In the first episode of Key Life Stages, the second season of the ‘Where Your Treasure Is…’ podcast, Simon and Bex discuss what the priorities should be for people who are starting out on their individual journeys of applying principles of the Christian faith to their own financial planning.

A good understanding of biblical principles, clarity of purpose and effective budgeting are identified as key elements that will help individuals to steward responsibly the money and resources given to them by God.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• In response to a question from Bex, Simon explains the vital importance of starting with the bigger picture, your values and objectives before investigating any financial practicalities. [02:51]
• Simon goes on to highlight the importance for the Christian of setting a course from the outset which is based on biblical references to money, such as the advisory warning contained in 1 Timothy 6.10: ‘For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.’ [05:06]
• Simon gives examples of the benefits of setting spiritual objectives and then considering how best to use money to achieve those goals, rather than allowing money to become a goal in itself. [06:36]
• Simon provides some personal examples of setting priorities and making decisions that have guided his money habits over the years. [10:03]
• When moving on to the practicalities of managing money wisely, Simon emphasises how helpful it can be to develop a well considered, realistic and personalised budgeting strategy. [13:27]
• Debt is described as being ‘the opposite of budgeting’ and it is noted that sometimes debt issues need to be addressed directly and fully before meaningful progress on a financial planning journey can be made. Expert professional help is available, if required, and Simon would highly recommend the support and services provided by two Christian charities, CAP and Crosslight. [18:58]

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This show has been brought to you by Free Range Podcasting.