clear decisions about your life and your finances
  • You are more grateful when you are healthy. Personally, I find sickness makes you more aware of the wealth i.e. the goodness of good health. Whenever I am ill and I recover, I find that I am even more appreciative to God for the blessing of good health and for healing me and for giving me back my health!

 

When you have wealth, you can have good health

You may be asking what does money have to do with good health. But look at it this way – when you have wealth or more than enough for the basics, you have the ability to maintain a good, healthy life.

  • You can eat the right kinds of foods that promote good health
  • You can invest in being active and getting support to stay physically fit
  • You can get the most appropriate, needed and proactive medical care
  • You stress less about your finances and feel more at ease which mean you’re less likely to have stress-related illnesses

So consider this, how wealthy are you? how healthy are you? The two go hand in hand. Health impacts wealth and wealth impact health.

A friend recently said this to me; “If something happened to me, I don’t have enough money to even cover the initial medical care. I know I should have money set aside for those unpleasant aspects of life but I just been too busy and my finances are all over the place!”

How about you? Key to your good health and that of your loved ones is being sure that you enough to take care of them – daily and when medical issues arise. Right now, can you say that you are well positioned financially for such any unexpected, unplanned and undesired aspects of life (such as sickness, or accident). I am not just talking about having an “emergency fund” (or what I call a Freedom Fund because it free you from the stress of not having enough when an emergency happens). But it is also about having wealth – more than enough – to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Whether we like it or not it takes money to obtain or do the things necessary to live and live healthy too.

The Lord desires you to have a great relationship with you but at the same time He wants you to be healthy and wealthy too (3 John 1:2, Psalm 35:27). Are you living a healthy and wealthy life? Do you need help building up your wealth, getting debt-free and living financially stress-free so that you can be in good health? Then book a free call with me now to learn the steps to a wealthy, healthy life! I can wait to hear from you 😊.

 

About the Author:
Hi, I am Pamela, a Money Mastery Coach and Encourager to Christian Professional Women. I am creator of the Master Your Money Coaching Program and I empower Christian professional women, 30s and up, who feel overwhelmed and stressed around money to masterly achieve their money goals. I work with my clients towards being stress free by getting debt free, earning more, investing more, and giving more using biblical principles and easy-systems.

I have over 20 years of experience in the financial service industry and love studying, writing and teaching biblical wealth management principles. I can help you shift from inaction to faith-filled action and create an easy money system so you can master your money and achieve your goals. Let’s Talk!

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Hope for the Big Spender

“When he finally came to his senses… I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”

– Luke 15:17-19

Money answers all things. It is the currency by which this world operates. We cannot live on this earth without earning money and spending it on what we need. Both steps are required to function properly in this world. My concern is for those big spenders who go over and above what they need or can afford. To some it may seem fine, but deep inside we know it will lead to disaster. But there is hope for the big spender, and the Word of may offers more help than we realize.

Too Much, Too Soon

In the familiar story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), we can see similarities between people living today and people living during Bible times. At the beginning of this story, the younger son of the wealthy man appears as the eager beaver who can’t wait to get his hands on his father’s money.

Are we eager to have money? Are we always looking for ways to get more and then spend it? Christians often fail in their walk with God because they are focused more on material things or money than on relating to their heavenly Father and becoming more like Christ. Most seek the blessing rather than the One who blesses. No doubt we serve a heavenly Father who is willing to bless us with all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3-4). Unfortunately, far too often we cry to Him, “Father, give me this and give me that. Lord, I need a financial blessing,” rather than seeking to know Him and making Him known.

In all fairness, this young man asked for what was rightfully his, but his request was premature. Rather than focusing on spending time with his father, his emphasis was on getting his inheritance and deciding what he would do with it. He couldn’t wait for his father to die; he wanted his money now. Like this young man, Christians get impatient waiting and press God for their financial blessings. In His permissive will, God allows us to receive a blessing, just like this young man’s father, knowing fully well that the child is incapable of managing the responsibility financial blessing entails.

Can you identify with this? Have you ever asked God to bless your finances or give you something you thought you really needed, only to realize after receiving it that you were unprepared to handle it? That is what I call ‘asking prematurely.’ Instead, when you ask for a blessing, you should also ask God to prepare you to handle it when it comes. You should be certain your heart motive is right and that God can trust you with the blessing He gives to you.

One thing is certain—God wants to bless us. However, we do not glorify God if He blesses us and, due to a lack of character, integrity, or money skills, we quickly lose the blessing. For example, why should God promote us to a higher position in an organization, only to be fired shortly afterwards because we couldn’t effectively communicate with our colleagues? What glory is there to God if we should come into an inheritance or be given a substantial financial blessing and lose it all within weeks with no way to give account for it?

Have you ever looked back and said to yourself, Oh, I sure wish I had done that differently? Maybe as you look back now, you wish you hadn’t spent your money so wildly, especially those large amounts. Maybe you wish you hadn’t sold that property so quickly. Maybe you wish you could go back a few years earlier and start afresh. You would love to erase those bad financial decisions you made along the way. Whatever it is, you realize it was too much too soon, and you failed to consult God about what to do. However, there is hope.

Come to Your Senses

What do you spend your money on? Do you spend your money on more clothes, shoes, electronic gadgets, dinners out with friends, another family event, or anything you see on sale? Are you spending your money on what doesn’t satisfy (Isa. 55:2)? Are you happy when you have spent all or sometimes more than what you have earned? You should take care that after all the extravagant living you don’t end up like this young man.

After he wasted his inheritance, hard times came, and the economy fell. Sound familiar, doesn’t it? Maybe you can identify with this guy. Excessive spending and high consumer debt, along with world financial market turmoil, have left many in want. Without houses, cars, jobs, and savings, many face great uncertainty about the future. His reckless living resulted in his being worse off than the servants in his father’s house. While those servants had a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in, and good food to eat, he lived with pigs and ate pig food! How low can you get? Perhaps you’ve hit rock bottom and will do anything to survive or make ends meet. For some, that means getting into more debt or another credit card, but that just adds to their problem.

Take a page from this young man’s story and consider how it applies to you. You need to recognize what you have done and be willing to change direction. Being a big spender may have put you in a difficult financial position with too many bills to pay, creditors calling you constantly, and insufficient money to cover your daily living expenses. But hope remains.
This young man recognized that being in his father’s house as a servant was far better than living in his current position. At least he would have shelter and food. He was willing to return, as shameful as it would have felt, to seek his father’s forgiveness. He was willing to go to his father, admit his faults, and ask to be restored.

What about you? Do you realize that being in the Father’s house and eating His bread as His servant is much better than eating pig food? In other words, do you realize that when you live in God’s house and serve Him, eat His word, and align your life to His will, you will no longer struggle through life? You will find that His Word prepares you for every aspect of life, lifts you up, and restores you, including your finances. In His house His Word satisfies; there you will find help to eliminate the habit of overspending. You need to realign your life, including the habit of excessive spending, to His will. Are you ready to acknowledge your sin and return to the Father? If you confess to the Father that you are a spendthrift and have act unwisely and ask for His forgiveness, He will certainly forgive you and also help you to live victoriously above that sin of overspending (1 John 1:9).

Right now, pause and take a moment to go to the Father and ask for His forgiveness (Luke 15:18), just like this young man did. The Father is waiting with open arms for you to return and surrender this area of your life to Him. He will receive you, celebrate with you, and give you the ability to overcome the habit of overspending. Give it all to Jesus; He is able to help you.
Be assured that the Father has forgiven you. The beauty of this story is found in the father’s response to the return of his lost son. He celebrated his return. His return signified the son’s acknowledgment of his faults, his helplessness, and the need for his father’s forgiveness. His father’s response with open arms, the celebration with the killing of the fatted calf, and the giving of the signet ring, robe and sandals, signifies restoration. He wanted his son to know that he was forgiven and accepted as his son once again. This forgiveness symbolizes the love God has for you and me. Whenever you fall, you can come back to the Father. God will completely restore your life, including your finances.

The above is an excerpt from Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will by Pamela Carmichael. You can obtain a copy from Amazon.com

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5 Ways Money Influences Your Life

Look Deep Into the Heart of Money Matters

For money to be a valuable resource, you must master it, see its usefulness and use it effectively.      — Pamela Carmichael, Financial Empowerment

Money is personal. Not only does it affect your bank account but it affects your emotions, your outlook on life and how you perceive others including your loved ones. Think about this: If you were to inherit a large sum of money, how would you feel? I am sure you would be elated and not to mention relieved because you have some extra that you can use to do some good, like pay off debts, purchase a house or even take the family on a long desired vacation. On the other hand,   if you were to incur a big expense or lose big on your investments, how would you feel? Yes, the feeling anyone would have is worry or stress over how you can deal with that kind of financial setback.

Admittedly, we all experience highs and lows in our emotions based on how things are going financially. Sadly, most of us are stressed because of constant money woes. Financial challenges are known to be the cause of stress-related illnesses due to lack of self-care or much-needed health care, failed marriages, stressed children in families facing financial struggles, poor job productivity, and more.

Identify Your Mone’motions

In this section, you will identify money-related emotions (Mone’motions) that impact how your manage money as well as your wellbeing—spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.

The world places much emphasis on money. The fact is, you cannot do much without the currency. Therefore, you need to be aware of its impact on your emotions—your Mone’motions. Ask yourself the following questions to determine areas of concern in your financial life and where money may be controlling you in some way. Be true to yourself and give honest responses. The more you learn about your mone’motions the better you can master money rather than money control you.

  1. How do you feel when you have to pay the bills?
  2. What kind of reaction do you have when there isn’t enough to cover an unexpected expense?
  3. When there isn’t enough money to make it through the month what do you do (e.g. worry constantly, stay awake at night, pray for wisdom on how to manage, etc.)?
  4. Do you identify with this statement: “Money makes my brain hurt!” What is your interpretation of this statement?
  5. How often do your review your finances? How does having to do this make you feel about your money?

Excellent! Good work in completing that exercise. Now, let us see how these mone’motions have been identified in the Bible and how you can overcome them.

Mone’motions Identified In the Word of God

“What’s your love-affair with money?” This question conjures up at least two reactions: one of curiosity and another of disgust because of course the first reaction is that no one should love money. Even the Bible highlights that individuals can have an emotional connection to money. The unfortunate reality is that money can be such a strong force that we often form a love-hate relationship with it. Your response to money can either be negative or positive.

NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO MONEY POSITIVE RESPONSE TO MONEY
Love Hate
Loyal Despise
Worry Peaceful
Greedy Generous
Unwise Smart

Review these scriptures and indicate the emotional responses to money in each of them.

  • No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
  • You cannot serve God and mammon. — Luke 16:13 (also Matt. 6:24)
  • Jesus’ word of encouragement to avoid negative emotions – Matthew 6: 25-34
  • And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him. — 1 Sam. 22:2
  • Elisha vs. Gehazi’s response to the gift offered
  • –2 Kings 5:15-27
  • The Parable of the Lost Son – Luke 15:11-32
  • The Parable of the Rich Fool – Luke 12:13-21
  • Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler – Matthew 19:16-30 (also Mark 10:17-31, Luke
  • 18:18-29)
  • There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. – Acts 10:1-2
  • The Parable of the Unjust Servant – Luke 16:1-12

Your Life & Money Connection

Life happens. That is a phrase we often hear and yes, it is true. In the life happening, money also happens. Either money is something you avoid talking about and don’t like to deal with or money is managed by you effectively or you have a neither-here-nor-there attitude about it. Whatever the response, money happens in the midst of life.

Unfortunately, any negative attitude or emotion to money leads to bad money management that results in negative returns: excessive spending and borrowing. This creates a spiraling effect that brings on more negative feelings about money. You freeze instead of dealing with money matters, hoard excessively, fear losing money or being in want, think limitedly about your ability to earn a greater level of income and so on.

However, you need to combat those negative mon’emotions so you can be free to effectively manage your money. In the previous exercise you looked at mon’emotions identified in the Bible. In this section, you will examine your life journey to see where you may have developed any negative emotions towards money.

Your money story: unpleasant Events

What past experiences have left the proverbial bad taste in your mouth or have hindered you from managing effectively and making timely money decisions? For example, as a child did your family have money struggles or did you make a mistake that cost you a great deal financially and maybe even relationally?

Your Money Influencers

What did you learn from your parents or teachers either directly or indirectly that has a negative impact on your view and management of money today? For example, “Money doesn’t grow on trees” was a statement often said to children to deter them from asking for anything too pricey or out of frustration when money was limited.

What money practice or money perspective do you have now that is a result of your upbringing?

Your Perception Of People And Yourself

We can often make judgments about people without really knowing them. Your preconceived ideas of how someone else makes or manages money (compared to you) is a reflection of your relationship with money. Right now in your life, who do you think has more money than you or seems to be getting ahead faster than you (e.g. co-workers, neighbours, your close friend)? What makes you think of people in that way?

Sometimes you might even have a low view of yourself. For example, you might quickly accept a low salary for a new job and not ask for the amount the position requires. Or as a business owner you might find yourself bidding low on a contract hoping that you would win it. Do you ever think you can earn more than you currently do? How do you feel when thinking like this?

Your Lifestyle: Current And Future

Life goals, lifestyle choice, current income and your perceived or projected income and expense levels influence how you manage your resources. What other influences in your life have impacted how you manage your money? For example, consider how your co-workers, your neighbours, family members and friends have influenced you financially.

Along with the immediate influences, there are others to consider. What has the impact of the internet, social media and advertising from various forms such as magazines, radio, and television been on your view of money and how you use money?

The above is an excerpt from The Financial Empowerment Workbook: A Biblical & Systematic Guide to Manage & Restore Your Finances. Get a paperback copy from Amazon or an electronic version (pdf) from Gumroad.

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Managing Money is a Matter of Faith: 4 Keys to Thrive Financially

Review your finances“It is not how much you have but what you do with it that matters. If you consistently take positive action with the money you have, it will increase. Managing money is a matter of faith. It’s not only about being practical.” –Pamela Carmichael

When you manage your finances, you are putting your faith to work. You are acting out of the belief that what you are doing will bring increase and be in your best interest. However the opposite is true, archetypally those who don’t manage their finances are either afraid that they will do the wrong thing, they just don’t want to have the responsibility or they lack the knowledge and understanding of how money works.

The Parable of the Talents Jesus spoke to illustrate what the kingdom of Heaven is like is filled with principles of sound money management. It shows what God expects us to do with the money and other resources he has entrusted to us. From this we can learn a few things about money and faith:

What TO DO to Manage Your Money Well

Take Action and Consistent Action

Whatever you have now, is what God knows you have the ability to manage (Matt. 25:15). No matter how little or how much you have make good use of it. If you are not sure how to manage the money you have, the least you should do is start saving. Then take some time to learn about money and as you gain knowledge and seek God for direction, do business with that money.

Immediate action is necessary because as is often said and is true, procrastination is the thief of time and (I will add) of income or financial increase. There is, right now in the world, no such thing as a good time. Now is the time to act. When you don’t take action or delay working on your finances, you get lazy, comfortable and come up with all sorts of excuses why not to do anything. This often leads to the unexpected and undesired loss of your money! So manage it and start now.

But don’t just start and then stop. Managing your personal finances is an ongoing work. You have to keep at it. You have to review what you’ve done, determine if your actions have been profitable or unprofitable and where necessary make adjustments. Reviewing helps you to learn what works and what doesn’t so that as you make adjustments you are improving your possibilities of financial success!

Use What You Have Even If Uncertain Of the Outcome

Managing money is a faith walk. Why? Because as your work, you have no guarantee that what you are doing will be profitable. You don’t have a definitive forecast that your money will increase because of specific actions you may take. One investment or the other may or may not be profitable. This is well said in Eccl. 11: 6 (NLT) “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

Managing money is a matter of faith. Why? If you trust God and seek or ask him for wisdom he will give it to you (James 1:5). However, the Lord’s way of managing doesn’t always fit into the normal way of doing business or managing money. His instructions will put you to the test! You won’t know if what you are doing will work but because the Lord is your guide when you will act on it, He will help you manage well and receive increase.

Think of it, who would have taught that fishing in the day and near the shore would yield such an increase but as Peter obey, he caught more fish than he could handle (Luke 5: 1-11)! And then again, the need for taxes arise and Jesus tells Peter that the first fish he catches is going to give him what he needs to pay the bill (Matthew 17: 27).

What NOT to do to Manage Your Money Well

Don’t be irresponsible

Too often in the body of Christ, we drop the ball in the money game. We either plan but don’t act or we fail on both ends to plan and to take action. Sadly, many of us don’t manage our money and then when life’s troubles come and we have no clue what to do, we cry out to God for help. Please, in love I say this, but we need to stop looking for bail out plans from God.
God is indeed a wonderful Father and Provider and He will provide your need when you don’t see a way out. A testimony of his faithfulness to his children – he has done so for me at times when I had no other help. BUT I have had to learn and develop good and sound financial management skills. I have recognized that he wants me (and you too) to manage well what he has given us and to use it the bring honor to him.

Please, don’t expect that if you mismanage your resources that He will be pleased about it. Yes, He is a loving Father and as He sees your need He will help you but he expects more from you. He wants you to be a productive and creative manager of the money and other resources he has given you so that you will grow – not only financially but in other areas of your life.

God is not pleased with those who don’t even make the effort to manage well. Look at the word of God, the master was angry with the one who did nothing with the money he was given. So angry that he ordered it be taken away from him and given to the one who obviously had managed his well, made a good return and was given a bonus for his work! God is looking for those who are able (and He knows are), and who are action takers. Will you take action with what you have been given?

Don’t let the fear stop you from acting

No matter where you live or what you do, there is uncertainty in the world. Today the stock markets are up, tomorrow they are down; frankly is a yo-yo season each day. Gone are the days of decent interest rates on savings or money market accounts. We are in an era where we have to be creative about how to make our money grow. Nothing is guaranteed but that does not mean you should clam up and do nothing. The benefit or the advantage of you as a Christian is that you have the Lord’s spirit to guide you – you have the Holy Spirit advantage and if you take His lead you will succeed.

Worrying or having fear that you will lose money will likely lead to you losing it! If you don’t act on what you have, the little you have will likely be taken from you in ways you don’t even expect.

Connected to your fear that your will lose money is likely a skewed view of those who are rich. Often times our preconceived ideas of what the rich do or don’t do and how they acquire their wealth hinders our own financial progress. Why? Because we are caught up with judging others even though we don’t know their story. We make generalizations about those who have wealth without knowing them. Instead, we should try to learn from those who excel in money matters and implement the good practices that will yield good results for us.

Benefits of good money management

I know that what I have wrote may be tough to read or accept, but out of love I have shared this. When you manage your money well, you will gain tremendously more than money. I want you to keep these in mind as you take steps to take better care of your finances:

1. God is pleased with you when He looks at how well you manage the money He has given you. God shows his pleasure not only by rejoicing and celebrating with us but by giving us more – prosperity and responsibility.

2. You’ll have less stress. Your well-being – mental, emotional and physical – will be improved. When you manage your money, you understand the intricacies of it – you know what you have and what you don’t, you also know what is coming up – ins and outs. This eliminates wondering and stressing and keeps you in a more restful state. Even when challenging times or unexpected events occur that have a negative impact on your money, you exude confidence not in yourself but in God whose faithfulness you have seen as you practice good money habits.

3. You will have financial increases. There is likely to be increase – more money – as you learn to save and invest your resources and make a return on the investments you makes.

4. You will give freely. It will be easier to give to others because you will have what is needed to help do a good work in someone else’s life

5. Your lifestyle choices will expand. Better money management will lead to improved standard of living with more flexibility to use some of what you have to fulfill life goals e.g. a house, education for yourself or someone else, pay for travel or other life experiences.

6. Your credit ratings will improve. Well managed money opens doors for you to borrow. You will likely find that as you manage and you meet your current obligations in a timely manner – you will have a better credit score and/or lenders will come knocking at your door. That does not mean that you should borrow on a whim. However, it means that if needed esp. for business purposes, the ability to borrow becomes easier.

7. Life planning will be easier. You will be able to make life plans with a little more freedom because you know what you have and you know what you can afford to do. Planning becomes less frustrating and intimidating and you are better able to link your life goals with your financial goals and current resources.

CONCLUSION

God has given you the ability to create wealth and He expects you to manage and increase all that he has given to you. If you practice good money management you will experience financial increase. Therefore, you and I need to do what we have to do – manage our resources, do business and have the faith that as we take action, God will reward and cause our wealth to increase.

Managing Money is a Matter of Faith: 4 Keys to Thrive Financially Read More »

5 Lessons I Learned While Working Towards One Goal

In recent months, I have been in a one-focus mode. I have spent most of my time and energy to one goal – to complete the Financial Empowerment Workbook. I had attempted – over the years – to write this workbook but kept putting it off. Now, I am excited to share this good news with you: The Financial Empowerment Workbook is finally finished!

As I reflected on this finishing point, I realized how much I benefited from this long journey. So apart from celebrating this milestone with you, I want to share a few life lessons I learnt along the way.

  1. Any goal worth doing will take time.

Success doesn’t come overnight – although it may appear that way to those looking from the outside. A friend’s observation after completing this third book was, “Pam, you’re moving slow but steady.” And that’s true!

I can’t rush everything. You can’t rush everything either. Although, I would (and I am sure you would too) love some things in life to move along a little faster. But the reality is our plans don’t always happen within the time frame we want them to. However, if we keep at it we will eventually achieve the desired success.

  1. It’s okay to question yourself.

Yes, it’s okay just don’t question to the point where you convince yourself to give up! Throughout the years of attempting to write the workbook, I wondered at times if it was worth the effort to even try. The thought of forgetting about this book or doing a different book sure did cross my mind. Now that it has been released, I am glad I did it. I am amazed at the positive reviews and encouraging words I have received thus far. I am eager to continue sharing the book with those who need help managing their personal finances.

  1. Take breaks, you will need them.

I had plans to finish the workbook by July, then by October but then it didn’t happen until November and even then there was still some outstanding items needing further edits. In the midst of the goal, I had to take breaks, some planned (like a family vacation) and others not planned or welcomed (like back pains). Whether the break you take is planned or forced on you, embrace the time to reset and refresh yourself. When you start again, you’ll do so from a position of new strength.

  1. Grow in the journey.

Although I delayed writing the workbook, during the time I wasn’t writing I was learning. I read books, studied courses and spoke at events on personal finance and of course gleaned from my experiences and those of others. With this, I gained more knowledge and improved my writing. Also, as I studied the word of God, I gained a greater understanding on money matters from God’s perspective.

No goal is a success without the personal growth of the goal-achiever. You need to be willing to learn from the setbacks, failures, frustrations, wins and joys that are a natural part of living and achieving anything significant.

  1. Remain connected to God.

When working steadily at your goal, you may sometimes experience frustration, doubt, and other negative emotions especially when life isn’t going as you’d hope. Key to all this goal getting is to have faith-based goals that are aligned to God’s purpose for you and to your core values. Such goals will cause you to remain in Christ who will give you the strength, wisdom and tenacity to keep going towards your dream.

One thing I am sure of is that whether your goals take a few months, a year, two years, or 14 years, when you rely on God, He will be your Help. He will concrete your plans (Prov. 16:9).

On a final but important point, whether you’re entering into a New Season in life or celebrating a New Year there is always the opportunity to reset or to restart. Each day brings with it new hope for the future. Each new day brings newness and opportunities. You may have paused on a goal that is now long overdue or you may be working steadily at it. Whatever place you’re at in life, don’t give up.

To reset means to make God your first priority by doing things His way. To do this you have to get His perspective on life and understand His plans for you. But keep this in mind – His plans for you are always better than what you think they are. On doing this, take time out to review and rewrite your plans – turn a new page in your life’s story and trust God to give you the grace to fulfill your destiny.

I’d love to hear from you. What lessons have you learnt while working towards your goals? What do you do to keep focused on your goals?

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How to End Your Love Affair with Money

And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. – Luke 16:12-14 (NLT)

Money, mammon, wealth, or riches – whatever word you use or however you look at you, you have to deal with money every day. The challenge with money – whether you have great sums of it, not enough money or even none at all is that you have to manage money. Daily you are faced with having to earn money, save money, give money, spend money or borrow money. All this interaction with money leads you to form a relationship with money. Some money behaviorists and money coaches call this connect a “money relationship” but I described it as a “love affair with money”.

What?! A Love Affair with Money? Yes, I know that does sound ludicrous, too personal and too intimate. The reality or the truth is that you deal with money so much that you form an emotional connection with it that is often not beneficial to you or to those around you.

I know of those who have been so caught up with making money or trying to reach some proverbial money goal that in the push to get it, they lose – not only money but family, friendships and other relationships that far outweigh what money can do. The greed and the love of money have led people to lie, cheat, steal and even kill to get it! There’s also the other side, where some have been so fearful about having “too much money” because they think money will change them for the worse. Others adopt a selfish attitude that they only want enough for themselves and their love ones. Sadly, they do not recognize or care to acknowledge that there are needs beyond themselves.

Okay, let’s look at it in another way. Imagine that you just received an unexpected gift of $20,000. How do you feel? What’s your thoughts as you think about this new money you now have? Did you start thinking about how would use (spend) that money? Did you feel a sense of relief because you have that extra that could help you in so many ways? Now turn your imagination in the other direction. What if you lost $200,000 or incurred an expected major expense of that amount? How do you feel now? Total opposite reaction right?

So you see, money effects more than just your bank account. It effects you – body, soul and spirit. You may have several reactions when it comes to money – either you love it, hate it, fear it or have some level of indifference to it. But the truth is that any of those approaches can lead to poor mismanagement and financial troubles.

What you and I need to accomplish in life where money is concern is a balance approach. Rather than allowing money to control our lives, we need to control it. If you get to the heart of money matters and its impact, you will stand in a better position as the master of your money rather than money being your master.

But you may be asking, “How do I become a master of money? I am in debt and can’t pay my bills on time. I don’t have a lot and I am constantly worried.” Or you may be asking the same question but your story may be somewhat difference, “I earn a good income but I don’t know where it is going. I can’t seem to keep money in my bank account.” These two very real situations show how controlling money can be if you don’t take over and be in control of it. But there is hope and help here. Some of the ways you can control your money and take back your life really is to:

Let God Master You And Your Resources
First and foremost, love God, be loyal to Him and serve Him only. Jesus says it, both God and money are masters. Which one do you want to rule you? When you make a comparison, God always comes out on top as being not only a loving master but a loving Father. The choice is yours.

Secondly, be generous. Make every effort to tithe to God and give to others. Whether you see it that way or not right now, money is not meant to be hoarded; it is currency, it flows from you to someone else, from someone to you. The promise regarding giving is that the more you give the more you actually receive. Proverbs 11:24, NIV – “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”

Educate Yourself in Personal Finance
Educate yourself – biblically and practically – on money management. The more you know and understand the better equipped you are to make sound financial and life decisions.

Read and study money books, audios, videos, newspapers, online magazines, blog posts (like this one) to guide you in your financial empowerment journey. You can even hire a money coach or seek some form of counseling if you so desire or believe you need more direct assistance.

View Money Objectively
Take the emotion out of money by managing objectively. How? Constantly remind yourself that it isn’t yours in the first place even though you are fully responsible for it now.
When you manage money like it’s a business or like you have to give your employer a detailed report about what you’ve done with his money it makes it easier. Why? You manage from a position of respect. You manage logically. You assess the risk of whatever you do. You’re more cautious. You also seek to be profitable but again weighing the risk of any investment you make. You diversify to spread your risk.

How to take the emotion out of money? Remember you’re a temporary owner and have to give God a good report of your life including how you manage your personal finances.

FINALLY … Make a Personal Commitment
Yes, every starts with a thought and a thought decision. Today decide. Are you going to let money rule or overtake your life or are you going to rule and manage it and let it serve you instead. Make a commitment today to change your relationship with and management of money.

Let’s together turn a new page in your lives to become better money managers. If you think you’re bad at this money thing, ask God to make you good at it. If you’re a good money manager ask him to make you a better one.

Today, will you make a personal commitment to yourself and to God? Recognize that you owe it to yourself to live a financially empowering life and to start doing so right now. Share your commitment and comment below.

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Money Talk: A Few Good Reasons to Save Your Money

boy-savingIt is often said that saving money is important, yet many don’t save because they have various valid reasons.

  • “I don’t have enough left over after my bills are paid.”
  • “I don’t see the point of it, after all there is little return on saving or investing these days.”
  • “It takes a long time to see any substantial growth and beside I end up digging it my saving anyways.”
  • “Between saving and investing I don’t think I am the wiser. Savings offer little or no return and with investing I could lose it all quicker than it took me to save it.”
  • “I don’t want to focus on these earthly things too much and be a hoarder. I need to seek God’s kingdom first!” – (Luke 12: 13-21)
  • “Why the point of saving, for saving sake? Besides I don’t have inclination or motivation to do this consistently.”

Sadly statistics show we are not savers. According to stats compiled by the OECD, the savings rate (as a percentage of household income) is way below ten percent in most countries.

Though these may be valid or legitimate reasons, even God expects you to save. God himself has savings too (He calls them storehouses). You may ask how could God who is the Creator of the Universe, the all resourceful One and full of the abundance of all things need to have storehouses or savings. God has storehouses for the abundance He has created and releases what is needed when it’s needed. He has storehouses for:

  • The Wind – Psalms 13:5-7 Jeremiah 10:12-13 & 51:15-16
  • Snow and hail – Job 38:22
  • The Waters (the deep) – Psalms 33: 5-9
  • The Rain (in the heavens) – Deuteronomy 28:12

Not only does the Lord have his places to store up but he also expects us to also. Why? In this fallen world, God knows that there would be seasons of lack or unexpected events that require extra as well as times when opportunities arise that require funding. God’s word gives a few examples of those who saved and saw the benefits of doing so.

  • Joseph saved for seven years to have enough to feed Egypt and many others when the 7 years of famine came. – Genesis 41:48-49, 55-57
  • David saved from his days of war and used it to supply for the house of the Lord and the Israeli leaders also gave toward the work of building the house of the Lord. – 1 Chronicles 29
  • The Apostle Paul instructed the church to set aside weekly to give towards the needs of those in Jerusalem. – 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Personally, I have seen the benefits of setting aside or saving money. Recently, I had to make some major house related purchases and I was grateful that I could go to my storehouse and collect what I needed. For me that meant no credit, no worry or no stress because I had the funds saved and available. Now my work will be to rebuild that storehouse with what was taken out and to put in more.

The important thing is, if you have it, you can use it when you need it. But if you don’t have you’re either forced to borrow or beg or do without.

But there are a few more good reasons to save:

  1. To give yourself your own paycheck – When you save you pay yourself. Don’t pay out all your money to others (bills) and not have something for you and your family
  2. To help you kick the habit of spending and borrowing – If your divert or direct your money in the right place (your financial storehouse) then you will not desire to spend and you certainly borrow less
  3. For you and your family’s future – As a godly person, take care of your family but setting aside for present and future needs
  4. For the unexpected – In this world there will be trouble, be prepared to handle some of it by having funds set aside
  5. For a good reason or to be ready for new opportunities – Not only should you prepare for unexpected troubles but unexpected good opportunities (e.g. a new house, a business venture, a charitable deed). You cannot invest if you don’t have what it often takes (i.e. money).

Apart from all those good reasons for saving, there is one that should give any Christian the motivation to save – God said that He will order a blessing upon what you save! Check it out in Deuteronomy 28:8.

My question to you then is: Where are you savings at? Are you saving or are you consuming more than you need to? Do you have financial storehouses for immediate living expenses, for adhoc or unexpected expenses or for your golden years?

Today, start afresh. Whether you are saving or not, access where you are and make a commitment to save something no matter how small or big. Commit what you do to the Lord and He will make it success. As little as $5 a week can go a long way.

Share your ideas on how you save or express your challenges about saving. I am here to help.

Remember, during this month, Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God Will (Kindle version) is on special. Click here to get a copy or to gift one. Read, implement and experience God’s best in your finances.

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Money Talk: Serve God & Rule Money

Does money has a hold on you - Mk10 24-25“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Luke 16:13 (NIV)

Lately I have been wondering to myself and quietly asking the Lord, why is teaching about money so important? Other areas such as winning souls, knowing what your purpose is and living it out, growing in faith, having a stronger relationship with Christ, and so on – would be considered more important areas of the Christian life. Don’t you think?

Money discussions in church aren’t the most sought after areas of teaching. In most homes, money is a taboo topic and often isn’t spoken of positively. Hey, in general, regardless of your beliefs, most people aren’t comfortable talking about money. Why? It’s too personal and whether you have lots of it or not; it can say a lot about you.

Ask yourself this: What does money say about me? Or what does my management of it more so than how much of it I have say about me?

The thing you treasure the most is what you emphasize and you see it in how a person views their money and possessions. If money is your main priority then you’ll find that you hoard what you have. However when you don’t think you have enough, you will experience feelings of insecurity or worry constantly. If you like nice things your bank account will show it by where you spend and how much you spend. If you are a socialite, your money practices will show how often you go to the restaurant and other places of entertainment. If you love God and seek to build his kingdom through giving, your bank and cash records will show that too. Your money and your treatment of it says how you view money.

This money management business is not just a practical thing but a heart thing. It reflects where you heart is. It reflects what your desire is.

Money is at the heart of your Christian life. You have to deal with it daily. How you do that affects and reflects your faith in God.

Getting back to the question I was asking God – the reality is that we all need help with money. We all need guidance about how best to manage it. But before we get there we need help mastering it spiritually. We need to understand our attitude towards money and learn how God want us to treat money.

God wants you to love Him and master money (Luke 16:13). This takes time through teaching, practice and pray to master something that wants to rule over you every day. How can money rule over you? This spirit behind money (called the spirit of mammon) can either rule your heart with worry, depression, overworking, and causing us to hate of despise God. But on the reverse, you rule over it and use it a tool to take care of our needs and be a blessing in the kingdom of God. You can do this by making God, his kingdom and living in right standing with him your first priority.

Which do you prefer? I think I’d rather rule money than money rule me. I think I’d rather love God than money. Money (especially if you are in more debt than you can handle) is a hard task master. It just doesn’t push you to work hard and long for the money that you can even seem to keep some of but it causes much physical, emotional and spiritual drain.
Therefore I can’t ask the question as to why I need to talk about money or try to shy away from it. As the church we need to get our act together and be rulers and leaders in every aspect of life including money management. From God perspective, that means people, like me, need to teach at every given opportunity the principles of biblical financial empowerment even when it’s not convenient or welcomed.

Here on this blog I sometimes talk money but not often. My aim only is the share what will help us live effective Christian lives that honor God. Part of that includes sharing about money.

Over the next little while I will do a series on money matters as the Lord leads. However, if there are areas you would like me to share on feel free to leave your comments below.
In addition, during this month, Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God Will (Kindle version) is on special. Click here to get a copy or to gift one. Read, implement and experience God’s best in your finances.

Until my next post…
To your Financial Empowerment
Pamela Carmichael

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Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer

Debt is a burden many face but not one that you should have to constantly carry. My heart’s desire is to live free from debt and to be financial empowerment. This is my prayer for you as well as for me.

If I were to ask you what your financial concern is, you would like say DEBT. There isn’t a person who doesn’t want to be free from its clutches.

So I thought I should at least write more about debt. However, the more I thought about it I realized that debt can affect us not just financially (or physically), but emotionally and spiritually.

If you recall the men that followed after David, they were in the deep Ds – in debt, in distress and discontented (1 Sam 22:2). Does this sound familiar? Do you sometimes wish the principal plus interest payments would go away? Or at times do you feel constrained by the debt load you have? Maybe you think at times that God is far away and not interested in your financial problems. Sometimes you may even get angry or frustrated about your debt situation.

I understand how debt can be so hard on you. But there is hope for financial freedom. With this in mind, I have spent some time away from writing and created a video series called Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer which I am excited to share with you. To view it, please click here.

The aim of this free Defeat Debt video series is to address the three areas of debt (physical/financial, emotional and spiritual) by not only explaining the impact of debt on your life but highlighting different steps you can take to reduce and/or to get out of debt.

Please head over the this FREE video series – Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer – and start working towards defeating you debt and moving towards financial empowerment.

Once you’ve watch it, take action – do something, no matter how small it may seem to move towards debt free living. Also remember those who may be in a similar position to you and share the video link with family and friends.

My hope you will benefit greatly from the video series by implementing steps to rid yourself of debt and start the journey to financial empowerment God’s way!

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