Flash back to 1985 when I received the best piece of personal finance advice! Picture me, working my summer job as a laborer for a bricklaying company trying to pay for university. What was the best advice and who gave it to me? It came from an Italian bricklayer in his tattered and torn work clothes. You’ll need to read this aloud in an Italian accent while waving your arms enthusiastically to get the full effect.
“Stevie it’s not-a how much-a you make, it’s-a how much-a you save.” The significance of his statement stuck with me! Many of my university professors talked about personal finance but had not been in the marketplace.

These educated professionals were not practicing personal finance as well as this man who earned probably half of what they did. Arriving in Canada from Italy, penniless, this man owned 3 houses in downtown Toronto worth a substantial amount of money. He had learned one of the dirtiest words in personal finance: discipline. As my parents often had, we will have arguments, fights, worries, pain and disappointments until we practice what this wise bricklayer taught me. I believe it is based on the following Biblical personal finance truth.

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

Proverbs 21:20

Are you devouring everything in your storehouse? Do you want to get some practical insight and discipline in the area of personal finance? The best resource in my success library is The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey the creator of, Financial Peace. As Total Money Makeover suggests, “Where Financial Peace gave you the solid saving and investing principles, this book puts those principles into practice. You’ll be exercising your financial strength everyday and quickly freeing yourself of worry, stress and debt – and that’s a beautiful thing.”

It lays out in detail the seven “baby steps” that you must follow to avoid all the confusion and noise about personal finance from a Biblical foundation. Having given this book to one couple I know, they paid off over $30,000 of debt in just one year.

Having given this book to another woman, it has personally transformed her life. She says she was missing this specialized information in her life that no one ever taught her. In one year she has saved over $10,000 and paid off over $20,000 of her debts. She has given away over 30 copies of the book. Amazing!

Another friend felt that the Andy Stanley series Balanced prepared his mind to accept what he had to do with his finances, while Total Money Makeover provided the practical implementation tool. Having shown his wife the practical details of this resource to get to where they wanted to be, she said words that encouraged and cut him to the heart; “Now I feel like you are taking care of me.” They experienced financial transformation.

Another Biblical passage that reflects truth we see every day – The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

Attitude: Ponder how tired you are of being in debt. Only when you get absolutely sick and tired of being in debt will you take action, so stew on this! Get mad about it!

Action: Buy Total Money Makeover to implement the seven baby steps.

Question: What is your plan for getting out of debt? Are you ready for a money makeover?

Recommended Resources: Ramsey, Dave. (2007). Total Money Makeover. Thomas Nelson Publishing.