Faithful Finance
10 Secrets to Move from Fearful Insecurity to Confident
Control
By Emily StroudZondervan2015, 2018
As the subtitle of suggests,
in Faithful Finance Emily Stroud
gives her ten secrets to gaining personal financial freedom. She can substantiate her secrets with her work
and her credentials, which are impressive. She holds an MBA (Texas Christian University
in 1998) and a CFA Charter which she earned in 2002. Interesting
side note –June 2016 statistics state there are approximately 132,000 charter
holders. According to the stats, only 43 percent passed the Level 1 tests in
2017, with only 47 percent of those passing Level 2, and then only 54 percent
of those remaining passing Level 3! It
takes approximately four years to complete all three levels. According to the CFA Institute, the CFA is
the highest distinction in the investment management profession.
You might think, as
I did, that this book might be way over your head. That it would be dry, dull, boring, and would
have no practical advice, at least not advice that was understandable. You would be very wrong. In fact, I am recommending this book to my
college age friends, as well as to my two sons who are in their early twenties. If this book is read and applied while
you are young, it will start you on a firm foundation for years of
financial security. Obviously this
doesn’t mean you are going to be rich (as in wealthy). Ms. Stroud provides solid principles to
follow, laid out in an engaging format.
So much so that I should have finished her book much sooner, but kept
stopping and thinking how I could apply the principles to my own life (I am in
my late forties, and although I practice many of her principles, I can learn to
practice them all).
Everyone wants their
money to grow. One of the first things
Ms. Stroud talks about is a budget. Most
of us think of that as a very bad word, or even a restrictive way to manage
your money, but what about if you use it as a TOOL? I’ve started working on MY budget. If you don’t know what you have and where you
are spending it, your money definitely will not grow. In fact, it’s likely it will do the
opposite.
Speaking of growing
your money, in Faithful Finance Ms.
Stroud talks about ways to invest your money, breaking down the various types
of investments and how each could benefit you.
She talks about the many types of insurance and what type you should
have for the different stages of your life; and explains the differences. If you have kids and want to save for college,
she provides resources and describes what each can do for you. If you are nearing retirement or already in
retirement, she shows you how to carefully manage and even invest your money so
you will always have an income stream. Talking
about kids’ college and retirement reminds me of Ms. Stroud’s point that
education is very good to have and is eventually financially beneficial, but she
also stresses that paying for college should never be at the expense of retirement! She explains there are many ways to fund
college, but if you fail at saving for retirement, you may become dependent
upon your children. That would defeat
the purpose of your kids becoming financially independent.
Do you own a
house? If you don’t own a home, home
ownership is considered a good investment.
That is, if you make sure your overall housing expenses fit in your
monthly budget. And if you pay your
house off before retirement, it gets even better. I love the verse Ms. Stroud quoted on
purchasing a home -- Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to
build a tower. Won’t you first sit down
and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” Ms. Stroud’s point – make sure you plan and
prepare for this investment.
Speaking of using
Scripture in Faithful Finance (hey,
the title might be a clue), Ms. Stroud liberally sprinkles Scripture throughout
her book. And in several places she
mentions that the most important place to “lay up your treasure” is in
Heaven. She also presents the simple plan
of salvation where appropriate. But even
if you are not a Christian and not even remotely interested in Christianity, you
will still benefit from the wisdom this book provides on how to handle your
finances.
I can’t wait to make
my recommendation of Faithful Finance
to my friends. I have already begun
implementing some of Ms. Stroud’s strategies in my personal life, and am
excited to begin to do more. And if you
thought you might borrow my copy of the book, think again -- you will have to
buy your own!
Helpful Links:
http://emilygstroud.com/about/
https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/charterholder/Pages/index.aspx
http://www.zondervan.com/faithful-finance
