Understand Inflation & Make a Plan to Thrive
Prices rising everywhere can cause anxiety, especially when your budget is being pressed to the max. The Inflation Survival Guide will help you understand:

• What inflation is and why it happens
• How to recognize inflation
• Where the Bible addresses inflation
• Practical ways to adjust your habits to combat inflation

DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE

The post Inflation Survival Guide appeared first on Crown Financial Ministries.

Cut back on any unnecessary or luxury subscriptions
Maybe Spotify free is the way to go for now. Here’s a video with easy ways to do this. Courtney said, “My husband and I both went through the last few statements of our bank accounts looking for subscriptions that we could cancel or downgrade. I didn’t realize I was paying for a few app subscriptions! That has saved us a few extra dollars a month.” Calvin and his wife have cut their gym memberships and are working out at home. They are also saving all discretionary dollars in their budget for a few months.

Negotiate cable and internet rates
You may be able to negotiate a better rate for your cable and/or internet. Businesses are wanting to keep their clients right now, so call to check if there are any special promotions you can take advantage of. “We contacted our internet provider and found that we could save 30% on monthly payment because they could move us to a new promotion package,” Alet said. Another one of our staff members cancelled their cable TV altogether. Many streaming services are offering free promotions over the next few months, so be sure to look on Google for coupons before signing up for anything new.

Turn off the lights
Be mindful while you’re home about your energy usage. Do you have a habit of leaving the lights or ceiling fans on? Get up from your home office desk and make sure you’re not paying extra for that electricity!

Defer medical bills
If you need to, call your medical provider and set up a payment or deferment plan. Most will let you do this if you ask and work with them.

Slow down loan payments or stop paying ahead – for now
Several staff members have been paying ahead on their mortgage or student loans. For the next few months, their plan is to pay the required monthly balance as billed and use the extra to increase their savings.

Save on your phone bill
Handre called his mobile provider and moved to a less expensive package saving him each month on his family plan.

Activate the “pantry challenge”
Melinda and her family have challenged themselves to eat out of only their pantry and freezer before going out to eat. Once a week, someone grocery shops for a few fresh essentials for their meals. Other than that, they save money by depleting their stocked food and complying with social distancing rules.

Go meatless
Hannah said her family has moved to 3 meatless dinners a week. It has helped them to mix up their recipes and helped them cut back on their grocery bill!

Save on insurance
One member of the Crown staff said, “I contacted our home insurance company and asked if there were any discounts we could qualify for because of recent improvements we did to our home. A miracle happened – they lowered our yearly insurance amount by $400 and gave me $500 towards this year’s installment because we fixed the roof recently. We had already decided to give to people who were losing their jobs, and now our gifts have been doubled!”

Trusting God’s Promise
We know it’s not fun to take these steps, but we’re trusting in God’s promise that discipline now will pay off later. “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 (ESV) Here are a few other financial steps you can take to find peace and freedom.

Pay off debt
Now is a good time to work on decreasing or eliminating debt. If you need help making a plan, contact our partners Christian Credit Counselors. They’ll help you consolidate your payments so you can be debt free sooner!

Increase your savings
If you’re not in the habit of saving, now would be a good time to start. To make it easy, check out the Eli Savings App. It automates your savings for you and only saves what you’re able to afford.

Give generously
It may seem uncomfortable right now to think about giving, but it is in these times where we are able to truly show our faith and trust in the Lord. Share the resources you have with your neighbors and friends. Are you able to give more to your church when others might be holding back? Do you know someone furloughed or out of work that can use some help? Find a way to share.

Please know we’re here to help. Email us at clientservices@crown.org or call us at 1.800.722.1976.

The post Money-Saving Tips for the COVID-19 Pandemic from your Crown Staff appeared first on Crown Financial Ministries.

“How did I get here?”

Have you ever asked yourself that question in regard to your financial situation? Maybe you’ve reached a place where the pressure from your ever-increasing debt feels like a 3-ton truck parked on your chest. As your bank balance continues to decline, so does your hope for a brighter future.

Let’s be honest. No one starts out their adult life thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great to be a slave to Mastercard, Visa, or Sallie Mae?” Yet that’s exactly how Proverbs 22:7 describes the relationship between a borrower and their lender.

When we get that first credit card or loan, we don’t plan to rack up charges we can’t pay at the end of each month. Nor do we intentionally refuse to save for emergencies. Usually it happens because of the small decisions we make each day – combined with the lack of a realistic spending plan. Before we know it, we’re drowning in a sea of debt without a lifeline.

Admitting I had a problem

Unfortunately, I’ve experienced that sinking feeling firsthand. When I started college, I did what many students do. I got a credit card with the intention of using it for emergencies. That worked fine at first. But a fun weekend getaway with friends quickly showed me the danger of using a credit card without the ability to pay it off each month. The high interest rate on my card – in addition to loans for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees – quickly led to financial stress in my life.

Maybe I could have avoided some of the pain by listening to people who understood the potential dangers.  My mom (who worked for a credit counseling organization for decades) tried to warn me.  And as the International Journal of Business and Social Science documented in 2012, the statistics were not good:

• Fifty percent (50%) of college students had four or more credit cards
• 30% of students had “maxed out” their credit cards
• In 2004 — the average college student had only $946 in credit card debt
• In 2007 — the average college senior had a $3,000 credit card debt
• By 2008 — the average increased to $3,173
• By 2009 — the average soared to over $4,100

Many of us know that credit cards can be dangerous, but we use them anyway. And sometimes we make small mistakes that lead to bigger ones. The Credit Card Act of 2009 made it somewhat harder for students to obtain credit cards, but it didn’t completely eliminate the potential debt risk. Most Americans today borrow money for secondary education, which can create a recipe for disaster. In fact, graduates from the Class of 2016 finished college with an average of $37K in student loan debt.

Finding a way out

While my future husband and I were dating, I was honest with him about the amount of money I still owed. Although my credit card debt was paid off by then, my student loans weren’t. It wasn’t the way either one of us envisioned starting our marriage, but we agreed to tackle the problem together.

Despite our commitment, it took years to finally find a way out. No, we didn’t declare bankruptcy or inherit a large sum of money. In His goodness, God offered us a lifeline through the principles in His Word.

When I joined the Career & Work department at Crown Financial Ministries, I learned from our CEO, Chuck Bentley, that the Bible includes more than 2,300 verses on money and possessions. That’s an impressive amount of wisdom! God’s Word addresses practical topics like planning, spending, debt, saving, and investing. But it also teaches us about heart issues, such as ownership, contentment, honesty, and generosity.

Before my role as a Project Manager for Crown, I didn’t realize that the Lord uses our finances as a test. The way we handle what He gives us (whether it’s a lot or a little) is an indicator of what we believe about Him. And every lesson God teaches us in this life is preparing us for the next.

MoneyLife – The Intersection of Faith and Finances

Through Crown’s MoneyLife Personal Finance Study, my husband and I learned to adopt a biblical perspective on money and possessions. We started to experience peace and freedom beyond what the world has to offer. We grew closer to God and to each other. Our stress level went down and our joy increased.

We’ve become more sensitive to the needs of others, and we finally have the capacity to help when someone is struggling. Best of all, we know the legacy we’re building today will impact future generations for years to come.

The most important step my husband and I took on our journey was going through the MoneyLife Study together. With each lesson, God gave us hope that we could reach our goal of becoming debt-free. We used the practical tools in the study to build our spending plan, track our expenses, and develop an accelerated debt repayment strategy.

The course was exactly what we needed. It provides structure yet flexibility, allowing us to access the online content at a time that worked best for us. It combines timeless Biblical principles with practical assignments to help us stay on track. Plus it encourages accountability while offering a healthy measure of grace.

If you’re ready to change your financial future, now is the perfect time to take that first step. Sign up for the online MoneyLife Personal Finance Study today and join my husband and me on the journey to true financial freedom!

The post My Journey Out of Financial Bondage appeared first on Crown Financial Ministries.