With unemployment running rampant, housing prices still dropping, and consumers not spending, it is no secret that our economy is still in deep trouble.  Yet with adversity comes great opportunity! Frugality is en vogue!   Let’s look at some ways you can save money…

Visa released a study showing U.S. consumers cannot account for approximately $21 per week in cash spending.  This is over $1,000 per year. Those between the ages of 18 to 24 fare even worse – losing track of $2,500 annually.  That is a lot of cash!  Not only do many of us lose track of spending, we pay far too much for items because we fail to do a “little research”.  That is why I wanted to provide you with some online resources and tips to help save you money.  With budgets being reigned in, how can you minimize some of your ongoing expenses?  It pays to comparison shop more effectively. Here are ten tips to help you shop better and save more!

1. Get reviews before you spend

ConsumerSearch: This consumer-friendly site features product reviews from multiple sources and rates the reviews on a variety of criteria, including credibility, timeliness, and qualifications of the reviewer.

Wize: Here you will find millions of reviews of millions of consumer products. You can search for products based on specific product names and your needs. Wize aggregates reviews from sites such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, and CNET and reports the results as either a “Wize Choice” or an “Unwize Choice.”

Epinions: This site features product reviews by consumers who have bought and used the products. The site has advisors who are in charge of different categories, and top reviewers, whose opinions are valued by the category advisors. Users also rate reviewers based on the usefulness and completeness of the reviews.

ConsumerReview: This site offers very comprehensive reviews, buying guides, and discussion forums on electronics, computers, golf, cars, food and wine, office equipment, and more.

2. Use a price comparison website

Become: This site combines price comparisons and news about specific products you’re researching, updated every 10 minutes. You can see your results displayed in two ways: a list that shows fewer products and more information, or a grid that shows more products with less information. Price information includes shipping charges and taxes and allows you to search nearby retailers.

FatWallet: This is a hybrid site that offers price comparisons, coupons, and busy, busy forums where community members discuss hot deals, maximizing rewards, and even financial services information like who’s offering the best checking account, deals on credit cards, and insurance products.

Bizrate: Here you will find price comparisons on thousands of products. You can narrow the search by price, brand, store, or type, and compare products to each other. The site features a store-rating guide that evaluates hundreds of stores based on ease of ordering, price, on-time delivery, and whether the product met expectations.

PriceGrabber.com: This site covers products from tech to appliances to jewelry to clothing. Each seller is rated via thousands of consumer reviews and listings include links to pictures, discounts, ratings, and the bottom-line price.

StreetPrices: When you know exactly what you’re looking for in the electronics arena, StreetPrices will show you the best prices and e-mail you when the price drops below the lowest amount. You can also store notes about individual products. Stores are not rated, but an info link provides detailed information about each store, such as how long it’s been in business, return policy, whether it’s a member of the Better Business Bureau, and the toll-free customer service number.

3. Join a private shopping club

Gilt Groupe: This high-end fashion website operates seven days a week offering designer fashion, jewelry, vacations, and home decor at significant discounts. It’s also turned into a million-dollar business model that is the envy of the fashion industry and enticing Wall Street.

One Kings Lane: This club features top home decor brands at significant discounts.

Ideeli: This site offers the gamut of luxury goods for children, men, and women, including accessories and beauty products.

Totsy: Moms will love the deals on clothing, bedding, bath, educational materials, and more for kids.

4. Use a prescription drug savings program

PharmacyChecker.com: PharmacyChecker.com was founded by a medical doctor in 2003 to help consumers safely save money on medication. It independently checks the credentials of online pharmacies and lets you easily compare drug prices. Its online pharmacy verification program is the largest and most accepted — referenced by AARP Magazine, Smart Money, and Consumer Reports.

DestinationRx:  This site provides free, easy-to-use tools to help you securely manage and make decisions about prescription purchases for you and your family.

Pharmacy Reviewer: Pharmacy Reviewer provides free worldwide prescription drug price comparison and online pharmacy reviews.

Medicine Coach: My good friend West Connor gives away a ton of valuable information. As a pharmacist, West provides great “inside tips” on how to save money on prescriptions.

5.      Save before you travel

Kayak: Compare hundreds of travel sites at once.

Bing travel: Bing travel helps you Know When To Buy™, When To Fly™, and Where To Stay™  – all based on a huge volume of airfare and hotel rate data that they process every day. Their airfare predictions and hotel Rate Indicators are available from most major U.S. and Canadian cities to destinations worldwide. Use their smart travel search to easily compare, sort, and narrow flight and hotel results from hundreds of websites.

Home Exchange:Home Exchange is a vacation alternative where you stay in someone’s house and they stay in yours. Simply click on a country or state where you want to go, select an interesting listing, and then send a privacy protected email to that listing directly from the site. You can also list your own home and get inquiries from around the world.

Cruisedirectonline.com: Search hundreds of pages of helpful information, get cruise reviews, get deck plans, photos, tools and prices for hundreds of great discount cruises and cruise deals.

BeatAnyCruisePrice.com:  Search for cruises and find the lowest prices around.  They have had their “Beat Any Cruise Price guarantee” since 1999

6. Save on insurance coverage

Insure.com: Compare prices on most insurances – life, disability, home, auto, health care, and long-term care insurance.

EHealthInsurance: eHealthInsurance.com is the largest online resource for health insurance.

7.      Reduce your interest charges on your home loan and credit cards

Bankrate: Shop around for the best rates on credit cards, home mortgages, loans, CDs, and more.

CardRatings.com: A great site for credit card resources, comparisons, and consumer advocate resources.

CreditCards.com:  Search for credit cards that offer cash back or rebate incentives. A Cash Back Credit Card rewards you for using them with cash back incentives and rebate programs. Keep in mind, credit cards with cash rebates and incentives usually require a good to excellent credit rating for approval.

8.      Maximize those tax deductions and/or buy used items

The Salvation Army lists the value of clothing, appliance, car, furniture, and household goods donations for tax purposes.  They also offer used clothing to help you save money.

Goodwill also offers a guide to resale values of items ranging from clothing to home appliances to electronics.  Another place to get used items at significantly reduced prices.

9. Clip those coupons

Here are several coupon and promotional code sites

www.couponshouse.com

www.fabuloussavings.com

www.alexscoupons.com

www.redplum.com

www.coupons.com

www.flamingoworld.com

www.couponcabin.com

www.couponmom.com

www.couponmountain.com

www.thecouponclippers.com

www.savingsmania.com

deals.yahoo.com/coupons/

www.retailmenot.com

www.couponchief.com

www.dealcatcher.com

www.swapbabygoods.com

www.momsview.com

www.clevermoms.com

www.freeshipping.org

10. Be a better shopper for food and household items

In addition to using coupons, it also makes financial sense to:

• Stockpile large amounts of nonperishable groceries and toiletries when they go on sale
• Most people don’t realize but you can save huge on groceries and household supplies by shopping by shopping at drugstores like Walgreens, CVS or RiteAid Pharmacies. These stores provide incentives to get you in their doors.  Sometimes by combining in store savings and coupons you can get items for free, yes FREE!
• Cook more at home. You can save significant money — and improve the quality and nutritional value of your food –by cooking from scratch rather than buying “stuff from a box” or a restaurant.
• Plan your meals ahead.  Look at the local grocery flyers to see “weekly specials”. Make a meal menu based on what’s on sale.

This past weekend, our family tried a little experiment. Spend 30 mins, save money!
Here’s what we did:

1. Karen, my high school sweetheart of a wife, started with where we were shopping: Harris Teeter and pulled up their sales flyer to see what the specials of the week were.
2. She made the grocery list of stuff we normally buy but noted items and brands that had “buy one get one free” or low prices.
3. Next she went to a couple of coupon sites and looked for coupons for the brands we were planning to buy. She used Coupons.com and couponmom.com
4. We printed the coupons, cut them out, and off to the store I went

Total investment: 30 minutes of time

How did we do?

Normally, we spend at least $200 a week on groceries. This week was no exception! The total bill was $216! Wow…what a waste of time, right? Wait a minute…I forgot one important detail. At the register I gave them my VIC card (Harris Teeters Free Reward Program) and Karen did well: we saved $43 by taking advantage of the weekly specials. Next came the coupons: At Harris Teeter, they double manufacturer coupons up to $0.99. I used approximately 30 coupons and saved another $65. Now let’s do the math:

We spent 30 mins.
We normally pay $200+ per month

This week the total bill was $216
Minus $43 (in store savings)
Minus $65 (in manufacturer coupons)
Total savings $108
Final Bill: $108

Not only do I have an incredible wife and Mom to our 4 children, we now have a prudent shopper! This literally saved us $108 or 50% off our normal weekly bill. If we did this every week, we’d save over $5,600!!! Wow! Think of all the things you could do with an extra $5k…maybe being more frugal is the way to go? You think?

What are some good coupon sites you use?
Any extra frugal tips you want to share?

Many wished that money grew on trees.  Just seed, plant, and let it grow!  Having a never-ending supply of cash may be a dream. Wouldn’t you love to do whatever you want whenever you want? The truth is, if you plan properly, this day of true financial freedom can occur.

It is far better than the alternative—incurring debt. In order to pursue true wealth, you need to understand the difference between “good” and “bad” debt.

So how can you tell the good from the bad?

Here are the working definitions of what I am talking about:

Good debt: Good debt involves purchasing something that will gain, retain, or create value. A home mortgage is a prime example of good debt.

Bad debt: To put it simply, bad debt is any debt you incur when buying something that will lose value.

Ugly debt: Ugly debt is debt incurred when purchasing something consumable (meaning it will have no further value). This seems logical, right? Spending does not equal happiness

Many spend more than they make going deeper and deeper into debt. Before you consider debt, ask yourself:

• Is this adding to my wealth or subtracting from it?
• Do I really need this now?
• Do I have enough in savings to pay for this?
• If I borrow, how much interest will I pay?
• Does this make financial sense?

1. Pay only with cash or check. Stop using your credit cards. Try this for one month. You will find you think and plan more–much more. Plus, at the end of the month you will find you will have spent far less than normal for the ―normal‖ things of life. (Credit card companies have statistics to show that you will normally spend 34% more if you use credit as compared to cash.)

If you really want some excitement in your life, go on a cash only basis AND carry a small note pad to write down everything you spend down to one penny. This simple exercise will help you identify and correct some of your poor spending habits.

2. Is the thing you want to buy a necessity or an indulgence? Can you meet the need for this thing in any other way?

3. Does it reflect your Christian ethics? For example, what magazines, TV, radio, INTERNET, etc., do you allow into your home? Do you even know what is in your home?

4. Is this the very best possible price you can get? Are you buying on impulse? You are if you don’t take the time to check around for better prices—check Consumers’ Reports, etc.

5. Is it a highly depreciative item? If it is, look for a better alternative. For example, you can choose to buy used cars and appliances. You can also choose to buy basic cars and appliances and forgo some or all the bells and whistles.

6. Does it require costly upkeep? There is nothing wrong with Christians owning boats, motor homes, lake lots, swimming pools, etc. But, before you buy, consider the cost of upkeep. Many folks get into trouble because they can afford to buy, but cannot afford to maintain.

7. Can you rent or borrow rather than buy? You don’t have to own all that you use or enjoy.

8. And finally, does it bring you closer to God?

Any other questions or thoughts I missed?

Money with a purpose can be used to change the world. It feeds the poor, builds shelters, and changes lives and souls for the kingdom of God. Money with a godly purpose can be revolutionary. If you desire money solely for material things, you will never be content. Many of the happiest and most successful people in the world have found their purpose in life. They know exactly what money can do to help their families and help others. If you had more money what would you do with it? Who would you help? What would your days, weeks, and months look like?

When you live out your life’s purpose, live with passion, it will lead to a prosperous life!  This was proven by Srully Blotnick.  In 1960, he began a study of 1,500 people representing a cross section of middle-class America. Throughout the twenty-year study, they lost almost a third of participants due to deaths, moves, or other factors. Of the 1,057 that remained, 83 had become millionaires. When Mr. Blotnick’s team interviewed participants at the beginning of the study, the most widely shared impression they found was that “great wealth can come to you only as a result of doing things you don’t want to do.” They also noted that from the start, most participants assumed that chance would play a decisive role in determining who became wealthy.
They found that the 83 successful people shared five characteristics: they were persistent, they were patient, they were willing to handle both the “nobler and the pettier” aspects of their job, they had an increasingly noncompetitive attitude towards the people with whom they worked, and their investment activities—aside from their main career—consumed a minimum of their time and attention.
Blotnick admitted, “We originally expected the people in our sample to become wealthy by taking the money they earned at work and investing it wisely, in such things as stocks, bonds, and real estate . . . we thought there’d be no way for [them] to become rich unless they used their surplus income to generate more income . . . It didn’t work out that way. . . . More often than not they made little or no money investing.”

In short, what the study unveiled was that the main source of wealth for the successful participants was that they found something they loved to do and they did it well. “In case after case,” wrote Blotnick, “they did increasingly well occupationally, while their pursuit of investment profits proved to be largely a waste of time. In the long run, it was their work which made them rich.” Blotnick concluded that investing in yourself, what you do, and with whom you do it are the most important determining factors of wealth.

Source: Getting Rich Your Own Way, Srully Blotnick (Jove, 1982).

How will you use your wealth?

Unless you can envision how you will use money to better the lives of others, no amount of money will fill you up. It is only Christ’s love that fills the void in your life. As you grow closer to Him, He will help you find your purpose—your unique calling.

Matt Bell is a friend of mine. In his book, Money, Purpose, Joy, Matt shares his story. You can read about Matt at www.mattaboutmoney.com. Early in his life Matt thought he had found his purpose. Out of the blue he inherited $60,000 from an uncle. He knew he wanted to do something noble with the money and decided to start a business.

He looked at what he was passionate about and ended up developing a golf newsletter. He played some of the best courses in the world and wrote about them. The only problem was he had a very limited subscriber base and wasn’t making any money. This continued for years until Matt had not only burned through his inheritance, he’d racked up $20,000 in credit card debt.

With this experience under his belt, Matt sought to study how money works and how to develop financial purpose. Matt recalls, ―A person who can turn a $60,000 blessing into a $20,000 debt has a lot to learn about money. This fueled me to want to learn about wise ways to use money for a better purpose. With his newfound learning, Matt worked his way into the corporate world and quickly made his way up the ladder. A high-paying corporate job was not his purpose, however; he knew he wanted to be able to write and speak full-time.

What are you doing to live out the magic formula?  I’d love to hear you share your story! Comment below.

I have been advising and counseling others on how to build true wealth for the past fifteen years. I have seen my personal share of ups and downs and witnessed thousands of others. The 2008-2009 financial crises was sure a wake-up call for many investors as they watched the financial system they trusted for their future collapse in a few short months.

It got me thinking about how many people, Christians included, built and continue to build their financial houses on sand. I am reminded of Matthew 7:24-26:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

Five steps to help you build a solid foundation

Early this year I set out on a journey to see who thrived in 2009 and who barely survived. I conducted nearly 600 interviews to determine if there was a solid difference between those who did well in difficult times and those who fell apart. The numbers were alarming! Only 5% thrived and moved forward financially during the difficult times in 2009 while 95% of those I interviewed took major setbacks and fell deeper into debt or lost major ground.

Of the 5% who thrived, there were some major common threads:

• They identified what they valued most in life. They had spent time finding what they loved to do and how to get paid generously for it.
• They discovered their meaningful purpose in life. They concentrated on using their key strengths and abilities to add value to the world and bless others.
• They designed their compelling vision for their future. Most had three, five, and ten year goals almost memorized! They knew where they were heading and had a good idea on how they were going to get there.
• They had a real personal mission statement. Though many of them did not call it a “mission statement”, they lived their life like they were on a mission. Their financial and business lives had clarity and purpose; they created a sense of urgency, and were persistent in their attempts to succeed. If your personal goals and dreams have deep meaning to you then you are far more likely to succeed financially.
• They not only set goals, they created an action plan. This helped them implement their mission, live their values, and work toward achieving their vision. They hired a good team of advisors and had great council and accountability to set their paths straight.

Because of my key learning and my desire to help others see how they can thrive and not just survive, I just finished an eBook called “Thrive in Your Life – Creating the life you were meant to live”. It describes the Five to Thrive Principles I uncovered as I interviewed those who were succeeding financially.

Thrive Principle One: Become a passionate income earner

Of those who become wealthy, very few become wealthy from the stock market itself. By far, the number one way to becoming wealthy is through finding a way to get paid doing something you absolutely love.

Thrive Principle Two: Become a generous giver

Many fail to give back to our society because they insist they have the lack of two precious resources – time and money. However, those who are most successful often give more than 10% of their income away and spend countless hours volunteering and sharing their time and talents to bless others.

Thrive Principle Three: Become a wise investor

Investing does not just mean haphazardly investing in a mutual fund. Most investors hand over their hard earned dollars to let someone else handle their investments. This can often be the worst thing you can do. Those who are successful invest rather than gamble. Warren Buffet, for example, does not invest a dime in anything unless he is quite certain it will go up in value. That is investing. Gambling, on the other hand, is committing money to a stock, a mutual fund, or something else without a clue as to whether it will go up or down. Too many people gamble rather than invest.

Thrive Principle Four: Become a cautious debtor

If 2008-2009 didn’t teach us anything, debt can be a huge deterrent from gaining wealth. There are good, bad, and ugly uses of debt. Far too many American use debt foolishly and it keeps them enslaved rather than reaching the desired destination – financial freedom!

Thrive Principle Five: become a prudent spender

Those who succeed financially evaluate each spending decision from a variety of angles. They look at price, value, durability, and how it lines up with their life purpose. Just because you have more money doesn’t mean you can or should spend more, especially if your spending doesn’t line up with you life’s values. Those who are successful, despite having wealth, still carefully analyze. Want to the results of being wealthy and missing this principle? How many lottery winners, sports stars, actors and actresses, and other celebrities go bankrupt after earning millions of dollars?

READ THE EBOOK

After 6 years, Tiger Woods recently made a major change.  Before you start with the infidelity jokes, I’m talking about major changes in his career – professional golf.    Tiger got to the top of his golf game with a little help from his coach.  However after six years of coaching, Tiger called it quits.

Why is Tiger Woods parting ways with his golf coach?  The reality is Tiger needed to make a move.  When something isn’t working, it is really frustrating – for everyone involved!

I talk with hundreds of people each month via the telephone, email, and in person. Money always seems to be a hot topic!  With the stock market back on a roller coaster course – people are more dazed and confused!  Many coaches, financial advisors, and stock brokers are asset gatherers not asset managers.  They have a vested interest to keep you invested in the markets even when it may not be the best choice for you.   Is your coach part of your team or do they have a hidden agenda?  Why not find an advisor who help bring light to your situation?

It may be time for you to change coaches too

Just like Tiger, it may be time for you to change coaches. The sharp ups and downs recently in the markets are a shocking reminder of what we saw in 2008 and 2009.  Don’t go back down that path! If you have found that you are not where you need to be financially or not getting the help you desire, it may be time for a coaching change! Take control of your future today.  Email me at jay@jayperoni.com for a FREE 30 minute evaluation of your financial situation!

With over 15 years of experience, I can look at your:

• Investment strategies
• Retirement plans
• Business ideas and ways to grow business
• Estate and legacy plans
• Tax efficiency (or lack thereof)
• Savings and spending
• Debt management
• And how all these tie together with your faith and values

True priorities

The top indicators I have found that reveal a person’s priorities are the spending of two God-given resources: time and money. You can get a fairly accurate picture of what a person deems as important in life by looking at his or her planning calendar and checkbook. Money can be used for good purposes such as providing for one’s family, preventing poverty, and relief help following disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. On the other hand, however, money can provide no satisfaction for our spiritual needs; it cannot purchase peace, love, or righteousness. It does not last, but slips through our fingers.

When you set your eyes solely on wealth, you are more likely to lose it. Money can be dangerous when you become materialistic, greedy, and self-sufficient to the point where God has no place in your world.

Serve God, not money
If we allow anything that we desire or possess to rival our love for God, it will turn our hearts away from Him. Jesus’ contrast between earthly and heavenly treasures and masters is too sharp to allow compromise: ―No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Luke 16:13 NIV).

Haddon Robinson puts the issue in these terms: ―Either we serve God and use money or we serve money and use God. Yet, few Christians deliberately dedicate their lives to materialism. Wealth is deceitful, Jesus told us, and its bondage is subtle.   What are you thoughts?

Why do so many people struggle with money?  Why is it so difficult to get ahead in a time of such prosperity?  Why do the rich keep getting richer while the poor and middle class seem to continually struggle?

You see every day you make money choices that affect all areas of your life. Try going a full 24 hours without doing something that involves spending, receiving, giving, or investing money.  The truth remains so many people today, even with the 2008-9 economic collapse spend more than they make.  They live paycheck to paycheck and could be one missed payment from financial disaster.  This could be you.

Whether your finances are in dire straight or you just want a little fine tune up, I want to fatten your wallet so you can improve the quality of your life and have the time and money to help others. In order to do this, you need to win the battle.  What do I mean by battle?  This is the battle for your money. Retail stores, mortgage companies, credit card companies, auto loan companies, insurance companies, and investment firms (to name a few) are in the battle for every single one of your dollars. Overspend and they will take every dollar you earn and more…

You’ve sunk my battleship

In the game of Battleship, the object of the game is to sink your opponent’s entire fleet without him sinking your fleet first.  It is the same with the money game.  You either sink or swim.  With there being no shortage of companies fighting to win your money, only the warrior prepared for battle can win at the money game.  The credit card companies, banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies, and others all have one task at hand to win as much of your money as possible for as long as possible.  Read that line again “to win as much of your money as possible for as long as possible”.  They offer 0% financing, buy now pay later, extended payment terms, basically anything possible to get you to spend as much as you can and pay it back as slow as possible. My task is to give you the weapons and game strategies you need so the opponent doesn’t sink your battleship.

Let us not forget either, the other enemy: advertisers.  They want to create dissatisfaction in your life.  They solely aim to get you to upgrade, switch, and change, try their product, and capture your business for as long as humanly possible.  The average American is bombarded with thousands of advertisements every single day.  From billboards, Newspaper, magazine, TV and radio advertisements, online banners, email solicitations, the list goes on…  They all have one focus: capture your attention, create or solidify your perceived needs, and get you to pony up your hard-earned money.

Never show up to a gunfight with a knife

There’s an old saying, “Never show up to a gunfight with a knife.”  Your financial goals will require time and discipline.  There is no shortcut to success.  Getting in financial shape is a fight.  Gaining financial freedom is a battle.  While a fight may only be 12-15 rounds, it will be based on your desire to win.  You can get in better financial standing in as little as 12-15 months, but you should focus more on the long-term battle at hand: obtaining financial freedom.  This battle is a “must win” that will last years.  Of course your financial goal and current financial position will determine whether you are facing a fight or a battle.

Take a look at your current financial situation.  Is your outflow exceeding your inflow?  Do you have more assets (things you own) or more liabilities (things you owe)? How large the gap is between the two?  This will give you some indication as to whether you need boxing gloves or a machine gun.

If you are going to battle, would you march off without a battle plan?  How many wars have been won without a plan?  Unfortunately, many fly by the seat of their pants when it comes to financial planning.  They are more reactive than proactive.  It’s hard to gain position when you are constantly fighting an uphill battle.  The most important thing is to have a plan.  You must be prepared.  Part of that planning is recognizing or predicting in advance the obstacles and challenges you are very likely to face along the way.  Then create a strategy to offset the potential obstacles.  Though you will never alleviate or predict every challenge, you will however, be better prepared for unexpected bumps along the way. Start the fight today so you can fatten your wallet!

In a world full of BMWs, Armani, gated communities, Coach purses, and Starbucks Coffees, image is as much a currency as the dollars that purchase them.  We can pretend to be wealthy and live the game of credit shuffling until the debt snowball knocks us out or we can regain control and live life like we are suppose to.   Like a house of cards, even if you can afford the lifestyle, is it worth it?  All the money in the world cannot bring you closer to God.    I see Christians spinning out of control just as much as those who claim no savior.  Why? In a society that sells image, we all have difficulty not playing by the rules.

The day to day temptations to have a nicer car, to have a bigger house, to have better things.. more, more, more.  It is never enough.  We are called to be humble and to humble ourselves before the Lord.  I’m not saying these things in themselves are bad.  It is the attitude that often goes along with it.   I have a BMW and you don’t so I’m better than you.  Or I make $500,000 a year, what do you make?  The way we live our lives is a direct open reflection of our relationship with our Creator.  Is it built on solid ground or is it shallow like a worldly image?  Look to the Lord and keep your eyes focused on Him.  We are called to be humble servants of the Lord.  Creating an image is not very important in the big scheme of things.  God has a much greater purpose. 

“My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, and I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7:14.

Questions: 

How do you personally struggle with a balance between a worldly life and a godly life?

What are some areas of life that trip you up (houses, cars, jewelry)?

What can you begin to do differently to focus less on image and more on God?

 Also check out this article at ChristianPF.com:

 “Why spending mony wisely is a life skill”