One of the areas I am weakest is financial planning. I’m getting better, and there have been a few resources that have helped me greatly, which I’ll share below. First, let me share some of my history in this area.

When my wife and I got married, neither one of us was prepared for the real world when it came to finances. I’m not sure I even knew how to balance a checkbook. I had never been taught how to do that, and personal finance classes weren’t a thing yet, at least in my high school.

So when we got married, we were thrust into the real world very quickly, and rather rudely. And we did what almost every other person we knew was doing. We applied for every credit card we could find.

And we got them… a lot of them. It was great. We could buy all the stuff we wanted, and not have to pay for it until later. Pure bliss, right? That’s what we thought.

As debt started to gather and pile up, we decided we’d better do something about it. So we applied for more credit cards. The idea was to get new cards with low interest rates, and transfer the balances to those cards while the rates were low. And when the introductory period ended, we’d look for another low rate.

But that can only take you so far, and the impact to our finances was more bad than good. Because when those older cards were emptied, we’d find a “need” for them, and use them again.

I’m ashamed to say, we once used credit cards to buy a car. Our old one died, and we used cash advances on a couple of cards to buy another, thinking that we’d transfer it around, into those introductory rates until it was paid off.

Needless to say, we were young and dumb and in way over our head.

Now, we aren’t as young, hopefully not as dumb, and making strides to climb our way out of that mess. And we found a few resources that have helped us over the years.

One of the ways that we provide for our families is in the area of financial security. This is one of the areas I have not been successful in in my own life. I never realized that, as a man, I needed to be solid in this area, not just for the immediate financial needs, but for the future. And not just for my own peace of mind, but for my wife and kids as well.

And so, a couple of years ago, we started a new plan to remove the financial burdens we have faced for years, and move towards a more financially peaceful setting. We still have a ways to go. But I think we are making some good progress, and I hope we can continue to do so. But we haven’t done it alone. Let me give you a few resources we have used to help us along.

A Wonderful Local Church

The first thing that has helped us, even before all the other excellent resources out there, is the church we are connected with. Not all of the church knows our financial woes, nor our financial struggles. But a few key people do, and they provide a support network of encouragement and accountability that helps me stay focused and on the right track. This is a resource I didn’t even realize I had until recently, really. I have always felt like I was on my own when it came to managing my money. I didn’t see that I had this resource right here the whole time.

I have a few people who know my finances almost as well as I do. And they have the permission to ask me about it any time. And they do. They hold me accountable. They correct me when I do something dumb. And they rejoice with me when we reach a milestone.

Above everything else, a church family can be the best help.

Crown Financial

The first resource we encountered was Crown Financial Ministries. This is the ministry started by Larry Burkett, and the Money Map program was something that helped us really understand what our priorities needed to be, and just how out of sync they were. This resources was our wake up call.

Money Map is one of the programs that they used to help us develop a budget and a plan for our finances. They even had a software program, kind of like Quicken and others, but with a faith-based focus to it. Sadly, this is no longer supported by Crown. But it helped us tremendously.

Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University

I had heard of Dave Ramsey before, but had never really looked at his material. We were using Crown, and it was helping us just fine. But our current church has used Financial Peace University before, and so we stepped into one of the classes. It blew my mind. This was the next step beyond where Crown had taken me, and has really established my focus on what steps to take next. The main thing that FPU did for me was to rearrange my thinking, and reevaluate my financial priorities. This is where we currently are at, taking the steps to make sure our finances are in line with God’s plan for them, and for us too.

It seems at times as if we still have a long ways to go. Other times, it feels like we are getting closer and closer all the time. But one thing is certain: we are moving closer and closer to God’s plan for our finances all the time. That gives me security, it gives my wife security, and it contributes to the security my kids need to have as well.

As a man who desires to follow God, and to lead my family well, this is one of the main areas I need to keep my focus on. And so do you.

Be deliberate, men!

Do you have your financial life in order? If so, how do you stay on track? If not, what steps do you need to start heading that direction? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.