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Jason Price

Should You Use Your Emergency Savings to Pay Off Debt?

January 20, 2020 By Jason Price

This past year our family experienced more medical expenses than planned. As you may know, that’s life and not something you can always plan for in your budget. Nevertheless, we made it through the year just fine. I was thankful we didn’t end up accumulating any credit card debt. I know that’s not the case for everyone. You or someone you may know could be overburdened with a lot of medical debt right now.

Should You Use Your Emergency Savings for Debt?

Sometimes people accumulate debt and the answer to paying it off is closer to home than you think. I know the common answers to paying off debt are to work extra jobs, make sure you have a debt payment plan, and of course, use a budget. But sometimes people have done a great job of saving money and hesitate to pay off debt using their emergency savings account. After all, it requires hard work and diligence to save money, and it’s not always easy to let it go.

What Would Dave Ramsey Do?

I recently came across a story from a Dave Ramsey show listener. This person had $7,000 in savings and had accumulated $2,500 in medical debt. He wasn’t sure if he should pay the debt off with his savings. Dave told this person he should go ahead and write the check to pay off his debt. I’m sure Dave knew this person could save the money again.

Certainly, this person knew how to save to begin with, otherwise, he wouldn’t have saved up $7,000! The amount of debt compared to the savings also allowed for a healthy amount to remain in savings to cover his family for an emergency ($4,500 after the debt). I’m sure this played into Dave’s advice as well.

What if You Won’t Have Any Savings Left?

So, in this case it made sense to pay off the medical debt. But what about when paying off your medical debt would leave you with very little, or nothing in savings? My feeling is that a family should always have something in savings to cover the unexpected. I know with our family this usually occurs every other month! I don’t think it would be wise to pay off $2,500 of medical debt and not have a penny left. There is a good chance you could end up in credit card debt should the car break down or some other unforeseen expense occur.

But in general, I like the idea of letting some savings go as long as there is enough money left in the account to protect you from common emergencies. For most people, I think this could be around $1,000. Obviously, this doesn’t cover major emergencies, but it covers most of the unexpected expenses such as minor car and house repairs.

Don’t Forget to Rebuild Your Savings!

All this being said, once the debt is paid, you have to again be diligent about building your savings back up. This could still require some extra work freelancing or doing some other side jobs to earn money. But being willing to let go of your emergency savings to cover medical debt (or any other debt) can help relieve a lot of financial stress. Personally, I’d rather be sacrificing to save then sacrificing to pay off debt!

Have you ever encountered a situation like this (medical or other) when you questioned whether or not you should use your emergency savings to pay off debt? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

10 Free Bible Study Resources And Tools

July 29, 2021 By Jason Price

10 free bible study tools and resourcesThe Internet and it’s growth in the last several years has made way for all kinds of organizations and individuals to go online with their knowledge and share information to help people.

The growth of Christian websites is no different.

From Christian finances to Biblical resources there is a wealth of information.

There are a few ways I know how to get involved in a Bible study.

The most common I’ve encountered is through my church, or by going to Christian bookstores and purchasing a study.

But, the internet has studies too and many websites offer them for free.

I’ve spent some time searching around the web to see what I could find.

There are websites ranging in size and popularity.  Overall, I’ve found some great free resources for learning and studying God’s Word.  Therefore, I decided to provide you 10 free online Bible study resources I came across in which I think may be worthwhile to visit and review to see if they fit your needs.

10 Free Bible Study Resources:

BibleStudyTools.com helps people grow deeper in the Word.  They offer several free Bible reading plans.  You can read the Bible by Book, chronologically, 3 passages a day, etc.  You pick your plan, start reading and record your progress.

eBibleTeacher.com provides a number of resources by New Testament, Old Testament or even topical for teaching Sunday school class .

BibleStudyPlanet.com helps people grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ by offering free Bible studies for adults, teens and kids.

Free-Online-Bible-Study.com has a number of free studies that include study questions for the Books of Genesis, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, John, James and Jude.

BibleGateway.com is a great resource I often use to search scripture online.  You can search the Bible by keyword, or scripture across a number of versions.  They also have a daily reading plan.

OliveTree.com focuses on building and providing Bible software, but they have a page with a number of free devotion and Bible study downloads.

BacktotheBible.org is a radio Christian Ministry and offers a number of free Bible study downloads.

AmazingFacts.org, also a Christian Media ministry, offers a free online Bible Study school as well as other free resources.

ChristianBibleReference.org is devoted to better understanding the Bible and its messages for the modern world.  They offer a number of studies on the Gospels and Acts of the apostles.

But even beyond the web, there are also a number of other ways you may be able to get free Bible study tools or resources.  You just have to let your creative juices flow.

Here are a few offline ideas to explore:

  • Visit your local public Library.
  • Visit your church library if it has one.
  • Talk to your church leaders.  May church’s already have such resources for small groups and they’re agreement with the publisher will allow them to make copies and distribute.
  • Ask your pastor what Books of the Bible to read and see if he has some questions you can try and answer.
  • Join a small group study.  Although, you usually have to purchase resources, sometimes the group or church provides them for free.
  • Ask a friend if they have any old Bible study books you could borrow or have.  I know I have a few studies, now completed, are on my bookshelf.  Many of them I used a notepad instead of writing in the book.
  • Although not free, used book stores will typically have Bible studies for just a few dollars.  My favorite in the Dallas area is Half Price Books, but I know they have many other locations too.

As you can see, there are a number of ways in which you can learn more about God’s Word and grow your relationship with Him with free Biblical resources and tools.

As a short disclaimer, I did my best to check out the validity of each web resource above, however, if you come across any that you think may not be serving God first, please let us know.  Remember do your due diligence before using online content.

Have you found any free Bible study resources or tools you’ve found helpful in your walk with the Lord?  If so, please share them in the comments.

Fix Social Security by Changing Retirement Age to 70?

January 20, 2020 By Jason Price

I must admit I don’t think much about Social Security as a retirement option these days. How could I when most financial advisors and experts tell you to plan around it and don’t depend on it because it won’t be there by the time you retire (unless you’re close to retirement). Personally, I focus on contributing to my company’s 401(k), my Roth IRA and traditional IRA as the best sources of retirment income. The Dallas Morning News recently summed up the Social Security situation quite well.

Many retirees depend so much on Social Security that any discussion provokes anger. The very young are the opposite – they dismiss it with a cavalier shrug, presuming that it won’t be there for them.

I suppose that exactly describes the view I just shared. What is social security, most youngsters ask? 🙂

social security age raised to 70?Raising the age to 70 to tackle debt problems

I recently found myself more interested in the subject when I discovered an article in the Dallas morning news suggesting the retirement age for Social Security benefits may be changed to 70 to help tackle the nation’s debt problem.

The suggestions are being taken seriously after decades when they were politically impossible because officials – and, increasingly, their constituents – are confronting the inescapable challenge of the nation’s enormous debt.

How Does Social Security Work?

Here’s a quick run-down of how things work today from the article:

Today the full Social Security benefit retirement age is 66 for people born from 1943 to 1954. It then increases by two months for each year (66 years and two months for those born in 1955, 66 and four months for those born in 1956 and so forth), until those born in 1960 or later get full benefits at age 67.

What are the ramifications of such a change?

Of course, there are a few things people have to consider when paying off consumer debt. The Federal debt is no exception. You have to change spending behavior as well as make certain sacrifices. Unfortunately, this change or sacrifice would bring some less than desirable impacts to some people.

There are some incrediable ramifications to raising the age, said Barbara Kennelly, the president of the National Comittee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Not every one can work until they’re 70.

I think that’s a pretty important point Barbara makes. I suppose health problems and other situations could impact people extending their working years to 70. If you’re forced to retire early or sometime in your 60’s this could definitely impact your living benefits and may just be another reason to avoid the social security dependency if you’re you’ve got a ways to go to retirement.

What are the Positive Sides to the Change?

On the flip side, there are some benefits. According to a Market Watch article there are some positive benefits to the change beyond getting Social Security under control.

Working longer has many benefits: It increases the amount of money people can save for retirement, reduces the amount of money people need for retirement, and helps save Social Security.

In raising the age limit, people will be forced to invest in working skills longer. Another point noted in the article is life expectancy for people is increasing. That could mean people are going to work longer. Especially, when people desire to change careers and pursue work more geared around their life dreams in retirement. Furthermore, the Bible doesn’t advocate retirement.

In fact, an alternative suggestion is to index the retirement age to life expectancy. As life expectancy increases, so would the retirement age. Yet, another point discussed is raising the early retirement age. Today, people can retire early and receive less benefits. This would allow the funds to continue to grow.

Final Thoughts

I certainly can’t predict whether or not Social Security will be around when I retire. Again, my focus for retirement savings is using other retirement vehicles. I suppose yet another alternative is to extend the education about saving for retirement and teach people the value and importance in preparing for their future. Money management isn’t about letting someone else take ownership of your financial responsiblities such as our government. I feel people should take responsiblity for saving for their retirement and if Social Security is around it can be used as a bonus.

What are your thoughts on raising the Social Security retirement age to 70?

Cash Envelope Budgeting

January 24, 2020 By Jason Price

Cash envelope budgeting is a technique of budgeting that’s been around for a long time. While I think it’s an excellent technique for budgeting, I prefer a modified approach I think makes more real-world sense.

Overview of cash envelope budgeting

In case you don’t know or need a refresher, cash envelope budgeting involves using envelopes to manage money. An envelope is created for each of your budget categories such as food, clothes, entertainment, transportation, etc. After you receive a paycheck you fund each individual envelope (or budget category) the cash allotted to it for the month.

When it’s time to spend, you take the envelope with you to the store (or withdraw the cash before you go to the store) and spend the money as needed. The key to envelope budgeting is when the cash is gone, it’s gone. There is no more spending. The only way you can spend more money for that particular category or envelope is to transfer money from another envelope. Of course, that will reduce spending from the envelope you transferred from to fund the category in which you needed more money.

Online cash envelope budgeting

I don’t think many would argue against this budgeting system. In fact, Mvelopes Personal (the budgeting software I currently use) is an online form of the envelope budgeting system. Instead of using physical envelopes to budget, Mvelopes Personal uses virtual envelopes. In fact, one of the features I love is the ability to electronically transfer money from one envelope to another.

In the real world, you may need more money one month for food (perhaps you had visitors who came in town). Well, your current food budget might not meet the need, so you may choose to reduce spending in another area to fund food. It works exactly the same as with the cash example except you’re performing the transfer within the software.

Challenges with cash envelope budgeting

While the envelope budgeting system is a great tool for budgeting and personal cash flow management; managing a lot of cash can be challenging. First, it may not be a good idea to walk around with 10 envelopes full of all your money budgeted for the month. Secondly, it can be challenging to count out cash when in a hurry at the store. Finally, what do you do if your purchase is spread across 3-4 categories which can sometimes occur if you’re at the grocery store. You’ll end up juggling envelopes.

Of course, there are ways around such challenges by keeping your budget categories high level (grocery store items instead of categories for food, household, toiletry, etc.). And as I mentioned above, you can always pull cash from envelopes before leaving the house so that you’re not carrying around all those envelopes.

Modified approach to cash envelope budgeting

But given these challenges a modified approach to the envelope budgeting system works better.  Some  areas or categories of the budget don’t fit well with cash envelope management.  For example, you probably aren’t going to make a car or mortgage payment with cash.  But as a better example, you may not need to use cash for gasoline purchases either. You know what it costs to drive your car to work each day (not withstanding sharp changes to gas prices).  Therefore, you don’t expect to spend more than the budgeted amount for the month unless there is a again a sharp change in gas prices, or a special trip is planned.

With the modified approach, pick out 3-4 categories that present the biggest spending challenges for you each month. Good examples include entertainment, food and clothing. These three categories can result in impulse buying. For these categories (or others of your choosing), I suggest you withdraw cash and use physical envelopes.

Not only is this easier from a cash flow management standpoint, you’re in tighter control of spending in areas that cause the most temptation. In regards to cash flow management, you only have to manage one transaction per category. This is the transaction used for withdrawing the money. In regards to tighter control, you’re able to leverage all the classic advantages of the cash envelope budgeting system I touched on earlier.  But the beauty is you’ve also limited your use of a credit card or check card. Studies have shown using either checks or credit card can result in more spending.

The using cash for purchases video from Crown Financial Ministries is a great example of how this works.

Envelope Budgeting: A Closer Look

Many people use the popular cash envelope budgeting method to manage their spending each month. With this method you insert cash into spending envelopes for different spending categories such as bills, food, entertainment, etc. You then withdraw the cash from the appropriate envelope when you need to purchase something. Overall, I’m a fan of creating a budget and manage spending using this method because it helps people plan their spending and does well to avoid over spending.

Let’s take a closer look at envelope budgeting and a few odds and ends of when it works best and when it might be more challenging to use.

Limit Envelopes

In my opinion, envelope budgeting works best when you can limit your spending categories, or envelopes, to approximately 10 or less. Some people like to create multiple subcategories in their budget. For example, my budget has about 10 subcategories for my monthly miscellaneous category. I couldn’t imagine keeping the cash straight for all those subcategories and transfer it between each envelope as required. There is just too much management overhead with this many envelopes. In this particular example, envelope budgeting would work better by having one envelope for my miscellaneous spending category.

Problematic Spending

You might find a hybrid approach to cash envelope budgeting works best for you rather than using cash for every spending category. With this hybrid approach you only use cash envelopes for areas in your budget that are problematic, or often difficult to avoid over spending. If you tend to over spend electronically every month for entertainment, clothing, etc., you might choose to manage those spending categories with cash. Simply go to an ATM when you get paid, withdraw the cash you need for the problematic categories and deposit the cash into the appropriate envelopes. Once the cash is gone, you’re done spending for the month. You can also quickly count the cash you have left if you’re thinking about spending it.

Transferring Money

Envelope budgeting isn’t perfect and neither is your spending. More than likely some spending categories are going to require more cash each month than planned, while some will require less. You must be open and flexible to transferring money from one envelope to another to adjust your plan for the month. For example, family comes in town to stay with you and you spend more money on food. You have to be willing to take cash from another envelope, i.e. adjust spending priorities, to fund the food envelope with more money.  This is actively managing your spending each month and is required to make sure your budget stays in balance.

Multiple Envelopes for One Shopping Trip

Be careful to plan your spending, or shopping trips wisely. For example, you may find it difficult to carry several cash envelopes with you to the grocery store and have to withdraw from each envelope when checking out. Perhaps one envelope is for toiletry items, one for household goods and one for food.  You’re better off estimating how much you need from each envelope and withdrawing the cash from each before you go to the store. Once you return from the store you can make sure the appropriate amount of money is returned to each envelope. Note: This can be difficult to manage if you have too many spending categories as described above.

Want to use a debit card?

One of the inherent challenges with the envelope system is that you have to basically use cash for everything.

If you like the method, but want the convenience of a debit card, then definitely check out the Real Money Budgeting method.

Do you use envelope budgeting?  If so, what are some tips you can share with the readers?

What do you think about cash envelope budgeting? Have you had experience with it before and what have you found to be advantages and challenges? What do you think about the modified approach to cash envelope budgeting?

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