Bountiful: The Heart of Money Management

Integrity encompasses all our lives, including how we use God’s money. In this episode, we discuss financial integrity and the importance of having principles that consistently guide our stewardship of God’s blessings.

We honor God when every aspect of our lives show integrity. We dishonor God when any aspect of our lives lacks integrity.

Resources:

• https://www.financialmentor.com/wealth-building/financial-commitment/are-you-living-in-financial-integrity/4219
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/timmaurer/2023/10/15/the-real-meaning-of-integrity-in-financial-planning

Zombie debt is a debt you believed was paid off, written off, discharged, or otherwise closed. But months later it comes back to haunt you, wanting you to pay toward it.

In this episode, we go into some examples of how zombie debt can go after you and some preventive measures we can take to avoid this type of scare.

Resources:

• “Money Lessons for Baby Boomers” (Bountiful S6E7) – The Light Network Bountiful episode where we talk about elder fraud
• “Don’t Be Fooled by Scams” (Bountiful S15E11) – The Light Network
• Debt collection | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov) To find examples of debt validation letters, etc.
• Consumer Advice | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov) To find info on how to protect yourself from scams
• Debt Scavengers and Zombie Debt | Nolo
• What Is Zombie Debt? – Ramsey (ramseysolutions.com)
• What Is Zombie Debt And How Do You Get Rid Of It? (cnbc.com)
• What is Zombie Debt? | Mass.gov
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/z/zombie-debt.asp#:~:text=Zombie%20debt%20generally%20refers%20to,debt%20that%20does%20not%20exist.
• https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/debt/zombie-debt

College students and young adults have a unique approach to their personal finances because they’ve had unique experiences. In this episode, we talk with Amy Sewell, Instructor in Business at Freed-Hardeman University, who shares trends, challenges, opportunities, and recommendations.

Resources:

• Money, Possessions, and Eternity: A Comprehensive Guide to What the Bible Says about Financial Stewardship, Generosity, Materialism, Retirement, Financial Planning, Gambling, Debt, and More: Randy Alcorn: 8601400393284: Amazon.com: Books

If you’ve taken a personality type test, you may have found it interesting to read about yourself yet learn something, too. In this episode, we share a draft of a non-scientific, unofficial “Bountiful Personality” that considers four ways you interrelate with money.

How do you see money? Do you tend to be generous or miserly?
How do you use money? Are you usually impulsive or thoughtful?
How do you feel about money? Do you look at the security that increased wealth brings or do you focus on its dangers?
How do you approach money? Do you think mostly about the short-term benefits or do you consider its long-term impacts?

God’s spiritual blessings are a testament to our salvation, not his material blessings. Financial success is not an indicator of spiritual success. The money, property, and possessions we have in this life will one day disappear. But our faith, love, and hope will one day be fulfilled and come to a grand finale in eternity.

Resources:

• MBTI | The Myers-Briggs Company (themyersbriggs.com)

We discuss ways we can help ensure what we donate to charitable organizations is used effectively by those organizations.

Sites to find objective information about charitable organizations:

• https://www.guidestar.org
• https://give.org
• https://www.charitywatch.org
• https://www.charitynavigator.org

Other resources referenced for this episode:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/giving/how-to-choose-a-charity-wisely.html
• https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/lifestyle/what-percentage-donations-go-charity
• https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/administration-and-financial-management/misunderstanding-overhead
• https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?subtitle=en

Growing up, we likely had some milestones in mind of how life would go and when we would accomplish things like graduating, getting a job, buying a house, and having children. But what happens if life doesn’t go as planned? In spite of not wanting to get caught up in the rat race, we can feel anxious about falling behind in the race!

In this episode, we discuss examples of financial milestones, some causes of anxiety of not meeting them, and what we can do to overcome that anxiety.

“Life isn’t a test where you have to score a 100 to pass. Mistakes will happen, and your ability to learn from your mistakes is more important than your ability to do everything perfectly.”

Resources:

• Key Financial Milestones You Should Be Hitting in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and Beyond

What do you want to be when you grow up? The world does not impose many limits on us. That means, if the Lord blesses you with time and opportunity, it’s up to you how far you want to go! This is where ambition comes in. How do we balance what we want to accomplish with making the best of our situation? How do we balance our priorities and resources against achieving our maximum potential?

Resources:

• https://midsonshort.com/the-cost-of-ambition/
• https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-ambitious-should-you-be#:~:text=My%20framework%20structures%20ambition%20into,desires%20of%20those%20we%20lead.

Quotes can be interesting and meaningful ways to remember or emphasize things. In all things, we want to measure all things, even thought-provoking quotes, against the Word of God, as that’s the only way we can know if they are true. In this episode, we do just that! We chose nine quotes about financial stewardship and discussed if the Bible backs them up.

Quotes we referenced:

• “Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.” (P.T. Barnum)
• “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” (Benjamin Franklin)
• “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” (Benjamin Franklin)
• “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.” (Jonathan Swift)
• “When prosperity comes, do not use all of it.” (Confucius)
• “If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.” (Edmund Burke)
• “Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.” (J. Paul Getty)
• “It’s not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” (Seneca)
• “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” (Albert Einstein)

Resources:

• “Is This Job Worth It?” https://thelightnetwork.tv/bountifuls5e3/

The word “tithe” is sometimes used interchangeably with “give” when people talk about financial offerings for the church. Is “tithe” an appropriate word for us to use to describe the monetary gifts we offer? Does “tithe” accurately describe what it is we’re supposed to do, or are Christians called to do something different?

In this episode, we define tithing, discuss its similarities and differences to giving, and determine if it’s a standard for us today.

Tithing is referenced in many places throughout Scripture. Some references we made in this episode include Genesis 14:20, Genesis 28:22, Deuteronomy 14:22-26, Malachi 3:8-10, Matthew 23:23, Luke 18:9-14, and 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Christians are commanded to give, not simply tithe. We might use tithing as a temporary guideline, but our goal, intent, attitude, and actions are to give. There’s no such thing as a Venmo Christian.

Resources:

• Bountiful episodes related to this topic:
  • “The Truth About Giving”: https://thelightnetwork.tv/bountifuls3e14/
  • “Tips For Managing Your Money”: https://thelightnetwork.tv/bountifuls12e2/
  • “How Much Should I Give?”: https://thelightnetwork.tv/bountifuls1e15/

Financial self-sabotage is when we undermine or damage our own financial situation. We could do this by depleting our savings as soon as it builds to something meaningful, buying things we can’t afford, or choosing to ignore sound financial advice because of fear or anxiety.

In this episode, we’ll talk about how we can know if we’re self-sabotaging and how we can get out of destructive habits and make sound financial decisions.

Resources:

• https://www.verywellmind.com/why-people-self-sabotage-and-how-to-stop-it-5207635
• https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-is-self-sabotage/
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/162656941X/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=162656941X&pd_rd_w=NOarZ&content-id=amzn1.sym.8c2f9165-8e93-42a1-8313-73d3809141a2&pf_rd_p=8c2f9165-8e93-42a1-8313-73d3809141a2&pf_rd_r=RNHYNCZK302SE3A1V4XY&pd_rd_wg=bJ94M&pd_rd_r=846608ab-db30-4e09-b311-5e341364252a&s=books&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw