It’s amazing how those who are struggling financially the most sometimes don’t know what to shop and how to shop for groceries. If you had $20 to feed yourself for the next week, why would you buy a few bags of chips from the snack aisle? But that’s exactly what some people do.
Read MoreWhen I was living in England, I started watching runners like Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram who ran sub 4-minute mile on a regular basis.
Read MoreIn my attempt to raise smarter kids with money, my wife and I decided to allow our children to buy their own cell-phones when they were entering middle schools.
Read MoreI don’t hear this sort of stories often but every once in a while when I hear it, it rocks me. Debbie once told me about her father when she was growing up. By the way, Debbie isn’t her real name but she is a real person I know.
Read MoreDo you have people in your life who have difficulty hearing and accepting your boundaries, especially when it comes to money? It could be a friend or a family member who keeps insisting you to cosign for a lease on a car or a loan for school. Or that same person who keeps asking you to lend them some money you know they won’t pay back.
Read MoreJane reached out to me several months ago because she wasn’t sleeping well at nights, was too tired of doing finances the same old way, and just too stressed over the mounting bills and growing debt.
Read MoreI recently had a conversation with a young man who shared with me that he couldn’t say “no” to a bunch of people who claimed how they wanted to use his paycheck.
Read MoreParents have asked me if they should let their fully grown adult children to live in their homes without being productive or contributing to the family’s finances. They keep giving allowance to their fully grown adult children while asking me why they are not finishing school or getting a job.
Read MoreMy wife and I celebrated our 15th anniversary recently and I have much to thank the Lord for His favor and grace as well as a lot to confess to the Lord about the condition of my heart.
Read MoreAs the Sabbath comes to an end on Saturday nights, Jewish families would prepare for the work week ahead by performing the Havdalah service.
Read MoreHumphrey Monmouth’s Legacy:
In my quest to grow and learn about generosity, I recently came to hear the story of Humphrey Monmouth in John Rinehart’s book titled Gospel Patrons. It’s a super short book. It’s worth the read.
Read MoreKeys to Living a generous life examines our need to grow in self-awareness in the way we are relating to money and God, the recognition that the financial path of prudence can be a blessing or curse, and the importance of asking the right questions to position ourselves toward the life of generous living.
Read MoreBack in 2003, McDonald’s, the nation’s largest restaurant chain decided to invest millions of dollars to start accepting payment by credit cards.
Read MoreI wrestled for about a year and a half before finally getting life insurance for my family in the fall of 2005. As the only income earner in my family of three, while expecting our second child, this was an important matter.
Read MoreSeveral years back, my wife and I felt convicted about teaching our children to grow as godly stewards. We were giving them offering money on one Sunday morning. It felt wrong to train our children to be mere carriers during Sunday worship services. For years, my wife would give our children money that they were to place in the offering basket. But that was going to change.
Read MoreA couple in their early 60s making around $150K with $100K saved for retirement, investing $6K annually. They make good money, but it’s going to be a while before they get to really retire. If they continue at this rate, in their early 70s, they will have $373,126 after investing for 10 years in a good mutual fund with an average annual return rate of 10%. They will have to make some major adjustments if they want to retire or realistically adjust their time table quite a bit.
Read More
When clients reach out to me in their search of a financial coach, I typically witness two camps of married couples. There is one camp where both husband and wife, though they relate differently to money, are ready to learn to row their financial stewardship boat in one direction.
Read More
One of the most impactful moments I think I had as a teacher of personal financial stewardship was in all my years of coaching happened a few months ago. I had an opportunity to teach a financial literacy seminar to a group of high school students. A part of the seminar included an introduction to the power of compound interest along with the rule of 72, and what these young people’s lives would look near their retirement age if they invested consistently from a young age. I talked about Roth IRA, and what this vehicle could do for any individual regardless of their income level in positioning them to retire with dignity and generosity.
I asked if any of them were working, and crunched some numbers to show them how much money a one-time deposit of a certain amount would grow to become if they invested that after-tax amount in a good low-cost index fund in a Roth IRA. There was a 17-year-old student who earned about $2000 in 2017 and wanted to know what that amount could possibly become if invested and left untouched until the age of 65. One-time deposit at the age of 17, invested until the age of 65 in a good low-cost index fund compounded monthly at the average of 10% would result in the total of $238,235! She got the math. She saw the power of compound interest in action. She got something that most of us don’t get.
Albert Einstein considered compound interest as the eighth wonder of the world. He knew that those who understood it earned it while those who didn’t, paid it. If you have debt, then you are paying it. If you are debt free, and saving and investing wisely, then you are likely earning it. Back in my adolescent days, I tutored math to little kids at an afterschool program. Only if someone had taught me this principle when I was 15.
When I started working as a teacher right out of college at the of 22, a school administrator sat me down for 5 minutes and asked me if I wanted to contribute to a 403b plan. He didn’t really explain why I should do this or what this could do for me. Maybe he did explain and I just didn’t listen. Even though it wouldn’t have been very much, if I had just contributed $2000 at the age of 22, and left it until I was 65, it could accumulate into around $120,000.
As Christ-followers seeking to steward well for God’s approval, how are we to think and live biblically toward retirement? I don’t want to go too much about the concept of retirement itself. After all, while saving for future is biblical, the concept of retirement at the age of 65 is an invention introduced into our world history in the 1880s by Bismarck.
Biblically, however, we are taught to be wise and save for our future instead of devouring it all (Prov. 21:20). Joseph clearly practiced God-given wisdom when he saved during a time of plenty to prepare for a coming famine (Gen. 41). That is something that can easily be transferred to our lives, our productive years and not-so-productive years of old age. However, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also taught us in Luke 12:13-21 how not to save up treasures for ourselves but instead save up treasures toward God.
As a steward managing what the good Lord has given me to manage for his approval, I must confess that yours truly is still wrestling. I want to finish well. I want to provide for my family, want to be a blessing and grow to become more generous and sacrificial in my giving toward God, and toward eternal things that matter to the Lord. But the fight is real. I can only have one master, and the Lord asks me daily to offer myself as a living sacrifice, and not be conformed to the patterns of this world.
In the next several weeks, we will examine some practical and biblical ways to saving for our future. Join me on this journey as we strive to grow and mature as God’s stewards managing God’s treasures for God’s approval.
Are you ready to get started? Contact me at paul@jangfinancial.com if you want to help disciple your congregation as God-honoring stewards from a biblical perspective, or if you yourself want to grow as a steward seeking to practically manage the finances better to hear from our Lord upon his return, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)
Questions to ponder:
1. How are the following passages like Proverbs 21:30, Genesis 41, as well as Luke 12:13-21 speaking to you?
2. Sometimes, we can overly spiritualize and not save anything for the future by speaking in the language of trusting God and trusting in God’s provision. On the flip side, we can just as easily save like the rich fool who saves for himself instead toward God. How is the Lord speaking to you?
Paul Jang
Pastor | Personal Financial Coach to Individuals & Financial Stewardship Ministry Consultant for Churches
*If you want to automatically receive this weekly blog, sign up for a free budgeting e-book at www.jangfinancial.com.
I returned home from a business trip this week to a few options for our good used minivan purchase. We had a private offer of $16,000 for 2015 Honda Odyssey LX (33,300 miles), originally asked price was $17,500. This was a great deal.
In addition to this, a close family friend told me about a used car dealer friend who would give us a great deal. The bottom line is that we ended up buying from this dealer friend. To be honest, I am happy with our purchase now but I wasn’t as ecstatic first. I thank the Lord for this minivan. It was a good purchase.
We ended up buying a 2014 Toyota Sienna LE with 35,600 miles for $19,000 in cash. We traded our beater 2000 Toyota Sienna with 160,000 miles for $600 in discount. This beater minivan had a missing seat in the middle row, a non-working sliding door on the passenger side, a non-working driver’s side window, engine oil and steering fluid leakages, and many bumps around the vehicle. We usually gifted our old car to others who are desperate but we really felt uncomfortable giving this one away because it had so many issues.
$19,000 included the price of the vehicle, a black box, the $600 credit for the old van, fees, taxes, registration and all paperwork with the DMV. According to KBB.COM, a fair purchase price for this car with these specifications listed for $18,962 from a dealer before taxes and fees. So I knew that paying the total price of $19,000 for this 2014 Toyota Sienna from a dealer was a great deal. And I thank the Lord for it.
The same or similar minivan could have been purchased privately for around $17,000, and I would have paid $1126 in taxes, more on registration and done all the paperwork myself at the DMV for license plates as well as for my auto insurance paperwork. But I know that I would have paid another few hundred dollars to get the minivan checked out with my mechanic. After all additional fees, I would have saved about $500 if I had bought an equivalent vehicle privately and done all the paperwork myself.
All in all, because we had been saving up for this car for the past 5 years and could write a check on the spot for the car, we were positioned well. Because we didn’t need the car urgently, we were not desperate and positioned well. Because we had a clear budget of $20K we were committed to, we knew where our line was.
To be honest, when we first bought the minivan, I thought I didn’t get a great deal so I wrestled a bit internally. But the more I thought about it, did the numbers, I knew that the dealer was more than generous with me and my wife. I’m still relearning to be thankful.
Last week, we thanked the Lord for our beater 2000 Toyota Sienna. Today, we thank the Lord for our new used 2014 Toyota Sienna. Our kids were complaining a long time about our minivan situation. They complained a lot about wanting a better minivan for the past several years. We had been telling them to wait and pray for the past 2 years or so, but now, we get to thank the Lord for this van.
When we picked up the minivan from the dealer and drove it home, our kids were so excited and we drove around the neighborhood. We paid in cash and we didn’t owe anyone anything for this car. We reminded them that we had been saving for many years, we chose to stay within our means, and now are enjoying the freedom the Lord gave us. We prayed together that evening in our new minivan, thanking the Lord for this gift.
Our hope and prayer is that we show our children how to be content in all circumstances, whether we drive a beater 2000 Toyota Sienna with all the inconveniences or drive a 2014 Toyota Sienna with everything working and having no payments, we want to be able to say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Are you ready to get started? Contact me at paul@jangfinancial.com if you want to help disciple your congregation as God-honoring stewards from a biblical perspective, or if you yourself want to grow as a steward seeking to practically manage the finances better to hear from our Lord upon his return, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)
Questions to ponder:
1. How long do you have until you will need to replace your current car? How much do you want to spend on your next car? How much do you need to save monthly to do so?
2. If you are married with children, how are you training your children as God’s stewards? What are they learning from you?
Paul Jang
Pastor | Personal Financial Coach to Individuals & Financial Stewardship Ministry Consultant for Churches
*If you want to automatically receive this weekly blog, sign up for a free budgeting e-book at www.jangfinancial.com.
So this week, the salesman from the used car dealer continued introducing us to various minivans, mainly Toyota Sienna LE. They were mainly 2014 models, ranging from 36,000 miles to 45,000 miles. Don’t get me wrong, the minivans were good, and the asking prices were reasonable. One thing for sure, though, is that those vans were really pushing our budget to the max.
I had to do what was uncomfortable as I did not want to waste more of the salesman’s time or mine. I expressed my gratitude to the salesman for his time and effort, but I told him that we were looking for a great deal, and looking closer to the $15K budget than $18K. Definitely not exceeding $18K. I reminded him that we were not in a rush to buy a minivan and that we really wanted to wait. I had to clarify my expectations as well as his as my previous experiences with a different salesman there were a vastly different.
As a buyer who is not in a rush, we started looking at other places for a better deal. Eventually, my wife found a 2015 Honda Odyssey LX with around 36000 miles with an asking price of $17500. When we checked the model, mileage and condition at KBB.com, we realized that the seller was looking to sell the van for close to the maximum private sales price. We called and asked why they were selling the van and we were told that they were leaving the country at the end of February. We asked if they were willing to sell it for $16000, that we can pay cash, and close right away.
To be honest, we liked this minivan, but this wasn’t a great deal. Not yet. The owner told us that they’ll get back to us.
The seller contacted us a few days later, now asking for $16750. The price was better but we weren’t quite there yet. After all, they had about a month and a half left to sell the van, and we were more interested in buying it for closer to $16250, which is a few hundred dollars more than what they would get if they were to sell it to the dealers. Yes, I wanted to save another $500. After all, if we were going to buy this van, I wanted to take it to my mechanic and pay a few hundred dollars to have him take a good and thorough look at it to make sure we were getting a car without any major problems. We gave our offer of $16250, and left it with that.
As my wife and I were going through this week of looking for a good used minivan within our budget, we relearned few lessons we had learned about 10 years ago when we bought our current 2000 Toyota Sienna.
1) Stay away from debt and don’t buy more than you can afford. I have to admit that the salesman kept bringing vehicles that were really pushing out budget, or going beyond it, even encouraging us to finance the vehicle so we can get a great car. We were constantly pushed and tempted to get more than we could afford. We had to constantly remember to stay within our means.
2) Don’t rush. Take your time. The dealer was clearly incentivized by making his sale fast, and we were pushed to decide quickly, telling us that we would miss a great deal if didn’t act quickly. To be honest, I was tempted at times to get rid of the beater minivan that my wife was driving. After all, it was inconvenient with various non or poor functioning parts from power widows, non-functioning door, leaking oil, etc. However, the more I learn about people who manage their finances well, I learn that they don’t buy things last minute or when they feel urgent. Convenience always has a high price. When we are not desperate, we can wait for a great price. We learned to be patient again. We learned again how to walk away and be okay with that.
3) Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Now that we were dealing directly with the owner instead of the dealer, I knew that I had to negotiate the price more. To be honest, I don’t really like to negotiate prices. I think there are many of us living in America who don’t like to negotiate. I typically do research on prices of various goods online, and when I find the best deal, I either order online or go to the store and just buy the item. After all, when was the last time you went to a department store and tried to negotiate? Most of us don’t do that. However, while our culture might make us feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about this whole price negotiation process, the majority of the world’s commerce operates with haggling of prices. It’s expected and some take offense when you don’t try to make a deal. If the owner of this 2015 Honda Odyssey ends up selling for the maximum private seller price, I would be happy for them. But if they get no buyers by the end of February, I want to be able to offer them a price that is better than a dealer but also better for us than what they were offering now. Don’t be afraid to negotiate prices.
4) Cash rules. The fact that we have saved up cash for the past 5 years and actually have the money readily available positions us well as a buyer. We can simply write a check. We don’t need to get a loan from a bank. My current 2010 Hyundai Sonata was purchased about 4 years ago in a similar way with cash. Start saving up for your next car you need to replace. It will position you well for a great deal and keep you away from debt.
My wife and I will keep on praying, asking the Lord for contentment and patience, and wait for the Lord to bless us with a minivan that is the right condition and price for our family. Yes, our current minivan has many inconveniences, but my wife is awesome. She keeps insisting that since we had recently spent several hundred dollars fixing it up, we need to get our money’s worth and drive it more. Praise the Lord for a wife such as her. My wife is a gift from God.
We still choose to thank the Lord for what He has given us. We thank the Lord that our 2000 Toyota Sienna with 165,000 miles, despite all its inconveniences and non-functioning parts, still is safe to drive and runs relatively well. We continue to wait and pray that one day the Lord will bless us with a great used minivan that will be a blessing for our family.
I continue to mediate the famous, though often taken out of context, verses from Philippians 4:11-13, as Apostle Paul speaks of God’s provision, boldly teaching the Christians of Philippi how he has learnt to be content in whatever situation. Whether the Lord blessed him with abundance and need, plenty and hunger, Apostle Paul was able to praise God and do all things through Christ who strengthened him. We too long to utter and live out those words for God’s glory.
Are you ready to get started? Contact me at paul@jangfinancial.com if you want to help disciple your congregation as God-honoring stewards from a biblical perspective, or if you yourself want to grow as a steward seeking to practically manage the finances better to hear from our Lord upon his return, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)
Questions to ponder:
1. When it comes to cars (or other significant purchases), do you buy more than you can afford? Proverbs 22:2 teaches us that the borrower is the slave of the lender. How is the Lord speaking to your heart and your spending lifestyle?
2. Proverbs 21:20 teaches us, “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.” How can you start patiently saving for future purchases? What makes it especially hard for you to do so?
Paul Jang
Pastor | Personal Financial Coach to Individuals & Financial Stewardship Ministry Consultant for Churches
*If you want to automatically receive this weekly blog, sign up for a free budgeting e-book at www.jangfinancial.com.
Financial coaching business website.
Not sure where to start with your financial stress? Start your journey toward financial peace, independence and generosity by following the 5 budgeting steps. Grab a free 15 page Ebook here to get you started when you sign up to my email list.
