10 Commandments of Personal Finance

1. 10 Commandments ofPersonal Finance Created by Major Jim Hood TEAM Discipleship Seminar

2. Commandment Number One 1. Thou shalt work hard!

3. Commandment Number Two 2. Thou shalt avoid get-rich-quick schemes!

4. Luke 15.11-32 Luke 15:11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

5. Luke 15.11-32 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

6. Luke 15.11-32 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

7. Luke 15.11-32 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

8. State Lotteries Picking 3: 1000 to 1 – against you $500 Winning Choice $500 State Keeps Picking 6: 14,000,000 to 1 – against you

9. Commandment Number Three 3. Thou shalt establish a plan!

10. Luke 14.28-32 Luke 14:28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”

11. Malachi 3.10-12 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty” (Malachi 3:10-12).

12. Commandment Number Four 4. Thou shalt avoid debt like the plague!

13. Loan Offers in the Mail $20,000 for … whatever. Repay: $451 per month for five years. $451 x 12 months x 5 years = $27,060 repayment. $1,400 per year in interest. 15% interest (or double the interest of a savings account)

14. Credit Card Debt Average American: $8,123 18% interest (or 0.0493% per day) Monthly minimum: $160 How much will you repay?? More than $24,000 3 times the original amount owed

15. Commandment Number Five 5. Thou shalt distinguish between wants and needs!

16. Commandment Number Six 6. Thou shalt obtain wise counsel before making any major financial decisions!

17. Proverbs 11.14 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.

18. Commandment Number Seven 7. Thou shalt teach thy children to respect hard work and the value of money!

19. Commandment Number Eight 8. Thou shalt concede to the Jones!

20. Exodus 20.17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

21. Commandment Number Nine 9. Thou shalt determine when enough is enough!

22. Luke 12.16-21 Luke 12:16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

23. Commandment Number Ten 10. Thou shalt set thy priorities in line with God’s priorities!

24. Work hard! Avoid get-rich-get schemes! Establish a plan! Avoid debt like the plague! Distinguish between wants and needs! Obtain wise counsel before making any major financial decisions! Teach thy children to respect hard wok and the value of money! Concede to the Jones! Determine when enough is enough! Set thy priorities in line with God’s priorities! 10 Commandments – Thou Shalt…

25. Just as I Am Just as I am, and waiting not, To rid my soul of one dark blot, To thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come! Just as I am, poor, wretched blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind, Yea, all I need in thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come!

26. Chorus 157 Glory to God, he has ransomed me, I am free, I am free! Free from the bondage and power of wrong, Now in my heart is a glad new song, Free from the shame and sense of sin, Out in the open I walk with him! O praise his name, he has ransomed me, I am free, I am free! No more the servant of sin to be, Now I am free!