In This Issue:
Dick's Column | Transforming Truths | News You Can Use | Your Point of View
Spotlight | Market Indicators | Ministry Builders | Resources

Dick's Column

Dear G$ Friends and Colleagues,

We're finally getting a hint of spring in the Chicago area and I have lettuce, spinach and peas planted… all is well with my soul!

I want to share some things that are very much on my mind these days. I'm concerned that the very soul of our nation is at stake unless some things change rather dramatically in the future. And the exciting thing is that the principles our ministries teach are at the very heart of what needs to change.

John Steinbeck wrote: A strange species we are. We can stand anything God and nature can throw at us save only plenty. If I wanted to destroy a nation I would give it too much and have it on its knees - miserable, greedy, and sick.

We are a nation of plenty and while so far we may not be miserable or sick as a result of the current economic chaos, there certainly is a lot of angst going around. And greed was clearly one of the factors that got us to where we are.

The answer isn't to hope for bad times. It is to awaken to what to do in the good times! We say in the G$ course that a body of water without an outlet becomes stagnant and a life without giving (outpouring) becomes a stagnant life. Enough stagnant lives and we become a stagnant nation of individuals, elected officials and business leaders focused only on themselves. By helping folks grow in generosity and other-centeredness your ministry may literally be a saving grace for our nation.

But it's not just about generosity. In his book, Consumed, Dr. Benjamin R. Barber suggests that the very future of capitalism is at stake. His thoughts are summarized in a PBS interview with Bill Moyers click here. I encourage you to take 20 minutes to watch it.

A key point Barber makes is that in the developed world, the major focus of business is on creating more and more products which are chasing too few consumers. Capitalism's future is at stake because that scenario can't go on forever. Meanwhile too many urgent needs chase too little available capital in the disease-ridden, deeply needy countries.

Someone once said that the challenge for each of us is, "How do we use our prosperity for the common good?" Otherwise we're just part of a system that sees the rich as morally good (blessed) and the poor as morally responsible for their condition. Jesus, on the other hand, saw both rich and poor in need of liberation - one from the addiction of wealth (and power) and the other from oppressive poverty.

So we need to confront the system that drives us toward more, bigger, and faster with the questions: More what? Why bigger? Faster to where and for what purpose? And we need to equip and encourage those we teach and train to do likewise.

The conditions for an openness to stewardship ministry may never have been better. Our awareness of how quickly earthly treasure can disappear has been heightened. There's a growing awakening of the ramifications of our lifestyle on the finite planet we occupy. And there is the pain, the pressure, the anxiety felt by a huge number of people as a result of poor financial decisions.

Your ministry is in a unique position to respond not only to the immediate needs of folks for knowledge and encouragement with which to address the consequences of those poor decisions but to also address, one person - one small group - one workshop at a time, the deeper questions of why more, why bigger, faster to where?

I'm privileged to be in partnership with you in making a difference.

May you feel God's pleasure in your efforts,

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Transforming Truths

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." – Genesis 2:15

Kermit the frog famously sang, "It's not easy being green." But today it's not only becoming easier to be green; it's becoming cool. With all the attention (and some controversy) over global warming, discussions about our "carbon footprint" are popping up at dinner parties, reusable shopping bags have become fashion statements, and compact fluorescent light bulbs are making the incandescent light bulb go the way of the eight-track tape.

To be sure, some people have gone overboard in their obsession with environmental causes. But an integral part of our responsibility as Christ-followers is to "take care" of God's creation. With Earth Day set for April 22nd, perhaps those of us involved in stewardship ministry could help make people aware of local recycling centers, some of which accept old cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices for free on or around that date. Perhaps we could raise awareness of the environmental issues surrounding the popularity of bottled water (read a Fast Company article on the topic click here, or at least stop offering bottled water at church events. And perhaps there's more we could do to encourage carpooling among church members. The Environmental Protection Agency has many more ideas here.

Most of all, as people focus on the earth this April 22nd, let's keep our focus on the One who owns the earth and everything in it (Psalm 24:1).

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News You Can Use

Resist the Urge to Merge

Have you been contacted by someone breathlessly wanting to tell you - and preferably, your entire church - how to pay off a mortgage early? People selling "money merge" accounts are touting their program with great zeal. The program involves using credit (either a home equity loan or a credit card) and a $3,500 software program designed to help you determine when and how much extra you should prepay.

Matt's View: I can't profess to fully understand the program, but everything I've heard about it raises cautionary flags. First of all, prepaying one's mortgage is not necessarily the best step for all homeowners. For many people, there are higher priorities such as building an emergency fund, saving for their later years, and paying off consumer debts. Second, the dogged aggressiveness of those marketing the program gives me pause. Last, you can prepay your mortgage without the $3,500 software. Here's a calculator http://www.calcxml.com/do/hom07 that'll show you the benefits of making just one extra payment per year spread out over the course of the year. And the best part is that access to the calculator costs $3,500 less than a money merge account.

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More People Feeling Economically Stuck

More than half of all Americans say their economic situation has either not improved (25 percent) over the past five years or has gotten worse (31 percent). Those are among the results of new research from the Pew Research Center. They are the highest numbers since 1964 when the organization began surveying people about their economic progress. Among people who define themselves as middle class, 78 percent said it's more difficult to maintain their standard of living today than it was five years ago.

Matt's View: Another noteworthy finding was that just 11 percent of middle class respondents blamed themselves for their economic problems, whereas 26 percent blamed the government and 15 percent blamed the price of oil. To be sure, many forces outside their control, such as the price of gas, are contributing to people's financial pain. However, accepting at least some responsibility for our situation is an important factor in making positive changes.

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Workers Less Confident About Retirement

Just 18 percent of U.S. workers feel "very confident" that they will have a comfortable retirement, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's (EBRI) most recent retirement survey. That's down from 27 percent last year, the largest decline in the survey's 18-year history. Another 43 percent feel "somewhat confident" about their ability to retire comfortably. The largest retirement concerns center on people's ability to afford health care and long-term care in their later years.

Matt's View: The one bright spot in the survey is that 72 percent of respondents say they have saved for their later years, which is up from 66 percent a year ago. One step that has proven to motivate people to save more for their later years is calculating how much money they are likely to need. One of my favorite online calculators for this purpose is the myPlan Snapshot from Fidelity. Five simple questions will lead to an estimate of how much a person should save each month. For those who want to make a more precise estimate, a more detailed calculator is available as well. Click here and search on "myPlan Snapshot."

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Financial Literacy Slips Among High School Students

Financial literacy among young people is on the decline. High school seniors answered an average of just 48 percent of questions correctly on the latest survey by the JumpStart Coalition for Financial Literacy—down from 52 percent two years ago. Just 17 percent of students felt that stocks are likely to yield a higher return over the next 18 years than bonds, savings accounts, or checking accounts. And less than half understood that a person making the minimum payments on a credit card balance would pay more in interest than a person who pays their balance in full.

Matt's View: Some commentators have rightly expressed concern that just eight states require students to complete a personal finance course before middle or high school graduation. However, money lessons really need to begin even earlier. The National Endowment for Financial Education offers a helpful free resource with simple ways parents can teach their children about money. To download it click here.

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Spotlight

The If, When, and Why of Savings

Americans are not exactly world-class savers. The government's imperfect-yet-consistent method of measuring household savings (learn more about how the government measures personal savings here) shows a steady downward trend over the last several decades to today's rate of approximately zero percent of disposable income.

More people may get in the savings game if the topic were broken down into more manageable bites. I like to think of savings as falling into one of three buckets: If, When, and Why savings. We'll discuss each one in the months ahead, starting with this month's focus on If savings.

If savings, more commonly known as an emergency fund, is for what could go wrong: if you lost your job, if you incur medical bills that go beyond what your insurance will cover (of if you don't have insurance), if you face an unusually large car repair bill.

Everyone should have three-to-six months' worth of living expenses in an If savings account. However, according to a Bankrate.com survey, just 40 percent of households have the minimum threshold of three months' worth of savings set aside. (Note: the one exception to the three-to-six months rule is someone who is digging their way out of consumer debt. For that person, I recommend that they build their If savings account to one-months' worth of savings, then focus on getting out of debt, and then build their savings account up to the three-to-six months' worth of living expenses threshold.)

If savings is not stock market money or real estate investment money. This is money that needs to be safe and easily available. Good places to keep such savings include:

A money market mutual fund. Opening balance requirement tend to be higher than other savings account options, but many money market mutual funds offer attractive interest rates. Most of the big brokerage houses, such as Fidelity, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, Charles Schwab, and others offer money market mutual funds. A good source of information about rates for these funds and other savings options is available www.money-rates.com. Be sure to check on a fund's expense ratio. That's the operating costs of the fund expressed as a percentage of assets. The lower the percentage the better. Vanguard offers some of the lowest expense ratios in the business. Money invested in these a money market mutual fund is not insured. However, such funds have a long track record of being very safe.

Next month we'll look at When savings.

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Market Indicators

Ready for Their Rebates

Millions of taxpayers will receive tax rebate checks over the next couple of months, and the National Retail Federation asked a representative sample how they plan to use the money. As the first slide shows, people say they'll spend about 40 percent of what they receive, with the largest chunk of what remains going toward paying down debt or savings. Of the money people plan to spend, the second slide shows a sizable portion will go toward necessities (such as groceries) and gasoline. Wealthier families (those making $50,000 or more) were more likely than less wealthy families to say they plan pay down debt, save, and invest a portion of their rebate. Less wealthy families were more likely to say they plan to buy necessities with their rebate money. Hardly any of the respondents indicated plans to put the money toward a new home.

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Resources