Financial Test

Here are 23 questions to assess how you are going financially. Give yourself 1 point for every YES answer.

1) Do you give away at less than 10% of what you earn?
2) Are your debts bigger than your assets?
3) Do you owe more than seven creditors?
4) Are you an impulsive or compulsive shopper?
5) Are you and your spouse dishonest about what you spend?
6) Are you unaware of exactly what you owe?
7) Have you already spent income you are expecting like bonuses, government payments, etc.?
8) Do you depend on extra income such as a second job to survive?
9) Do you have less than 3 months income where you can get it easily and quickly in an emergency?
10) Do you pay more than 15% of your income to pay off debt other than your mortgage?
11) Do you get behind in paying utilities such as power, phone, etc?
12) Do you need to consolidate loans so you can make payments?
13) Do you get creditors sending you overdue notices?
14) Are your debts rising?
15) Do you need to borrow money to pay for things you used to pay cash for?
16) Are you normally late paying bills?
17) Do you have to borrow money to pay other debt?
18) Do you need to borrow money to pay normal bills such as food, clothing, rent, etc.?
19) Are you unable to pay off your entire credit card limit each month?
20) You do not know how much you spend on non-essential items each month?
21) You don’t contribute to savings any more, or have no savings at all?
22) You use cash advances from one credit card to pay the balance on another?
23) You’ve applied for another credit card because you reached the credit limit on another card?

0-1 then you are doing well with your finances.
2-3 then you need to think about your finances.
4-5 then strife is just around the corner, be wish and get help before it gets worse.
6+ then you have some serious financial issues that need dealing with immediately.

Statistics made REALLY interesting

If you have any concern about the poor of the world, this presentation by Hans Rosling is astounding, its one of the best and I mean best TED talks ever. Check it our at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

money

In our church we seldom talk about money, but that's probably a mistake as so much of Jesus teaching refers to money and/or our other resources as reflectors of the state of our heart.
It seems that Jesus is not so much interested in what we give, or keep for that matter, but that state of our heart in terms of giving Him the highest place.
Over the next month we're going to be looking at a topic called stewardship which looks at how we can use our resources in ways that love God, love self and love others.
I'm sure this series will be challenging, but also I hope it will be encouraging and practical, and help you experience a freedom and joy in your life that is only possible for those that hold lightly to the things of this world.