No one goes into the ministry to become wealthy. If they did it's likely they will get a reality check rather quickly. It's important that ministers understand how to manage their money wisely. Unfortunately, after 12 years of public education, four years of college and three years of seminary most have received little to no training in how to manage their personal finances. Many are struggling with student loan debt and the expenses of starting and raising a family. This can create huge problems in the home, increase stress and even cause the minister to leave the ministry in order to financially support his or her family.
While serving as an Area Minister I spent a lot of time in my car. At the time of my retirement I was serving over 130 churches scattered across the southern third of Indiana so I had a lot of windshield time. To pass the time driving I regularly downloaded a number of podcasts on my I-Pod to listen to. One of those podcasts was The Dave Ramsey Show. This was a three hour podcast where Ramsey took caller's questions about their personal finances. He would give them advice on how to solve those problems often referring to his Baby Step formula.
After listening for several months my wife and I decided to follow those steps, and we found out they worked! When I recently served as a Transitional Pastor in a church I asked an individual to lead Ramsey's Financial Peace University in a small group, and the results were amazing. To my knowledge, every person in that group saw tremendous improvement in their personal finances.
Ramsey has published several books on personal finance and members of his team have written more, but the one I would recommend to anyone who needs help with their personal finances is The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. This book contains the Baby Steps and explains how to follow them. It also provides a lot of commonsense advice on money management. Because Ramsey is a Christian you will find that a lot of what he teaches is based on biblical teaching.
If you struggle financially you may find his recommendations will help you get better control over your finances. When you do that you will likely find that your ministry is more productive because you are not stressed out over money problems, and your home life will probably improve as well.
I would also recommend that your church offer Financial Peace University to your congregation. If your church is like most, there are probably several families who are struggling financially who would benefit from this eight session program. This could be a tremendous way to minister to them in an area in which they are hurting.
If I returned to pastoral ministry I would also begin to offer FPU to the community as an outreach effort. Jesus touched people where they were hurting, and many people today are hurting financially. This could be an excellent way to introduce people to your church and minister to their needs.
Showing posts with label Debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Debt. Show all posts
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Making wise financial decisions Part 2
I want to continue my discussion on storage units and their impact on our personal finances. First, I want to clear up a misperception some might have about my comments yesterday. I am not against using storage units. As I said yesterday, I rent one for the items I use in my auction business. Many small businesses do that. It is a business expense and is fully deductible.
There are other good uses for storage units. My daughter and her family go to a beach in Florida for 2 1/2 months every fall. They have rented a small storage unit there to keep their bicycles, boogie boards, umbrellas, and other items they use only when they are at the beach. They used to have to haul the bikes each year until she bought some real cheap at some yard sales down there. Their unit is small and very inexpensive so it makes sense to keep those items there instead of having to haul everything down there and then back home again.
Another good use for a storage unit is when someone is moving, but they can't move into their new home for a few months. Perhaps they are renting an apartment until their new home is ready. They need somewhere to keep their furniture and other personal belongings. It is reasonable to rent a storage unit for 2-3 months while they get ready to move into their new home.
Perhaps this was the deal with the unit I described yesterday, but for some reason that few months stretched out into, I'm guessing, at least a year and perhaps two. That becomes a lot of rent money down the tubes, and when the items are not very good quality it makes it even more sad.
Some may have questioned my comment yesterday when I wrote they could have replaced their furniture for less than they had paid for the rental. All the wood furniture in this unit was made out of particle board. It was all damaged. They were paying rent every month to keep these items. I can go into any auction in our area and buy a hard rock maple dining table and four chairs for under $100.00. I can buy a less expensive wood dining table and four chairs for less than $50.00.
The church I recently served as Transitional Pastor was helping a family furnish a home they had rented. They had been homeless for several months living in a van and had nothing. I went to an auction and purchased a clean and nearly new sofa (it didn't look like anyone had ever sat in it) for $8.00. I cautioned our staff to not buy anything until we attended an estate auction the next weekend. We bought bedroom suites, furniture, lamps, pots and pans and other kitchen items for the family at that auction for pennies on the dollar. We filled a two vans, a car and a trailer with items we bought, and I don't think we spent $300.00 for it all.
I had not been in the auction business very long when I told my wife we would never buy new furniture again. It simply does not make sense to pay $1,200.00 for a dining table and chairs when excellent quality ones can be bought at auction for $100.00 or make payments on a new sofa when a nice, clean one can be bought for well under $100.00.
The whole point of these two posts is to encourage ministers, especially ones struggling financially, to make wise financial decisions. You do not have to go into debt to get the items you need. You do not have to end up at rent-to-own stores where you will pay far more than you could buy the same item elsewhere. You do not have to throw good money after bad by paying to store items you'll never use again. You may have limited input on the salary you receive, but you can make wise decisions about how that money will be spent. If you start making wise decisions you'll find that salary can go much further than you realized.
There are other good uses for storage units. My daughter and her family go to a beach in Florida for 2 1/2 months every fall. They have rented a small storage unit there to keep their bicycles, boogie boards, umbrellas, and other items they use only when they are at the beach. They used to have to haul the bikes each year until she bought some real cheap at some yard sales down there. Their unit is small and very inexpensive so it makes sense to keep those items there instead of having to haul everything down there and then back home again.
Another good use for a storage unit is when someone is moving, but they can't move into their new home for a few months. Perhaps they are renting an apartment until their new home is ready. They need somewhere to keep their furniture and other personal belongings. It is reasonable to rent a storage unit for 2-3 months while they get ready to move into their new home.
Perhaps this was the deal with the unit I described yesterday, but for some reason that few months stretched out into, I'm guessing, at least a year and perhaps two. That becomes a lot of rent money down the tubes, and when the items are not very good quality it makes it even more sad.
Some may have questioned my comment yesterday when I wrote they could have replaced their furniture for less than they had paid for the rental. All the wood furniture in this unit was made out of particle board. It was all damaged. They were paying rent every month to keep these items. I can go into any auction in our area and buy a hard rock maple dining table and four chairs for under $100.00. I can buy a less expensive wood dining table and four chairs for less than $50.00.
The church I recently served as Transitional Pastor was helping a family furnish a home they had rented. They had been homeless for several months living in a van and had nothing. I went to an auction and purchased a clean and nearly new sofa (it didn't look like anyone had ever sat in it) for $8.00. I cautioned our staff to not buy anything until we attended an estate auction the next weekend. We bought bedroom suites, furniture, lamps, pots and pans and other kitchen items for the family at that auction for pennies on the dollar. We filled a two vans, a car and a trailer with items we bought, and I don't think we spent $300.00 for it all.
I had not been in the auction business very long when I told my wife we would never buy new furniture again. It simply does not make sense to pay $1,200.00 for a dining table and chairs when excellent quality ones can be bought at auction for $100.00 or make payments on a new sofa when a nice, clean one can be bought for well under $100.00.
The whole point of these two posts is to encourage ministers, especially ones struggling financially, to make wise financial decisions. You do not have to go into debt to get the items you need. You do not have to end up at rent-to-own stores where you will pay far more than you could buy the same item elsewhere. You do not have to throw good money after bad by paying to store items you'll never use again. You may have limited input on the salary you receive, but you can make wise decisions about how that money will be spent. If you start making wise decisions you'll find that salary can go much further than you realized.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Financial Peace University
I am excited that the church where I am serving as Transitional Pastor will soon offer Financial Peace University (FPU). FPU was developed by Dave Ramsey as a way to teach personal finance from a biblical perspective. This program has been taught in tens of thousands of churches since its inception resulting in thousands of families getting control of their finances for the first time in their lives.
Since arriving at the church last summer I've occasionally mentioned that I would like someone to coordinate this class. Recently, one individual came to me saying she was willing to do so. We are currently accepting registrations and hoping for at least 10 families in our first class.
One reason often given for the poor giving in many churches is that the people are overwhelmed with personal debt. I've been there myself, and it can make it hard to give to the church as one would like. Proverbs 22:7 is certainly true when it says that "the borrower is slave to the lender." FPU teaches a method for getting out of debt and staying out of debt. There is great freedom when one has no debt.
Not only is FPU a way to teach the people in our church about personal finance, it is a way to reach out to the community. We saw how the recession of 2008 destroyed many people financially. Many lost their homes, their cars, their retirements, and their careers. Many have still not recovered and continue to struggle financially. FPU seems to me to be a great way to reach out to those in the community who might have little interest in God but great interest in learning how to better control their finances. As they see how the Bible speaks to their financial questions, they may become open to what it says about other matters including their need for God.
Over the past few years I've followed the principles Ramsey teaches in my own personal finance. It's made a huge difference, and I can only wish I had learned them much earlier in my life. I don't claim that I do everything exactly like he teaches, but I certainly try to do so most of the time.
If you live in the Madison, Indiana area and would like to attend this nine-week program, contact me. If you live elsewhere you will find an FPU class near you. You can go to Ramsey's website to find the closest class to where you live.
I am not being paid anything for promoting FPU. I just think it is a positive way to teach our church members about personal finance and a way to reach out to the non-churched in our communities to help them see how relevant the Bible really is to their daily lives.
Since arriving at the church last summer I've occasionally mentioned that I would like someone to coordinate this class. Recently, one individual came to me saying she was willing to do so. We are currently accepting registrations and hoping for at least 10 families in our first class.
One reason often given for the poor giving in many churches is that the people are overwhelmed with personal debt. I've been there myself, and it can make it hard to give to the church as one would like. Proverbs 22:7 is certainly true when it says that "the borrower is slave to the lender." FPU teaches a method for getting out of debt and staying out of debt. There is great freedom when one has no debt.
Not only is FPU a way to teach the people in our church about personal finance, it is a way to reach out to the community. We saw how the recession of 2008 destroyed many people financially. Many lost their homes, their cars, their retirements, and their careers. Many have still not recovered and continue to struggle financially. FPU seems to me to be a great way to reach out to those in the community who might have little interest in God but great interest in learning how to better control their finances. As they see how the Bible speaks to their financial questions, they may become open to what it says about other matters including their need for God.
Over the past few years I've followed the principles Ramsey teaches in my own personal finance. It's made a huge difference, and I can only wish I had learned them much earlier in my life. I don't claim that I do everything exactly like he teaches, but I certainly try to do so most of the time.
If you live in the Madison, Indiana area and would like to attend this nine-week program, contact me. If you live elsewhere you will find an FPU class near you. You can go to Ramsey's website to find the closest class to where you live.
I am not being paid anything for promoting FPU. I just think it is a positive way to teach our church members about personal finance and a way to reach out to the non-churched in our communities to help them see how relevant the Bible really is to their daily lives.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Your church does not have money problems
In early 1981 I sent a resume to Hebron Baptist Church, a church in our area that was seeking a pastor. Before I was contacted by the church a person called and introduced himself as the Area Minister for our region. The church had asked him to interview me before the pulpit committee did. The interview went well, and he recommended the church interview me. A few months later I was the pastor of that church where I served for the next 20 years.
During the interview he explained that the church had numerous problems one of which was financial. However, he quickly pointed out that people in the church had money. They just weren't giving much of it to the church.
I soon discovered the reason why. There just wasn't much happening at the church. There was no real reason to give money because there wasn't much to spend it on. Besides, there was a question if the church would even remain open much longer. There's no reason to give money to something that's about to close.
Like many small churches, they had money problems because the church lacked any sense of vision for ministry and many of the people had not been taught how to be stewards of their possessions. Financial problems are never the real issue in a small church; they are merely the symptoms of larger problems. Often, these larger problems are the lack of a vision and the lack of sound stewardship training.
There's not space here to talk about specifics, but within a couple of years we began some projects that required special giving on the part of our people. We began small, but each time we succeeded in raising the money needed for the project. At the same time, we saw an increase in our regular giving. Sometimes we even amazed ourselves with the money that came in.
The projects got bigger and bigger, and we were always able to fully fund them. Our regular giving continued to climb as well plus we soon raised our mission support to the denomination from the ten percent we had been giving to 15 percent. Since our mission giving was tied in percentage-wise to our regular giving, our mission giving continued to climb as well.
About a year before I resigned as their pastor we began building a new fellowship hall for the church. I challenged the church to fund the building themselves and not borrow the money. I believed if God was truly behind our vision for this new addition to the church that He would provide the money. Several months later the building was complete and was debt-free. That small congregation raised an enormous sum of money for its size in two years and built a debt-free fellowship hall. To make it even sweeter, that year it also gave more money to missions than ever before.
Small churches are often quick to point out their limited resources, but the reality is that most of them have far more than they realize. However, to tap into those resources requires vision and solid stewardship training. It's OK to begin with small challenges. As you see them achieved you will be setting the foundation for bigger ones later, and you will be amazed to see what God will do!
During the interview he explained that the church had numerous problems one of which was financial. However, he quickly pointed out that people in the church had money. They just weren't giving much of it to the church.
I soon discovered the reason why. There just wasn't much happening at the church. There was no real reason to give money because there wasn't much to spend it on. Besides, there was a question if the church would even remain open much longer. There's no reason to give money to something that's about to close.
Like many small churches, they had money problems because the church lacked any sense of vision for ministry and many of the people had not been taught how to be stewards of their possessions. Financial problems are never the real issue in a small church; they are merely the symptoms of larger problems. Often, these larger problems are the lack of a vision and the lack of sound stewardship training.
There's not space here to talk about specifics, but within a couple of years we began some projects that required special giving on the part of our people. We began small, but each time we succeeded in raising the money needed for the project. At the same time, we saw an increase in our regular giving. Sometimes we even amazed ourselves with the money that came in.
The projects got bigger and bigger, and we were always able to fully fund them. Our regular giving continued to climb as well plus we soon raised our mission support to the denomination from the ten percent we had been giving to 15 percent. Since our mission giving was tied in percentage-wise to our regular giving, our mission giving continued to climb as well.
About a year before I resigned as their pastor we began building a new fellowship hall for the church. I challenged the church to fund the building themselves and not borrow the money. I believed if God was truly behind our vision for this new addition to the church that He would provide the money. Several months later the building was complete and was debt-free. That small congregation raised an enormous sum of money for its size in two years and built a debt-free fellowship hall. To make it even sweeter, that year it also gave more money to missions than ever before.
Small churches are often quick to point out their limited resources, but the reality is that most of them have far more than they realize. However, to tap into those resources requires vision and solid stewardship training. It's OK to begin with small challenges. As you see them achieved you will be setting the foundation for bigger ones later, and you will be amazed to see what God will do!
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
The pastor and debt
One of the struggles many pastors face involves their personal finances. It is not uncommon for a pastor to finish his or her seminary education with a student loan debt of $40,000-60,000. Many churches now struggle with paying for their pastor's insurance, and many are requiring the pastor carry a higher deductible. A trip or two to the hospital or the ER can add significant dollars to the minister's debt load. Add to this an auto loan, rent or mortgage payments, and a few credit cards, and soon the pastor finds that there isn't enough money to pay all the bills and provide the basics for the family.
Financial pressure is often the reason that pastors decide to leave the ministry. They simply cannot pay their bills with the salary their churches are paying. Others may not leave the ministry, but they are constantly seeking a church that offers more salary and benefits. This is not a healthy situation for the pastor or the churches. Too often, the pastor just remains in his or her present church sinking further and further in debt. This is not only a major distraction to effective ministry, it also adds considerable tension in the family.
The best solution is to avoid the debt in the first place. I've written elsewhere about the problem of pastors going into student loan debt which you can read here. There are ways to get your education without incurring student loan debt. That may involve fewer parties and more hours working. It may require taking longer to earn your degrees by taking only the hours you can afford each semester. But, when you graduate you won't be tied down to enormous sums of student loan debt.
We often base our purchases on wants rather than needs, and with the easy availability of credit it becomes easy to satisfy those wants. Seldom do you see the price of a new car advertised. They are selling the low monthly payments. Once someone gets new car fever it is hard to see the impact those low monthly payments are going to have on your finances for the next six to seven years.
"If you get our store credit card you can save 20 percent on your purchases today." You'll hear this almost any time you buy something from a major retailer. Are they so kind-hearted that they want to save you money on today's purchases? No. They know that people spend more money when they use a credit card than when they spend cash. Not only will the customers who use their credit card spend more, they will pay them a high interest rate for the privilege.
Many reading this post are already in debt and wondering how they will ever pay off their loans. A few years ago I began listening to podcasts from Dave Ramsey. His approach to financial independence isn't appreciated by everyone, but I believe it is based on sound biblical and financial principles. He provides clear, simple steps for getting out of debt, building up an emergency fund, and saving for future needs and retirement. In addition to explaining these principles to those who call into his radio show he describes them in his book The The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. My one regret is that I did not have this information years ago. I could have avoided a lot of financial mistakes.
More married couples argue about financial matters than any other issue. When families are drowning in debt it creates incredible tension in the marriage. Pastors who are struggling with financial matters are distracted in their ministries. The pastors, their families, and their churches all pay a price when the pastor struggles to meet financial obligations.
If you find yourself in such a situation I encourage you to invest in this book. Just the fact that you begin to have a plan for getting out of debt can relieve some of the pressure you are facing. As you begin to take the "Baby Steps" Ramsey teaches in the book you will find that you are now in control of your finances. In time, you will reach the place where your debt is gone and you are making wiser decisions when it comes to your finances. For the next minute just sit there thinking what that would be like....Now, what are you going to do about it?
Financial pressure is often the reason that pastors decide to leave the ministry. They simply cannot pay their bills with the salary their churches are paying. Others may not leave the ministry, but they are constantly seeking a church that offers more salary and benefits. This is not a healthy situation for the pastor or the churches. Too often, the pastor just remains in his or her present church sinking further and further in debt. This is not only a major distraction to effective ministry, it also adds considerable tension in the family.
The best solution is to avoid the debt in the first place. I've written elsewhere about the problem of pastors going into student loan debt which you can read here. There are ways to get your education without incurring student loan debt. That may involve fewer parties and more hours working. It may require taking longer to earn your degrees by taking only the hours you can afford each semester. But, when you graduate you won't be tied down to enormous sums of student loan debt.
We often base our purchases on wants rather than needs, and with the easy availability of credit it becomes easy to satisfy those wants. Seldom do you see the price of a new car advertised. They are selling the low monthly payments. Once someone gets new car fever it is hard to see the impact those low monthly payments are going to have on your finances for the next six to seven years.
"If you get our store credit card you can save 20 percent on your purchases today." You'll hear this almost any time you buy something from a major retailer. Are they so kind-hearted that they want to save you money on today's purchases? No. They know that people spend more money when they use a credit card than when they spend cash. Not only will the customers who use their credit card spend more, they will pay them a high interest rate for the privilege.
Many reading this post are already in debt and wondering how they will ever pay off their loans. A few years ago I began listening to podcasts from Dave Ramsey. His approach to financial independence isn't appreciated by everyone, but I believe it is based on sound biblical and financial principles. He provides clear, simple steps for getting out of debt, building up an emergency fund, and saving for future needs and retirement. In addition to explaining these principles to those who call into his radio show he describes them in his book The The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. My one regret is that I did not have this information years ago. I could have avoided a lot of financial mistakes.
More married couples argue about financial matters than any other issue. When families are drowning in debt it creates incredible tension in the marriage. Pastors who are struggling with financial matters are distracted in their ministries. The pastors, their families, and their churches all pay a price when the pastor struggles to meet financial obligations.
If you find yourself in such a situation I encourage you to invest in this book. Just the fact that you begin to have a plan for getting out of debt can relieve some of the pressure you are facing. As you begin to take the "Baby Steps" Ramsey teaches in the book you will find that you are now in control of your finances. In time, you will reach the place where your debt is gone and you are making wiser decisions when it comes to your finances. For the next minute just sit there thinking what that would be like....Now, what are you going to do about it?
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Should Christians be wealthy? Part 2
In yesterday's post I shared three views on wealth. I referred the reader to Rabbi Daniel Lapin's book Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money
. In it Rabbi Lapin explores the teachings of the Old Testament and the Torah towards wealth and shows how following those teachings have enabled many Jewish people to be successful in life and in business. We should note that these principles are not just for Jewish people but are for anyone who will practice them.
Today we want to explore the issue further by looking at more teachings from the Bible as they are taught by financial guru Dave Ramsey. To recap one point of yesterday's post, I do not accept the teachings of the various Prosperity Gospel preachers but I do believe the Bible gives us very practical principles that, if followed, will allow one to build financial security. These principles are taught by Ramsey in his best seller, The The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.
Ramsey begins with the basic principle of avoiding debt. Americans have billions of dollars in consumer debt plus student loans and mortgages that represent a drain on the nation's economy and adds huge stress to countless lives. The Bible teaches that "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Pr. 22:7)" Those who call into Ramsey's radio program each day would attest to feeling like slaves to their debt.
If you had no debt imagine how much freedom you could enjoy in life. Imagine also how much good you could do if you could increase your giving to your church and to other organizations you would like to support. Think also of how much you could save and invest towards your future retirement. Just avoiding or getting out of debt can lead you to becoming wealthy, and all you've done is follow a Biblical principle.
This also involves another principle: living on less than you make. This requires discipline and maturity, two attributes in short supply today. We want what we want when we want it, and if we have to go into debt to get it we will do so.
I read a blog post yesterday where the writer was addressing the statement that we often hear in the church: We wish we could give more to the church but we just don't have the money. Well...one of the reasons we don't have the money is that we are so deep in debt. Live on less than you make, pay off your debt, and you'll find that you have much more to give. Rather than offering excuses start making different choices.
After paying off debt and doing the other things Ramsey teaches, the next step is to set aside money to invest towards retirement. Few Americans are financially prepared for retirement, and many face that time in their lives with great fear. Pr. 6: 6-11 teaches that we should consider the ant who sets aside supplies in the summer so that it has food in the harvest. In order to have the financial ability to enjoy our retirement years we must set aside the money during our working lives and invest it wisely. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme nor is it Prosperity Gospel. It is being disciplined enough during our working lives to prepare ourselves for retirement. Otherwise, we become a burden on others and cannot retire with dignity.
A great rule of thumb I once heard was that we should learn to live on 80 percent of our income. Tithe 10 percent and save 10 percent. (Ramsey teaches that one should put 15 percent into a retirement account.) But, most people would be much better prepared for retirement if they did the 10 percent rather than what they are doing now (very little). Yes, this may mean that you live in a smaller house than you want or that you have to drive an older car rather than leasing a new one every three years. But, it also means that it's not a crisis the next time your washing machine needs to be replaced.
Readers may point out that there are many biblical passages that warn against wealth, but I would argue that these passages warn against the misuse of wealth. If your security is in the wealth you accumulate, that is wrong. If you become wealthy by unethical or immoral means, that is wrong. If you abuse others because of your wealth, that is wrong. But, if you become wealthy through ethical means and by living a disciplined life so that you can serve others through your giving, then there is nothing wrong with a Christian becoming wealthy.
If you need help in knowing what to do, both of these are excellent books. If you have debt I would strongly suggest you begin with Ramsey's book and follow his steps exactly as he lists them. Once you understand and are following the practices he teaches you will be ready to read Rabbi Lapin's book.
. In it Rabbi Lapin explores the teachings of the Old Testament and the Torah towards wealth and shows how following those teachings have enabled many Jewish people to be successful in life and in business. We should note that these principles are not just for Jewish people but are for anyone who will practice them.Today we want to explore the issue further by looking at more teachings from the Bible as they are taught by financial guru Dave Ramsey. To recap one point of yesterday's post, I do not accept the teachings of the various Prosperity Gospel preachers but I do believe the Bible gives us very practical principles that, if followed, will allow one to build financial security. These principles are taught by Ramsey in his best seller, The The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
.Ramsey begins with the basic principle of avoiding debt. Americans have billions of dollars in consumer debt plus student loans and mortgages that represent a drain on the nation's economy and adds huge stress to countless lives. The Bible teaches that "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Pr. 22:7)" Those who call into Ramsey's radio program each day would attest to feeling like slaves to their debt.
If you had no debt imagine how much freedom you could enjoy in life. Imagine also how much good you could do if you could increase your giving to your church and to other organizations you would like to support. Think also of how much you could save and invest towards your future retirement. Just avoiding or getting out of debt can lead you to becoming wealthy, and all you've done is follow a Biblical principle.
This also involves another principle: living on less than you make. This requires discipline and maturity, two attributes in short supply today. We want what we want when we want it, and if we have to go into debt to get it we will do so.
I read a blog post yesterday where the writer was addressing the statement that we often hear in the church: We wish we could give more to the church but we just don't have the money. Well...one of the reasons we don't have the money is that we are so deep in debt. Live on less than you make, pay off your debt, and you'll find that you have much more to give. Rather than offering excuses start making different choices.
After paying off debt and doing the other things Ramsey teaches, the next step is to set aside money to invest towards retirement. Few Americans are financially prepared for retirement, and many face that time in their lives with great fear. Pr. 6: 6-11 teaches that we should consider the ant who sets aside supplies in the summer so that it has food in the harvest. In order to have the financial ability to enjoy our retirement years we must set aside the money during our working lives and invest it wisely. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme nor is it Prosperity Gospel. It is being disciplined enough during our working lives to prepare ourselves for retirement. Otherwise, we become a burden on others and cannot retire with dignity.
A great rule of thumb I once heard was that we should learn to live on 80 percent of our income. Tithe 10 percent and save 10 percent. (Ramsey teaches that one should put 15 percent into a retirement account.) But, most people would be much better prepared for retirement if they did the 10 percent rather than what they are doing now (very little). Yes, this may mean that you live in a smaller house than you want or that you have to drive an older car rather than leasing a new one every three years. But, it also means that it's not a crisis the next time your washing machine needs to be replaced.
Readers may point out that there are many biblical passages that warn against wealth, but I would argue that these passages warn against the misuse of wealth. If your security is in the wealth you accumulate, that is wrong. If you become wealthy by unethical or immoral means, that is wrong. If you abuse others because of your wealth, that is wrong. But, if you become wealthy through ethical means and by living a disciplined life so that you can serve others through your giving, then there is nothing wrong with a Christian becoming wealthy.
If you need help in knowing what to do, both of these are excellent books. If you have debt I would strongly suggest you begin with Ramsey's book and follow his steps exactly as he lists them. Once you understand and are following the practices he teaches you will be ready to read Rabbi Lapin's book.
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