Gather Little by Little

We did something interesting and different yesterday, we attended an Estate auction. This was my first auction, and it was both a wonderful experience and a great deal of fun!

First I was really surprised that there weren’t more people. Just guessing here, but at most there were probably about 40 people and lots of empty chairs.

There was an assortment of items like I had never seen, including very old and valuable antiques, jewlery, furniture, toys, clothes, books, and tons of other items. There was even a pastor’s robe and choir gowns!

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The 4-Hour Workweek is one of the many books on my wish list over at Amazon.com. From the interviews I have read and listened to, the author, Timothy Ferriss has some pretty radical perspectives on how to get the most out of your time and on how to focus on what really makes you money and is meaningful to you.

I plan to read it soon, and will put up a book review on it. However, if you can’t or don’t want to wait, John Chow has a contest running where you can win an autographed copy of the 4-Hour Workweek.

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Over the past few days, I’ve received two links that have brought a number of new visitors to my site. The links are:

• My reply to FMF’s guest post over on Get Rich Slowly about Personal Finance and Faith.
• My Money Saving Tips article on Flexible Spending Accounts was linked from a WSJ on-line article about Health Care Spending Accounts.

My site is focused on personal-finance from a Christian perspective. My focus is on gaining wealth using the principle of building wealth a little at a time found in Proverbs 13:11. While the content of my site is rooted in Christian wisdom from the Bible, I think readers of all faiths (including Atheist’s) will find the content of value. After all wisdom is wisdom regardless of the source.

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Proverbs 22:7 – The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.

I have read this verse many many times, and thought until a few minutes ago that I fully understood it’s meaning. I received another harsh reminder today of how true this verse really is and how much wisdom it truly contains.

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Found the following offers that will get you some free money (no affiliate links):

Free $50 from Sharebuilder with offer code: ym50

I signed up for a Sharebuilder account and just as recommended by Hustler $$$ Blog purchased 1 share of a less than $1 stock. Received the confirmation email this morning stating that I qualified and that I will receive my $50 Account Bonus within 4-6 weeks. I’ll keep you posted on what happens and when I receive it.

Free $100 from Citibank

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Here’s your turn to share your knowledge and experience with other readers.

What is your #1 personal finance tip for other readers?

I’ll summarize all of your tips in a follow-on post. If I get enough response, we can do a vote and top tipper will win a prize!

Most companies, at least the larger ones, offer 401k programs. One of the perceived benefits of having a 401k is the ability to borrow money from it. On the surface this seems like a great idea. You get to take out a loan against your own money, and pay yourself the interest (generally prime + 1%). It also doesn’t show up on your credit score (I personally don’t care about my credit score, but I am sure many of you do).

If these were the only things to consider, than I would agree, great deal. But there are some significant downsides to 401k loans:

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1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

This is a new series I am starting today. Each Monday, I’ll have a post that provides a money saving tip that you can implement.

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There is an incredibly interesting post over at Get Rich Slowly titled Why Religion is an Important Part of Personal Finance. I read the entire article and all of the comments. While many of the comments go a little off track and start the whole Christian vs. Atheist Debate, along with the ever so popular “cherry picking” the Bible commentary from non-Christians, many of the comments are very thought provoking.

I of course, being a Christian personal finance blogger just had to chime in with a comment, and before long my comment turned into something more than a comment and I thought I would write a post instead.

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This article is step 4 of the series called How to Get Your Finances Under Control

One of the most important steps on your journey to getting your finances under control is establishing a budget. While creating an effective budget takes time and a little number crunching, the freedom your budget will provide you is well worth your time.

People in general tend to make a budget more difficult and complex than it really is. A financial degree or expensive version of Quicken is not required. All you really need is a pen, a sheet of paper and the basic ability add and subtract.

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