Hope for your financial life and beyond

What Would You Sacrifice to Gain Something Valuable?

May 29, 2015 by 10 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #89 – “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Matthew 13:44

ladderThat valuable item you seek will cost you dearly. You’ll have to let go of something you already value in order to pursue it. We know this to be true because we’ve seen it play out in our lives.

Completing personal goals…achieving wealth…working through a career change…renewing your spiritual walk…healing relationships…none of it comes easy.

None of it happens without great sacrifice.

The question you need to ask yourself is, “Will I be willing to give up “X” to pursue “Y”?

Jesus put it this way when he explained to the people how aggressively they should pursue heaven. He said in Matthew 13:44-45,

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Filed Under: Goals, Hidden Nuggets Series Tagged With: ,

Give Up to Go Up: Spending Money For Personal Growth

September 19, 2014 by 8 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #56 – “…Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God…” (Hebrews 11:24-25)

give up to go upToday and tomorrow I’ll be immersed in all things personal finance as I’m attending a conference in New Orleans known as FinCon. Finance professionals, bloggers and financial news media from around the country will be engaging one another on the current trends in the industry. I probably won’t see the craziness that might happen at an event like Comic Con or Dragon Con but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.

I’ve read over the past few weeks that some of my colleagues were able to afford the conference trip through travel rewards received from their credit card. I think that’s awesome for them, as they will be getting a nearly free stay in The Big Easy. I’m completely off credit cards though so that option is not available to me.

Once I factor in all the expenses – conference fees for my wife and I, our hotel stay, food and travel expenses from Atlanta – we will spend over $1,000 for this trip. That seems like a lot of money and maybe it actually is for a three-day conference for two.

The more difficult part is that I’ll be missing one of my daughter’s volleyball games and two of my youngest son’s T-ball games. It’s his first season playing so I’m really looking forward to being there for him. Yes, there will be other games but I’m sad at having to miss two of them.

In the end though, shelling out the money and missing family time are all sacrifices I’m willing to make for the trip because this one thing I know…

You have to give up to go up.

Give Up to Go Up

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Leadership, Spending Tagged With: , , ,

God Wants the First Bite of Pie

May 31, 2014 by 15 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #42 – “Honor the Lord with your possession, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” – Proverbs 3:9-10

blueberry cheescake and hot coffeeEver let someone else take the first bite off a piece of your pie?

I don’t understand it but a psychological thrill ride occurs when I slide a fork through the tip of a triangular shaped slice of pie. It’s as though I’m embarking on a slow, taste sensation journey, the first step of which is to destroy the perfectly symmetrical geometric figure.

When someone else takes the first bite, the whole pie eating experience is diminished. The rest of the piece doesn’t taste quite the same. When I’m polite enough to let this happen, I’m totally bored eating the rest of it. It’s as though my mind is saying, “Eh…it’s just pie.”

A part of me is happy for the person I gave that first bite to. I know they appreciate it. The look of pleasure on their face as the piece dissolves in their mouth gives that away.

Deep down, I’m envious and selfish. It was my pie after all. Shouldn’t I enjoy the pleasures of the first bite?

That’s right…it’s all about my needs.

How can I stop thinking like that?

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Filed Under: Giving, Hidden Nuggets Series Tagged With: , , ,

A Memorial Day Task: Teach Your Kids to Remember the Fallen

May 25, 2014 by 12 Comments

Memorial Day cemetaryDuring one of my classes this past school year, I happened to mention the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. I was a little surprised my descriptions of that tragedy and its aftermath didn’t elicit the kind of reaction I expected. Not that the students were indifferent, it just didn’t seem to draw out the same emotions that I was feeling while sharing that story.

Then it hit me…they are only 14 and 15 years old. How old were they on 9/11? One? Two?

They didn’t live through that day like the rest of America.

They don’t know many of the details.

They have no emotional connection to it.

They were too young for that event to have significant meaning. It’s not their fault. It’s just the reality of when they were born.

So many people died that day. Many more fell in the resulting wars that followed, as they fought to defend our way of life. Today’s youth need to be reminded of that fact.

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Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: , , ,

How to Tackle a Huge Looming Project

March 27, 2014 by 8 Comments
Hard motivational quote

Step up to the challenge!

Probably the biggest hurdle to getting your CPA license is the CPA Exam. It’s pretty tough — there are four sections that must all be passed in 18 months and the current pass rate hovers around 50%. Each section is either 3 or 4 hours long.

I’m happy to say that two years ago I passed all four sections in about 5 months. I’ll talk about some of the specific things I did to pass in a later post. The general steps that I used can apply to any huge task that you may be facing.

Take a look at some of the suggestions below to see if they can help you tackle your next huge project.

Learn as much as you can about it

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Filed Under: Lifestyle, Work Tagged With: , , ,

6 Awesome Lessons for Managing Through a Financial Crisis

March 14, 2014 by 8 Comments

Hidden Nuggets #32 – “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.” – Genesis 41:39

financial crisis

Will you be prepared for the next crisis?

At some point in our lives we will face a financial challenge. Perhaps it will reach the level of severity that we would deem it a crisis. Where the financial crisis will come from or how long it will last, we will never know. However, this is for certain – one will be coming and we will have to deal with it.

That fact alone should give us an incredible incentive to plan.

The life story of the Biblical character Joseph would make Hollywood giddy with the prospects of a full-length motion picture. The plot has everything you’d want: from family conflict and deception to seduction, slavery and redemption. Joseph faced it all. And it’s in his redemption phase where we learn a great deal of what it’s like to plan for and through a financial crisis.

The Bible describes a time where the Pharaoh of Egypt had a series of dreams as he slept one night. Pharaoh knows the dreams hold significant importance but he, nor his magicians can interpret the imagery. Enter Joseph, a man whom God had already blessed with the ability to decipher a dream’s meaning.

Joseph listens as Pharaoh shares the dream sequence. Then, with Godly assistance, Joseph explains to Pharaoh the good news and bad news:

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Planning Tagged With: , , , , ,

Now That’s What I Call Love

February 14, 2014 by 17 Comments

Hidden Nuggets #28 – “Love never fails.” – I Corinthians 13:8

HandsThese hands have seen many years.

Time has not been kind to the physical features. These once vibrant hands have aged into a wrinkled shadow. The attempt to elude time’s impact on the body has failed. Time ages us, one and all.

The belief we can escape time’s impact is folly. Yet it is not all-powerful. In this picture, I find three evidences of time’s failure:

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Inspiration Tagged With: , , ,

Providing For Your Own Is Always Right

January 24, 2014 by 20 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #25 – “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” – I Timothy 5:8

Let it go

Let it go

I was saddened the other day when I went to visit the site of a personal finance blogger I had begun to read and saw that as of December 31st he had discontinued writing. I wouldn’t say we were close blogging friends or anything but he had commented here and I had commented at his site. Plus we were social on Twitter, so I guess that counts for some connection, right?

He left a really nice closing letter explaining why he was going on an indefinite blogging hiatus. That’s a really nice touch. Nothing says “I don’t care” to your readers like suddenly disappearing into thin air without leaving so much as a whisper as to why.

His reason for stopping – personal issues.

Blogging has become an integral part of my life. I have loved connecting with people online, sharing my story and hearing theirs. Outside of my family and faith, nothing is giving me as much pleasure right now as building this site and being social with people online.

But if I came across some personal issues or my family needed more of me for some reason, I would gladly give it up.

Well…reluctantly…sadly…but gladly.

So I say “Kudos” to my colleague for being responsible and recognizing what held more value.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Hidden Nuggets Series, Relationships Tagged With: , , , ,

Celebrating Victory: Reward Yourself For Life’s Achievements

August 28, 2013 by 31 Comments

reward yourselfI love celebrations! Especially when it involves my family or myself, either being the intended target or getting to help put the celebration on in some way. Call me selfish, call me self-absorbed but celebrations and finding ways to reward yourself are infinitely better when you have a personal stake in it.

Like the time my wife surprised me for my 25th birthday. We went out for dinner with another couple and came back to our apartment to have some coffee and play cards. I opened the front door to the dark apartment and was greeted with lights flipping on, the popping of balloons (which I thought were gunshots) and shouts of “Surprise!” from a dozen or so of our friends from church. The momentary shock contorted my face and caused me to curl my body into the fetal position. I posed like Lee Harvey Oswald being struck by Jack Ruby’s bullet.

Parties are great for significant birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and weddings. But we shouldn’t limit their usage to just those occasions. Perhaps the best time to throw a victory celebration is when you have achieved some personal goal in your life. The Luke1428 household reached a milestone last month that we’ve been working on for three years and boy, did we have a blast celebrating it this past Saturday night.

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Filed Under: Goals, Kids and Money Tagged With: , , ,

Burn the Obstacles: Getting Rid of the Junk That Holds You Back

August 18, 2013 by 9 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #6  – “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” – Acts 19:18-20

What’s standing in the way of you and an awesome life?

fireA few pounds?

A damaging relationship?

A pessimistic attitude?

An addiction?

A spiritual connection?

Sometimes it’s tough to see what’s holding us back. In general, we don’t have a great track record of diagnosing our own personal issues. Others are much more skilled at pointing out areas of our life that could use some improvement.

Even when we are able to pinpoint the issue, it’s not always easy to alter our course. We offer excuses, rationalize actions and justify our way out of change. We’d rather keep hurting our chances at an excellent life than face the harsh realities of what are our faults.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Vices Tagged With: , ,

Land of the Free Because of the Brave

May 27, 2013 by 4 Comments

“From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that his nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863

I’ve never been to war. I’ve never even served. I don’t know what it’s like to stand in the heat of battle, wondering whether those moments will be my last on earth. I can’t imagine what level of courage that takes.

Yet we have had in our nation’s history men and women who faced those moments because of a deep and abiding passion for something very dear.

Arizona Memorial OverheadFreedom.

Like you, I’ve always believed in the concept of freedom. God first, country second was what we were taught at my school growing up. We even had an annual Patriotic Day school program in May to celebrate our countries’ freedom.

However, I received an education in what freedom really means several years ago when my wife and I took a trip to the Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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Filed Under: Current Events Tagged With: ,