The next post will be June 1st. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

5 Money Mistakes New Brides Make
By Deborah Owens

Adapted from her new book, A Purse of Your Own

After saying “I do,” many new brides loll in the glow of newlywed bliss. The last thing on their mind is the fact that 9 out of 10 of them will end up on their own financially, between divorce and widowhood.

Here are five statements I hope you won’t make after you walk down the aisle.

“It will all work out–we’re in love!” Don’t assume because you know how he feels about you that he also knows how you feel about handling money matters. Yours, mine, or ours? Separate checking accounts or splitting all the bills? What the two of you decide is up to you. More important than the approach you take is mutually agreeing on how the money will be handled.

“Let him worry about the finances.” You cannot manage what you do not measure. Make a budget and share the responsibility for managing the finances together. Delegating this task to one spouse can be hazardous to the health of the relationship and leave you financially insecure.

“For better or for worse.” Not if he’s making bad decisions with your money! You show me yours and I’ll show you mine–in terms of your FICO score, that is. Your FICO scores offer a neat snapshot of how you’ve each handled your money–student loans, car payments, credit cards, etc. FICO scores will reveal who has more financial acumen and if there are areas that the two of you need to address. You fell in love with the man and not his money, but how he handles his finances can tell you a lot about his values, character, and future money behavior.

“We’re in this together, so everything should be in joint names now.”If you open joint accounts together, it will impact your individual score. Women should keep credit in their own names and recognize that their FICO scores remain separate after marriage.

“We’ll retire on his 401k and pension.” Don’t bet on it! Agree to allot a portion of the family’s income to a spousal retirement account if and when you start a family. You are still eligible for an IRA spousal account–a tax-deductible or tax-deferred retirement account in your own name–whether you work or not.

* * * * *

Deborah Owens (www.deborahowens.com) is a nationally recognized expert on investment literacy and creating and maintaining wealth. She is author of the critically acclaimed book, A Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security (Simon & Schuster, 2010, $15.00), and a popular TV and radio financial host known to audiences of PBS, NPR, and other broadcast networks.

You have to see this video. You will learn how easy it is to get your identity stolen as a result of your copier. This is pretty amazing.

http://wimp.com/copymachines/

Tags: Bob Brooks, copier, Identity Theft

OK don’t let the economic charts turn you off. This is important to understand and actually is very easy to get. This is a chart of what is referred to as M3. M3 is simply the broadest measure of money in our economy. It shows how much money is out there and available.

An increasing M3 typically accompanies inflation. However, in deflation (when prices fall), you see a declining M3. Now back in 2006, the Government said that it just was too expensive to continue publishing and measuring M3. Imagine that, the Government not doing something because of cost. Actually, I guarantee you that cost had nothing to do with it. They just didn’t want anyone to see the manipulation of the money supply by the government. So, the best solution is to not show anyone.

Fortunately, there are sites like www.shadowstats.com that does publish the calculation. The above chart is from their site.

There are various ways to interpret this chart. The bottom line is that a declining money supply is not good for an economy trying to recover.

Tags: Bob Brooks, economy, Government, M3

I have had many opportunities to interview companies in the debt solutions business and identity theft business on the Prudent Money Show. However, I have always said no because of the questionable nature of these companies. I want Prudent Money to be a trusted resource. Trust takes a long time to build and a moment to destroy.

Popular Fox TV host Glenn Beck is coming under fire for his relationship with a company called Gold Line. He is being criticized for telling people that they need to buy gold when Gold Line is a big sponsor for the show. Politician Anthony Weiner just issued a report stating how Gold Line rips people off. So, is Glenn Beck sending people to a company that rips people off? Is there a cozy relationship there?

I have watched Glenn Beck ever since he started on Fox. I believe that he is an honorable man and that a relationship of that sort does not exist. I think he really believes in gold as a safe haven, I also think that he is wrong on that account. However, we all have our opinions. At the same time, I don’t think that he really did his homework on this company. Gold Line has been ripping people off for years. They basically air these commercials and prey on people’s fears, creating a sense of urgency to go buy gold before the world collapses.

Then they overcharge people for the gold. The unsuspecting consumer has no idea and buys the gold anyway. There are reports that they overcharge by as much as 36%. Where Glenn Beck made his mistake is by not vetting these sponsors before bringing them onboard and endorsing them.

He has done the same thing with Life Lock. Life Lock also is a very aggressive advertiser during this show. On May 27, 2009, a judge ruled that Life Locks fraud alert service was illegal and forced them to cease and desist those services. That was something that I wrote about a long time ago before the reality finally came to light. I have always thought this service was a scam by signing up consumers for fraud alerts. Any consumer can sign themselves for fraud alerts when they think that they have been a victim of identity theft. Life Lock was signing up consumers regardless of whether or not they were or thought they were an identity theft victim. That was never the intent of the law.

So, Mr. Beck you need some higher standards for your sponsors and re-think who you put your name behind. That is the message here. Unfortunately, in Glenn Beck style, he is fighting back. I hope that doesn’t prove to be a bad move for him. Falling on the sword and admitting a mistake would work much better for a guy of high integrity.

Tags: Anthony Weiner, Bob Brooks, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Gold Line, Life Lock, Prudent Money Show

Just a heads up – For the last few weeks, the stock market has been in a decline and tied to the value of the euro. The euro is the currency of the European Union. When the euro started to decline, the stock market would follow. When the euro would increase, the stock market would follow.

Europe is going through the same crisis that we went through during the fall of 2008. The problem is that we are likely to go through that crisis with them. The bigger concern today is that the euro is going up in value and the stock market is getting smoked. You would at least want to see the stock market go up when the euro is going up. This is a pretty bearish development.

In addition, the stock market is falling to some critical levels that, if breached, could mean much lower prices ahead. So, stay tuned…

Tags: Bob Brooks, euro, Europe, financial crisis, Stock Market

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CNBC.com reported that “Abu Dhabi’s top hotel has come up with a new type of ATM for their most risk-averse guests. The Emirates Palace is giving those staying there the chance to withdraw gold from the world first ever gold dispenser.” That struck me as a little odd. Then I thought, this was what so many in America think is going to happen. Investors are approaching gold as if one day a person could walk into a grocery store, drop a little bullion on the counter, and pick up a loaf of bread.

Everyone thinks that the price of gold is going to the moon. Gold, the new alternative currency, is all over the headlines. The notion is that the euro is going away and will be replaced by gold. What is it about gold that makes people lose their common sense? There is also something about gold that brings out the greed in people. So, let’s take a look at the yellow metal and get realistic.

First, it is highly unlikely that we are going back to the gold standard and use gold as currency. Only the hard core gold “salesmen” are touting that possibility as a high one. Second, gold is not a safe haven investment. There is nothing safe about the price of gold. In fact, the price of gold can experience enormous losses. So, I wouldn’t put it up there with an FDIC insured money market.

The reality is that gold has been chosen as the solution to a flawed currency paper system. Just because gold is being bet on as a replacement currency doesn’t make it a wise investment. Gold is a speculative investment that does not produce anything or earn anything or have financials of any type. Now, does that mean you don’t invest in gold?

It means that if you are going to invest in gold, do it wisely. If you want to invest in gold, consider the following:

1) DONT PUT ALL OF YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET – This is the biggest concern that I see with investors. It is the desire to take everything and invest it into gold. You wouldn’t want to do that with any type of investment. That is not investing. That is gambling.

2) THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING PHYSICAL GOLD – Gold sales people “sell” gold. It is a big business with big commissions given to those who sell it. I once had someone tell me that they considered buying physical gold until they realized that there would be a 36% difference in the price they paid for it on one day and the price they could get for the next. In other words, they paid more that it was worth because of commissions, and they would receive less for it on the open market than it is worth. How would you like to know that you need to make at least 36% before you could break even? ETFs or gold mutual funds might be the better alternative since they are liquid and the follow the price of gold.

3) DON’T FORGET THAT YOU CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY AND YOU CAN LOSE A LOT OF MONEY IN GOLD – To be fair, gold has made a killing since 2000. Yet, it can also lose a ton of money at the same time. Between December 1980 and December 2000, London Gold lost -54% over that twenty year period. That is how a speculative investment works. It can also experience large price swings over shorter-term time periods.

I am not trying to say to completely stay away from gold. I am simply saying use good common sense and know what you are getting yourself into with the yellow metal.

Tags: Bob Brooks, commission, gold, Investing

It is amazing what companies can get away with when it comes to deceptive advertisement. Debt management companies or debt consolidators are really trying to take advantage of the credit card debt crisis that consumers are facing. They are doing so by misrepresenting facts to scare consumers into using their services.

One credit counseling company starts an advertisement by giving an example of a consumer who owes $8,000 with an interest rate of 16%. The claim is that it will take 31 years to pay it off. Really? If the consumer were paying the standard 2% minimum payment, it would take 6 years and 11 months. How is that for deceptive or fraudulent marketing?

Then in the research for my book, Deceptive Money, I came across this proposal from a very large consumer counseling outfit. They presented this proposal as a means to show the consumer how their program would get them out of debt. The problem, amongst many, is that they were totally misrepresenting the consumer’s actual situation.

The chart below shows the comparison between the consumer’s current situation and then the proposed debt management program or DMP.

So, what would you think if you first saw these numbers? Your first conclusion would be that you were going to be paying on this debt forever. According to this company, it will take you until August 2040 to get out of debt. You would probably feel hopeless. Anything looks better than your current situation. The second conclusion would be that the credit counselor was offering you a much better deal. Why wouldn’t you give it a shot?

This proposal is a total misrepresentation of the consumer’s situation.

I took the actual payments and interest rates on her debt (the same information that she gave the credit counselor) and ran the numbers myself. If she paid her current payments and interest rates for the duration of the loans, the following would be the reality.

They estimated it would be 2040 before her debt was paid. Actually it was 2016. They estimated that it would cost her total interest of $24,414.61. Actually it was $10,405.24. Could this be anymore misleading? Frankly, it makes me wonder if this could be considered fraudulent. After all, the following language was in the introductory e-mail encouraging her to sign up for the program:

“Money Management International/Consumer Credit Counseling Services (MMI/CCCS) has developed a projected repayment plan to save you $19,631.19 in creditor payments. A repayment plan through MMI/CCCS will also reduce the amount of time it would take to pay off your debts by 26 years. The repayment plan calculations are based upon the creditor balances and interest rates that you provided.”

I have all of the documents. She provided the credit counseling company with the same information that she provided me. You be the judge.

Be careful to quickly judge any company that markets they have the easy solution to solving a big problem. The reality is that there is very little policing being done to make sure these companies stay honest.

Tags: Bob Brooks, consumer credit counseling, debt consolidators, debt management companies, Deceptive Money, marketing

This was an article from Investors Business Daily. The article asks the questions whether the politicians lied or they’re profoundly ignorant. Maybe a little bit of both? This shouldn’t be any surprise. The politicians are ruining this country.

Health Care: The Democrats’ reform is barely out of the gate and the Congressional Budget Office already says its previous cost estimate was too low. Either the bill’s supporters lied or they’re profoundly ignorant.

At the state level, the story remains the same. Maine’s 2003 program to cover the uninsured has already cost taxpayers there $150 million, but it was sold as a plan that would save them money. Tennessee’s arrangement became such a parasite — eating up 40% of the state’s budget by 2008 — that it had to be shut down. Massachusetts’ program overran cost projections so sharply it had to throw 30,000 beneficiaries off the rolls last year.

Despite this clear history, lawmakers always promise the next program won’t cost taxpayers — or that it’ll save them money.

They get support from the media that are rarely interested in what nanny-state programs cost, voters who simply are unaware of the past and too busy with their lives to think about today, and a large segment of the public that doesn’t care what the costs are because it craves yet another government entitlement.

As we recall, President Obama said his party’s health care overhaul wouldn’t increase the deficit by a single dime and would actually “bend the cost curve downward.” Supporters in and out of Congress went along with the charade.

At some point, Americans will have to deal with reality, such as the CBO’s latest analysis. Director Douglas Elmendorf now says the program will probably cost at least $115 billion more from 2010 to 2019 than had been originally thought. So it is now officially a trillion-dollar program — though unofficially, meaning realistic estimates made outside the federal government, it could cost as much as $3.5 trillion over its first 10 years.

Don’t expect this to be the final cost revision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More will come, and with each the cost will be moved higher. Government programs, particularly those that effect transformational change, simply do not cost less or even maintain their costs over the years. They grow out of control.

Unless the GOP can form a veto-proof majority from this fall’s elections, rescinding the law will likely have to wait until 2013.

But that doesn’t mean the GOP can’t introduce repeal bills and make them issues in the midterm and presidential elections.

The country needs to have the discussion that it should have had before ObamaCare became law.

Tags: Bob Brooks, GOP, healthcare, Investors Business Daily, Obama, politicians

I received these alarming statistics and prediction from Dr. Jerome Corsi and wanted to post this to my blog.

© 2009 RedAlert.WND.com
By Dr. Jerome R. Corsi

Home foreclosures appear to be accelerating, despite renewed efforts by the Obama administration to revitalize mortgage modification programs.

Foreclosure filings in March totaled 367,056, nearly a 19 percent increase from February and up 8 percent from March 2009, according to RealtyTrac.

March 2010 was the highest month for home foreclosures since January 2005, when RealtyTrac began issuing its reports.

Nearly 260,000 properties were repossessed by lenders in the first quarter, an all-time record and a 35 percent increase from last year.

A record number of 2.8 million households faced foreclosure in 2009, a statistic that is expected to rise in 2010 as the number of long-term unemployed and those dropping out of the labor force are hitting record highs.

In 2009, the statistics were alarming: One in every 45 homes was hit with a foreclosure-related notice. In December alone, 349,000 homes, or one in 366, was hit by a foreclosure-related notice, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

The reality is that as long as the unemployment crisis persists, the home foreclosure crisis will continue.

Red Alert continues to predict that housing prices will have to fall to 50 percent their peak 2006 values before the housing crisis reaches bottom. So far, home mortgages nationwide are only approximately 30 percent below top 2006 values.

If the housing market in the U.S. does not stabilize until home values reduce to 50 percent of their 2006 peak market value, more than 10 million homeowners in the U.S. will likely have underwater mortgage loans.

Red Alert continues to predict that interest rates must rise during 2010; should that happen, the mortgage foreclosure crisis will only deepen and accelerate.

Tags: Bob Brooks, Dr. Jerome Corsi, Foreclosure, housing, interest rates, RealtyTrac Inc., Red Alert, Unemployment

Normally I wouldn’t write a piece like this one. Most conspiracy theories are nothing more than irrelevant theory. However, when the evidence starts to scream that it is more than a theory, you start paying close attention.

The politicians in Washington have not hidden the fact that they have a strong socialist agenda. Is it too strong to call it socialist? I really don’t know what else you would call it. I am open to ideas. In order to accomplish that agenda, they have to get a few things in order like passing health care, cap and trade (now known as the climate bill), financial regulation and reform, and the privatization of personal retirement accounts. Most importantly, they need to do all of this prior to the November elections. Now before I proceed, let’s be very clear about something. All of this legislation empowers the government and all of it is socialist in nature. It represents one big Washington power grab.

They have pulled off healthcare. What about cap and trade energy legislation? Well, this legislation really got a bad rap back in the fall. However, it did pass the House. Well, John Kerry, who wastes more energy powering up his houses, planes, and other luxury items, just presented a new energy bill. If cap and trade leaves a bad taste in your mouth, lets call it the “climate” bill i.e. cap and trade with a new name. He said this morning it is an energy and “jobs” bill. After all, Americans are more likely to accept something that is going to create jobs.

Now, the conspiracy theorist in me draws me to the crisis in the Gulf. I find it interesting that the government waited so long before they responded. Is it any surprise that the government has been so quiet about the solution aspect of this major disaster and offering little involvement? What they haven’t been quiet about is using this as an example as to why we need energy legislation. As the President’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says, you never let a good crisis go to waste.

Then there is financial regulation. This is a huge Washington power grab. Yes, Wall Street needs regulation, but not in this form. Is it any surprise that Washington is vilifying Goldman Sachs by filing a lawsuit against them and now today Morgan Stanley? They are using this as a reason for public support to get financial reform.

Is it any surprise that no one really knows why the stock market plunged 1000 points and then recovered most of it in a mere afternoon’s time? Now you might think that I am way off with this one. After all, the politicians don’t manipulate the markets. Well, actually, they do and have done it for decades. It is called the plunge protection team. President Reagan put this group together in 1988 and wrote it into legislation. That 1000 point drop is being referenced by the politicians as the reason we need financial regulation and reform. If you don’t believe me, google “plunge protection team” and read all about it.

So is it really conspiracy or the strength of an agenda? I will let you decide that one for yourself.

Tags: Bob Brooks, conspiracy, financial regulation, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, plunge protection team, Rahm Emanuel, socialism

There is a strong argument to be made that we are in the midst of a recovery when you see companies making profits and the majority of economic indicators improving. People will ask me – Bob, why so negative about the economy and the stock market? Can’t you see all of the good that is happening?

Let me give you an example of what I am seeing. Let’s take Joe for example. Joe has a great job, making money for the company, and pulling in a nice 6 figure salary. He is extremely profitable. If you were to look at Joe, you would think that the company was extremely profitable. Unfortunately, Joe worked for a financial institution where the rest of the company was not in good shape. Profitable Joe wakes up one morning to find his company is no longer in business. Even though profitable Joe made money for the company, Joe is without a job. It wasn’t Joe. It was the condition of the company.

Companies can be profitable and economic signs can show an improvement. However, there is one problem with the recovery thesis. If the foundation of the economy is broken, at some point company earnings will not matter.

On CNBC the other day, an analyst was pointing out that there is everything to like about the recovery in America. After all, we created 290,000 jobs. That is a great government accounting statement…until you look behind the numbers.

If you look at the numbers a little more closely, you will find that they aren’t so rosy.

Remember the birth/death formula that the government uses to “estimate” the number of jobs created in this country? Of those 290,000, a mere 188,000 jobs were “estimated” and not counted to be a part of the jobs added. So that leaves us with actual job creation of 102,000 jobs. Of those 102,000 jobs created, 66,000 were temporary Government Census jobs. That leaves us with 36,000 jobs created by Corporate America. In addition, the unemployment rate crept back up to 9.9%.

Another thing that job report doesn’t say is that the number of unemployed (unemployed for over 27 weeks) is shooting straight up to the highest level yet. The problem is that most of these structural problems feed on each other. The foreclosure crisis, real estate prices, unemployment, debt defaults, etc all work together to fuel the fire.

Another crack in the foundation is the contracting money supply. The last measurement of M3 (the measurement of the money supply) shows the largest year over year contraction since this number has been calculated. That is deflation, plain and simple, which, by the way, is not signaling rampant inflation.

This is why it is tough for me to get excited about an economic recovery when we are walking a tightrope above a structurally broken foundation.

Tags: Bob Brooks, economic recovery, Foreclosure Crisis, Unemployment

I could write volumes on what happened last week. I am just going to stick to the most recent news which is the almost 1 trillion dollar bail-out of Greece and everything that ails Europe. No worries – After last week’s market decline, we wake up to find that the Europe Central Bank is delivering an almost 1 trillion dollar bail-out to solve the problem. In other words, they are going to fix the debt crisis by issuing more debt. It gets even better. The Federal Reserve is also assisting in that bail-out package.

Taking these enormous steps to save the system just goes to show how close to the brink the euro might have been last week. Does it solve the problem? Does the market just go up from here?

There are several points to consider.

The Europe Central Bank is not the Federal Reserve – The United States can pull something like this off. It is very suspect that the ECB has the ability to pull the same “solution” or push the problem off into the future without a hitch. Just like the US, they have no room for mistake and the EU is in an environment where mistakes can easily happen.

The US Government made their big bailout attempts in 2008 first on September 19th and then the TARP on October 3rd. Following those heroic methods to save the system, over the next 6 months the stock market dropped -40%. Initially after the bailouts started, we saw the same type of positive stock market action as we are seeing on Monday. However, it gave way to further large declines.

There are still a lot of European politics to get around. Politics, the euro, and cultures are vastly different than here in the US. This solution is not a done deal. In addition, Greece and some other parts of Europe will still have to deal with the social and civic unrest and backlash.

If this gets pulled off, we are maxed out as a world economy when it comes to creating more debt to handle current debt problems and pushing current crisis out into the future. Thus there is no room for any other problems while walking this financial tightrope. Utilizing the vast majority of the IMF (international monetary fund) to bail-out Europe (of which the US funds 18%) is the last resort. There are many more countries that could potentially need help. Further, if this thing doesn’t work (and I believe the odds are that it will not work) look out below. Debt might end up being Europe’s kryptonite and Superman might not save the day.

Don’t be fooled into believing that the problem in Europe is fixed. This is an area on the globe that is walking a tightrope. This is a much bigger problem with many moving parts that connects all of us.

Tags: bail-out, Bob Brooks, Debt, debt crisis, euro, Europe, global, Greece

Please forgive any mistakes in today’s blog – Lauren is out today and this has been edited by me. (not always the best editor)

OK, this day will go down in stock market history. On Thursday we saw the largest point drop during a day in stock market history. Although, that is a sensational headline, it isn’t as big of a deal as it sounds. Now, had I said that it was largest percentage drop during a trading day…that wouldn’t be so good.

Unfortunately, I was attending a funeral today and missed the fireworks. May God Bless You Big Al!

So, let’s put some ryhme and reason together and attempt to figure out what happened today. If you don’t know, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in a span of roughly 15 minutes dropped roughly 700 points and was almost 1,000 points down at the worst of it. Then the Dow rebounded 700 points and finished down roughly 300 points. This is highly unusual.

It is tough to actually pinpoint the problem. That in itself might really be the problem. There are all types of reasons flying around. The main reason that is gaining traction has to do with a trader who incorrectly entered in a trade. He should have typed a “M” for million (shares) and instead typed a “B” for a billion shares.

Now, I follow some pretty smart guys on Wall Street that have been trading for decades and most of them state that it is virtually impossible that this one trade could bring the system down. There are a ton of real technical reasons as to why it happened. I will not begin to bore you with those reasons.

There were many little reasons that came together all at once and formed the perfect storm. The real problem here is that this perfect storm of conditions brought the system down. The system failed. A stock market crash is a real live risk. They occur when the system fails. In the complex market environment that we have today combined with an on-going debt crisis, this is a very real risk. Next time we might not be so lucky. This is why I talk about risk all of the time and really understanding how much you are taking.

So, this might get really interesting. We have a real debt crisis situation in Europe coupled with civil unrest in Greece. If the crisis in Europe gets out of hand, today would look like the warm-up act. I will write in more detail in Monday’s stock market outlook report.

I had this question posed to me and wanted to share it with you.

Have you ever done an article on the question of what does God require of “rich people” and how does that work out in our time? We read in the Bible about the self-confident farmer who built larger sheds to store his produce only to be struck down and about the rich young ruler who was told to sell all. After giving tithes and offerings, is it just a matter of personal ‘conviction’ and how do you deal with guilt?
Your thoughts?

This is a great question and one most Christians don’t let themselves explore. I will start out by identifying the three main verses that I turn to when thinking about stewardship of God’s assets.

Matthew 6:24 – Christ tells us that we will struggle with choosing our God and that there can only be one God – either the real God or the illusive god, money.
1 Timothy 5:8 – Paul tells us that we have a responsibility to take care of our family.
Mathew 6:19-21 – For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

God grants us the opportunity to have things. They are given to us on loan and not to be mistaken as our own. That encompasses everything from relationships to money. In turn, we are to be good stewards over these gifts. How we go about this process of stewardship either strengthens and honors our relationship to Him or acts as a divide. That is the importance of stewardship. Stewardship can either be used as a means to grow closer to God through our choices or used as a means solely to satisfy ourselves.

I think that Randy Alcorn said it best in the Treasure Principle. He says that you can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead. After we have given back through tithes to support our church and other ministries, and after we have taken care of our family, we then have a discretionary choice as to what happens with the rest of God’s money. The choice is to build earthly treasures or to build heavenly treasures. By giving that money back to God’s Kingdom, we are investing into the very lives we will one day meet in Heaven which lasts for an eternity. That is the eternal treasure.

So does God not want us to have nice things or spend money on ourselves? I don’t think that God is saying that we shouldn’t have nice things. I also don’t think that He leads everyone to give everything away. I think that He wants us all to be in a place where if He did ask, we could be obedient…which leads me to my point. I think that we make decisions with money by using a litmus test.

First, we pray about our decision and make sure that God gives us a sense of peace before going forward. Without that sense of peace, we make no decisions to go forward. Second, when contemplating any decisions with money, we have to ask one question. Will this decision with His money restrict my freedom to be 100% on call for God in every way possible? The majority of things we buy end up robbing us of our freedom. Third, pray daily that God put us in front of the people that need our help.

I think that it comes down to the intent of our heart with any of these decisions.

As far as guilt goes over anything in our life, pray that God reveals to you the reason you feel that guilt. Guilt is always there for a reason.

Tags: Bob Brooks, Giving, God, stewardship, tithe, Treasure Principle