Today on MoneyLife

Opening today's program, Chuck Bentley says God never condemns having wealth. There is, however, a lot of wrong teaching in the world about prosperity.

Crown's late Co-founder Larry Burkett said he personally experienced the riches that only come from Christ as he walked with the Lord. Larry said the wealth of the Lord can only come from God and is never accompanied by fear, worry, strife, or anger. We must realize that wealth is a gift to be stewarded.

Creativity and character are an extension of your personality that’s submitted to God. That wealth could be used for constructive or destructive purposes. Every Christian is wealthy in God’s sight because He’s given you creativity and character to multiply His kingdom. See Proverbs 10:22.

After the break, Chuck welcomes John Nardini back to the program. John is in charge of marketing for Denal Flavors, an ice cream manufacturing company located in Michigan that licenses it's flavors to other stores.  It's a small business with a limited ad budget, so John decided to use blogs to build brand awareness for Moose Tracks, its most popular flavor of ice cream.

John created a blog called "Free Money Finance."  It's a blog that has nothing to do with Denali's ice cream business, although Moose Tracks is the sole sponsor.

Free Money Finance has more than 700 money-saving tips on his blog, including the 10 most hated ways to save money:

1. Move to a smaller, less expensive city (some cities are more expensive than others to live in such as New York, Boston, San Francisco)
2. Don’t get a pet if you don’t already have one and if you do have one, don’t get another one (pets are much more expensive than most people would believe, $1,000/year average for a middle-size dog through its life)
3. Limit small spending (personal indulgences, people don’t like it because they say it takes all the fun out of life, look at what you spend on them a day, week, or month and do the math for a year)
4. Take your lunch to work (much less expensive than eating out)
5. Cut the cable (reduce your package or drop it all together, average cable bill is $70 a month) Chuck adds that television also steals your time and keeps you from being able to earn extra income. Chuck and his family gave up television 10 years ago and haven’t missed it
6. Buy a house you can afford (look at your budget and decide what you can reasonably payoff in 15 years) John says one of the biggest blessings of his married life was becoming debt-free. He paid off his mortgage 10 years ago and it has been a liberating exprience
7. Buy used (go to consignment stores)
8. Quit smoking (save $6,000/year on insurance, etc.)
9. Move to a foreign country (less expensive to live elsewhere, alternative: consider going there for major medical procedures, save 80% of cost)
10. Be healthy (lose weight)

In the final segment, Chuck gives his closing thoughts. The purpose of programs such as this is to give you ideas that motivate you to save more money. Most people have plenty of money, they just don’t have margin.

If you decrease your expenses, you will increase your margin. Chuck hopes as you listen to MoneyLife you'll realize the incredible value of God’s Word. God gives you the ability to make money and have wealth.

It is to be used to make a difference in this world. God gives us the wisdom to use wealth to bless others and advance His kingdom. See these key verses:

• Psalm 119:105
• Deuteronomy 8:10-18

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Other Resources:

• ABCs of Money Package
• Career Direct
• God's Principles for Operating a Business
• Business By the Book
• Crown Mvelopes