Stop by your local Walgreens to pickup a 12 pack of Coke Zero for $3.00. Use this coupon to get $2.00 off.
I saw this deal over at fatwallet. I know its bad but I love drinking Coke, so any time there’s a hot deal I’m all over it. I picked up three cases before work. I think I’ll try going to another Walgreens after work to pick up more.
This is part 2 of my book review of The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. Yesterday I covered the first three chapters, and today I’ll cover the last three chapters.
Chapter 4 – Roadblocks to Giving
What are the roadblocks Christian face to giving and being more generous? Greed, insecurity, unbelief, our popular culture, etc. Alcorn argues that the greatest deterrent in giving is this: “the illusion that earth is our home”. Treasure Principle #3 “Heaven, not earth is my home.”
The Bible calls us as pilgrims, aliens of this earth, and that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven. And Jesus tells us in John 14:2-3 that “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” If we really take Jesus at his word, this means all the homes and McMansions we dwell in pale in comparison to the home He is preparing for us. It is as temporary as a small town motel we lodge at as we pass through the country-side. Why do we furnish our motel room with expensive furniture and decorations? He who dies with the most toys does not in fact win.
Alcorn gives a visual illustration of our life here and in eternity. Imagine one dot, and then a line that extends from that dot forever. Our life is that dot in which we are now living. The line that extends from that dot is the eternity that we will spend in heaven. Following this analogy Alcorn gives Treasure Principle #4 “I should live not for the dot but for the line.”
All of us will one day part with our money and possessions. The only question is when. “We have no choice but to part with it later. But we do have a choice whether to part with it now. We can keep earthly treasures for the moment, and we may derive some temporary enjoyment from them. But if we give them away, we’ll enjoy eternal treasures that will never be taken from us.”
The book of Ecclesiastes gives us wise thoughts to consider in chapter 5:10-15:
“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him. Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.”
Money never satisfies no matter how much we make. The more you own and possess, the more you have to worry about. And ultimately just as you did not bring anything into this world, you won’t take anything with you into the next life.
We ought to do good with our money and possessions while we can. Give to the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked. Our temporal money can have an eternal impact. Treasure Principle #5: “Giving is the only antidote to materialism.” Alcorn argues, “As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish control, power, and prestige.”
Chapter 5 – Getting Started
Though there are mixed beliefs on the tithe for Christians, Alcorn suggests that 10% ought to be the starting point for us. At the risk of sounding legalistic, he suggests 10% to be the bare minimum. “Some say, ‘We’ll take this gradually. We’re starting with 5 percent.’ But that’s like saying, ‘I used to rob six convenience stores a year. This year, by His grace, I’m going to rob only three.’ The point is not to rob God less – it’s not to rob God at all.”
Alcorn also urges us to give now than later. Why? Because we don’t know what may happen tomorrow, and our hearts may change. We may not follow through in our giving plans. When richly provides for us, he also desires us to be greatly generous to others with it. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Alcorn gives us one more principle: Treasure Principle Key #6 “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.”
Chapter 6 – For Such a Time As This
As Christians, we only get this life to use our resources in such a way to make a difference. Once the opportunity is gone, there are no second chances. Alcorn asks a thought-provoking question, “Five minutes after I die, what will I wish I would have given away while I still had the chance?” If you think of things, why not give those things away now while you still have a chance. In fact he even encourages the reader to go through the exercise of writing a pretend obituary. As you make a list of what you’ll be remembered for and all the things you accomplished in your life, perhaps it will be motivation to begin to live more intentionally.
In Esther 4:14, Mordecai says to Esther, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther was in just a certain position of power to save her countrymen and women and make a difference. Alcorn encourages us in the same way, “Are you educated and literate? Do you have food, clothing, shelter, a car, perhaps some electronic equipment? Then you are among the privileged, the world’s wealthy.” It is no accident or dumb luck that most Americans have been tremendously blessed financially. God desires for each of us to take up causes that would make an impact on this world and for His kingdom. Why not give away out of this abundance while you still can?
Sometimes I read books that give me a good kick in the butt. I can argue and disagree all I want with an author, but I can’t argue with Jesus. If the arguments and reasonings given are in fact true to God’s Word, then I ought to take heed. Alcorn does a great job of bringing both challenge and conviction in this book. For a short, 96 page book, it sure packs a punch.
I originally read this book, The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, in college and was deeply challenged and motivated by it. It was probably the first time that I truly made a connection with my possessions and my faith. The verse in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” took on a much deeper meaning. I recently re-read the book to write a review of it for this blog. Alcorn takes us through the teachings of Jesus in the hopes to release us from treasuring our money and possessions and instead placing our hope and joy in Jesus and heaven. I’ll cover the first three chapters today.
Chapter 1 – Buried Treasure
Alcorn begins this chapter by recounting the story in Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” The man who found the treasure sold everything he had to purchase the field that contained the hidden treasure. Alcorn asks, “shall we feel sorry for the traveler? After all, his discovery cost him everything.” But the answer is obvious that he made a small sacrifice in order to gain a far greater reward. And it brought him great joy. This analogy is given by Jesus as a appeal for his followers to value eternal treasures instead of earthly treasures (Matthew 6:19-21). Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth because it is temporary. All of us will eventually pass from this life, leaving all our money and possessions behind. Alcorn gives a great analogy of how we should view this:
“Imagine you’re alive at the end of the Civil War. You’re living in the South, but you are a Northerner. You plan to move home as soon as the war is over. While in the South you’ve accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now suppose you know for a fact that the North is going to win the war and the end is imminent. What will you do with your Confederate money? If you’re smart, there’s only one answer. You should immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency – the only money that will have value once the war is over. Keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your short-term needs.”
We know that our Earthly currency will become useless to us once we die or if Christ returns. Alcorn calls this knowledge the “ultimate insider trading tip”. Carrying this analogy further what does this mean for us “investors”? Jesus is telling us to switch investment vehicles and transfer most of our earthly fund to a heavenly fund that is insured by God.
There is something astounding in what Jesus teaches here. He is not against us storing up treasures for ourselves. In fact he is for it. But he also instructs us where he wants us to store up our treasures: namely in heaven. He is telling us, “stop storing them in the wrong place and start storing them in the right place.”
“Jesus is talking about deferred gratification.” We sacrifice our present joy in anticipation for a future joy that is far greater.
But what exactly is this future treasure? Alcorn explains, “A person, Jesus, is our first treasure. A place, heaven, is our second treasure. Possessions, eternal rewards, are our third treasure.” Why forfeit and surrender earthly treasure for heavenly treasure? Because the heavenly treasure that Jesus is talking about is treasure that will last for all eternity.
Alcorn concludes this first chapter with this profound treasure principle, “You can’t take it with you – but you can send it on ahead.” Alcorn makes the case that if we truly follow this principle, we will find true joy in the treasure that awaits us.
Chapter 2 – Compounding Joy
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Alcorn gives us Treasure Principle #1: “God owns everything. I’m His money manager.” As stewards of God’s money, we should always be asking ourselves where we can best invest the Owner’s money. He gives us free choice of how much to withdraw to cover our living expenses. With the rest of the Owner’s money we can joyfully give to missions, evangelism, churches, and various other ministries.
2 Corinthians 8:2 “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” The apostle Paul recounts the testimony of how the church in Macedonia gave to Paul and his ministry even out of their poverty. To the Macedonians it was a great privilege and joy to give. In the same way, we ought to view giving and generosity as a great privilege and joy.
Chapter 3 – Eyes on Eternity
Matthew 10:42 “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Jesus keeps a record of even the smallest acts of kindness we do in His name. Eternal rewards await us in proportion to how generous and kind we have been in this life.
Luke 14:12-14 “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” What is amazing about this statement that Jesus gives is that we are meant to be motivated by reward. Alcorn says, “If we give to those who can’t reward us, Christ guarantees He will personally reward us in heaven.”
Instead of dreading the thought of leaving the things of this world, the author contends that we should be looking forward to the heavenly treasures that are being stored up for us. Treasure Principle #2: “My heart always goes where I put God’s money.” If we apply these principles, we will not be disappointed. If you want to have a greater heart for missions or your church, reallocate some of your money to it, and your heart will follow.
Alcorn concludes with this, “He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.”
I just saw this yesterday in a Fatwallet thread. If you travel a decent amount this is a great card to have. Here’s some of the perks:
- 15,000 sign up bonus Thankyou Network points
- 1 point for every mile you fly (e.g. Buy a ticket to Asia and receive points for both the purchase and for the actual flown miles.)
- 2 points for purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations.
- No annual fee (I have this card and my terms and conditions include a $75 annual fee. I think I’ll close my account soon and re-open with this offer.)
My fiancée and I are in the process making our own wedding invitations. We save a lot of money by making it ourselves instead of having them custom made.
We shopped around and bought some nice cardstock paper at the Paper Source and at Papers and More and found some elegant envelopes at Xpedx.
We found some great fonts to use and designed everything in Photoshop. They come out looking great when I print them out on my laser printer. One thing that we wish we had was professional engraving or thermography for the raised lettering effect. Unfortunately I don’t have the resources to do that so instead we found a great embosser for only $50. Its completely custom made and we can use it on so many things. We chose a circular monogram design. In addition to the wedding invitations we can also emboss the envelopes, response cards, ceremony programs, name cards, etc. And we can probably find ways to use it in the future for other stationary purposes.
In the end, we’ve saved a few hundred dollars, but there’s also something very rewarding about making things yourself.
These are the times that I am glad I have a budget. I have about $500 set aside for car maintenance in case something like this happens.
I’ve had a funny clicking noise for the last couple weeks coming from the back wheel of my car. I finally took my car in to get it inspected. It turned out my brake cylinder was leaking and needed replacing. Most of the cost was labor since the parts for replacement were pretty cheap.
Well there goes my most of my budget for the year, hopefully there will be no other expenses except for routine maintenance.
Check out this thread over at Fatwallet to find links to free state tax e-filing.
I found one for california here. Looks like I qualify. And with the free federal e-filing, looks like I can file my taxes for free this year.
I just received my W-2 from my work and am starting to collect all my pertinent documents to start doing my taxes. I used TurboTax online last year, but this year it costs more because the government is charging for e-filing.
TaxACT is offering free tax software with free E-filing. The standard software is available both online as well as a download. Since my taxes are pretty simple and straightforward, this should be sufficient for me.
Give it a try.
I have seen it suggested before that in order to maximize financial aid eligibility through FAFSA, grandparents should save in a 529 plan instead of parents. Why? As I mentioned yesterday, the assets of parents are factored in to the total expected family contribution of a student. A student would receive more financial aid if a large 529 college savings plan was held by the grandparents instead of the parents. So it has been suggested that parents who want to open a 529 plan should have the grandparents be the account owners instead of the them.
I understood this logic, but I still had questions about what happens during distribution. I saw a potential problem. Either the money given by the grandparents would be considered as yearly income to the student (we want to minimize this) or if the grandparents pay for college expenses directly the financial aid becomes reduced dollar for dollar (this is even worse).
The laws are vague about whether the distribution of money to the student would actually be considered income that needs to be reported on the FAFSA. Here are two articles that discuss this in more detail:
Rules unclear for grandparents’ 529 plan
Section 529 college savings plan loophole
It is ultimately possible that the laws change and become more clearly defined. I believe in the end that it might be easier for parents to open their own 529 plans instead of trying to shelter them through the grandparents. Starting early and saving for college expenses is what is ultimately important.
I found this great article over at The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. It gives straight-forward examples of how “Expected Family Contribution” is calculated when trying to qualify for student loans and grants.
Financial Need = the Cost of Attendance - the Expected Family Contribution.
The formula that governs the “Expected Family Contribution” was developed by congress:
Take a look at this article to see how this might be calculated for a typical family.
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