Spousal Unity in Decision Making

Rob West
11 Aug 2011
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Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Making financial decisions can be hard enough for one person; it gets more complex with two people involved. Each has their own definition of needs versus wants and their own spending habits. While two brains mean more ideas, it also means more conflict. People come from different backgrounds and perspectives on money and finances, and […]

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Provide For Your Family and be Content

Rob West
5 Jul 2011
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“But the worries of this age, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:19) Will we ever have enough? Will it continue to be enough? How much is enough? And how will we know when we get there? These common questions are on the minds of couples now more than ever. As we’ve seen household income and overall wealth decline in a down market, we’ve also seen – and experienced ourselves – the stress that accompanies financial worries. Combine this with society’s seemingly insatiable need to […]

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The Big Mistakes of Debt …Part 2

Rob West
2 Jun 2011
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     Do you find yourself depending on the world’s wisdom or God’s wisdom when it comes to financial advice? God’s Word is true, timeless, universal, transcendent and completely practical. Unfortunately, all too often, we depend upon the finite wisdom of the world for our financial counsel. This is especially true with the constant barrage of worldly advice urging us to use debt to “get ahead”. Christians need to carefully study what the Bible has to say about debt. Though God’s word is certainly not a financial textbook, it does offer clear guidelines that we can apply to our financial […]

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Are You an Impulse Spender?

Rob West
8 Apr 2011
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Does money burn a hole in your pocket? Does buyer’s remorse set in after you have spent your money? If this sounds familiar, you might be wondering how you can manage your spending so that you can buy the things you need now and also save for the things you need in the future. Most people would admit that at some point or another they have spent beyond their means, but that does not classify them as impulsive or compulsive spenders. However, compulsive spending is prevalent in our country, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to identify unhealthy spending […]

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Will You Be Able to Retire?

Rob West
2 Mar 2011
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For most people, retirement means not working, traveling the country, keeping up with family and of course, spending time on the golf course! Isn’t that all a part of the American dream? However, the truth is that the majority of Americans nearing their retirement years don’t have the means to actually do it. In fact, statistics tell us that as many as 60% of Americans have no idea what they need to have in the way of retirement funds in order to maintain even their existing lifestyle. Let’s take a look at the Biblical basis for retirement and get you […]

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Controlling the cash flow

Rob West
2 Feb 2011
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Cash seems so slippery these days. Didn’t you just put a $20 bill in your wallet yesterday – and now it’s gone? Well, that’s not a new phenomenon. The Bible says money takes wings like an eagle and flies away! (Proverbs 23:5)  Everyone is – or should be – concerned about controlling cash flow. It’s one thing to have a budget and make a financial plan. It’s quite another to control the flow of money in order to accomplish your plan. The only way to accomplish your long-term goals is to generate a cash flow margin – and that only […]

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Five reasons to set God-given goals

Rob West
14 Jan 2011
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If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. These are more than trite phrases; they contain a great truth. Picture in your mind a runner getting set to compete against other runners in a 100-yard dash. As the gun sounds, all the runners but one sprint toward the tape. The one runner looks around to see where the finish line is before he leaves the starting blocks. By the time he sees the tape, the race is over. You’ll never see that happen. No runner […]

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A Godly Approach to Inheritance?

Rob West
9 Dec 2010
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Of the world’s 6.8 billion people, only 310 million live in the United States.  That’s only 4.5 percent.  Yet the United States owns or controls over half of the world’s wealth.  It is quite amazing to think that just 4.5 percent of the world’s inhabitants own most of the assets, most of the world’s military technology and most of the political power.  To take this one step further, estimates are that eighty percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America–and the total represents way more than enough to fund the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  The portion of […]

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God is the best long-term investment.

Rob West
30 Sep 2010
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The continual gyrations in the stock market have caused many people to question their investment strategy. Questions like “What should I do now?” and “Should I sell my stock positions and move into a money market?” are running through many investors’ minds. And while it is important to avoid making emotional buying and selling decisions based on the temporary state of the markets, it is a great time to analyze your financial foundation and to fill in any cracks that you might have. The first thing to keep in mind is that the best investment strategy is a long-term plan […]

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Financial training for your children

Rob West
2 Sep 2010
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Take a moment to picture your children going off to college and managing a semester’s worth of money on their own.  Would they run up the debt and bounce checks or would they spend wisely with some left over? Maybe you are not sure how they would handle it, and now is the time to find out by teaching your children sound financial decisions so that they will become money-smart adults. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Unfortunately, most parents […]

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