It is in the family where members learn habits of thrift or not. Mundia Liywalii

Walking in God’s Favor: The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets. Proverbs 21:20 TLB

 The Struggle to Save

Many of you only dream of saving money. Here’s a quick snapshot of America’s finances. The Wall Street Journal indicates that 70% of all Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. The Oprah Winfrey Show indicated on an online survey that 70% of responders has no savings anywhere. You almost have to pull a gun on Americans to get them to save.

The Five D’s

We have learned in Financial Peace University (3) key reasons to save money; for emergencies, for purchases and to build wealth. With Ardella and I having careers in the risk management and academic arena for over 20 years, we label emergencies in 5 categories we call the 5 storms of life or the 5D’s.

1Disasters – Car accidents, weather related perils, any unexpected incidents.

2Disability – Any physical condition that prevents your daily living activities.

3Downsized – Loss of employment, bankruptcy or divorce.

4Death – The loss of a person who contributes to your financial well being

5Deployment- Active& reserve military called to serve 6 or more months away

If you want to become a faithful steward you must begin the process of saving money. Moving to a higher level of stewardship requires dedication, discipline and diligence. Living the life of surplus and overflow takes wisdom.

Creating Financial Strength

Many of you have struggled so long in your financial lives you get comfortable with a life of stability. Now is not the time to rest, keep moving. There is so much God have for you to learn, experience and become. You must choose to make saving a top priority. The choice is up to you.

You are invited to visit our Life University Family Finance class  http://www.firstsdachurch.com  July 9th. Our Guest presenter is Rickey Gosa of Edward Jones Investment. You will discover saving strategies that you can begin right where you are.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, help us to become diligent in our saving.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.