Inspiring stories of Financial Freedom

9/12/2010

I had always listened to Larry Burkett while working at my job in a yearbook plant since the mid 90's and still listen to Money Matters. All those words of wisdom about saving, paying off debt, paying with cash, and planning ahead for the unexpected had made sense to me, bringing me to put much of it into practice.

In 2003 I was laid off from my job, which was fine because I had wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and had everything but our home paid for. I had also stuffed enough into savings that if and when those moments came up, we handled them well. Two years ago, when our youngest started school, I signed up to become a substitute teacher. On my first day of subbing as a paraeducator, I was approached to sign on as a part-time para, which left me the afternoon to sub as needed. I thought I could handle a morning job while continuing my night classes where I am working to get my bachelors degree in Finance.

That week, that Friday in fact, my husband was laid off from his job; no notice, just "sorry." I knew God had put that job in just as we needed it. My husband drew unemployment for 8 months before getting a job again and thankfully, we just had the house payment but lost our health insurance in all of this. My husband walked off the job and worked periodically due to depression. This really brought out how thankful I was to God's leading and the excellent advice about financial disipline I had listened to all those prior years.

All this summer my husband did not work and I was not working at the school but due to all the planning, the sale of an old classic car, and penny pinching, we are back on track. My husband has 4 interviews lined up from applications sent in months ago and is currently working a temp job, I am back at school and taking my classes (I am a senior now), and we still have a decent amount in savings.

All this to say that God is good, great in fact, and I am continuing to be thankful for all the years of advice, words of wisdom, and the impact this ministry has had on our life. I know we would not have made it these last two years had it not been for all the "education" I had received.

Gale, KS

9/14/2010

Thank you for your ministry. I listen often and have truly have been blessed by your program. MoneyLife helps me become more aware of my money habits and priorities.

Ben, MO

9/21/2010

I took a Crown course at my church about 3 years ago. What a difference! Just learning to save first, then live on what I made has made a huge difference.

I made a decision when I was divorced many years ago to try to stay out of debt because no one pays my bills but me, and I have done pretty good with that. But I never had any money, although I made a decent salary as a legal secretary. The principle of saving first has helped me save more than I ever thought I could. Sometimes I think I don't spend enough on me in order to build up savings and that can be a little grinding, so I'm working on having a balance with that.

But before I knew of Crown Financial Ministries, I learned something so valuable it has kept me employed. And that is the law of giving. Last summer ('09) I lost my job at the law firm and three months later, I had a new job at another law firm. I had tithed for many years and given into ministries and tried to live my life to be a blessing to others. And I believe God honored that because He says He will. The miraculous thing is that I was 65 when I lost my job, and God knew who would hire a mature woman. He had a path for me to get to that new job and I make almost the same; and because I don't have some of the expenses of working downtown, I feel I'm actually coming out ahead a little.

So if God can do that for me through obedience, there's hope for everyone.

I hope my story will encourage others, especially older folks who think they're at the end of the road as far as the work force is concerned. God still has something for you!

Diane, VA

9/22/2010

We got married in 2003. We had over $120,000 in student loans, credit cards, and car debt. We were dependent on our two incomes. Then we attended a Journey to Financial Freedom seminar in Nashville, TN at Christ Church.

Seven years later we have no debt except our home, which we purchased last year. Karen has been a stay-at-home mom since our first daughter was born in 2008.

God provided generous salaries for us to give back to Him, pay off debt, and save for the future. We thank God for the principles we learned through Crown.

Jonathan, TN

9/27/2010

Back in the spring of 1993, we decided to refinance the mortgage on the house we purchased in October 1991. We not only wanted a lower interest rate, but we wanted to reduce the dollar amount of the mortgage payments. We were able to put approximately $10,000 more on the mortgage due to the sale of our townhouse which occurred after the purchase of our 2nd house.

During the process, I received a phone call, and they asked me if I wanted a 30-year or 15-year mortgage. I asked what the payment amounts would be. I grimaced when I heard the dream amount of about $500 a month for the 30-year mortgage and then said, "Make it a 15-year." I envisioned the carefree life of a $500/month mortgage, but I also saw with our growing family that costs for living were not going to get any cheaper.

We paid extra cash on payments when we could over the years, and we are still in a haze when we think that our mortgage has been paid off now for 3 years! We thank the Lord for this and can see His timing with the current economic situation, especially here in PA, and the increased costs in gasoline, fuel oil, electric, phone/internet, and education. Although sometimes it seems that our money is just going into different categories, they are mostly flexible categories that we can make decisions about. I can't imagine tacking a mortgage payment on to the other costs that we have now. We thank the Lord for the wisdom He gave us and the provision over the years to make this possible.

Margie, PA

9/28/2010

I have been out of work for 53 weeks and have had many problems in claiming unemploynment benefits. But even though it has been frustrating, I feel that I am in GOD's will for my life and have so much peace knowing HE is here with me the whole way! HE will not take you to a place that HE can not bring you through!

David, FL

9/30/2010

I was blessed to serve in the capacity as a leader for our Single Moms at my church. One of the key issues for single parents is budgeting. Oftentimes, parents make impulsive financial decisions which impact their ability to meet their monthly expense obligations. To remedy the temptation to spend, we encouraged our parents to purchase gift cards/certificates based on the budgetary allowance for each of their necessary monthly expenses. For example, buy a gift card for gas, groceries, hair salon, etc. This helps parents to more smoothly transition and adhere to their monthly budget. It eliminates dipping into your expense monies for discretionary purchases.

Hope this provides some assistance to parents struggling with managing their finances.

Sandra, CA