friday::FINANCE

Money. The lack of money can be stressful! I am talking about heavy weights, feeling like you are going to suffocate; stressful.

People don't like to talk about the rough times, the "going through" of when money is tight. All because it is a hard place.

I would like to remind you today that your troubles will not last always. That God made honey come out of a rock. (meaning a hard place)

We all know that we need to follow budget.

We all know that we need more coming in then going out.

But I want you to know that today, as we head into the weekend that we are praying for you! We are praying for you, your family and your church!

God is a BIG God. God is more than ABLE!

People do not like to talk about money, it makes some uncomfortable.

I'm completely comfortable. I know the difference between the gospel (the life, the death, the burial and the resurrection) vs. the counsel of God.

When you get emails from Pastors' Wives that they are struggling and their family eats Oatmeal for breakfast and dinner, with Hot Dogs and Spagetti as a luxury you don't mind so much talking about money; praying for financial breakthrough and prosperity.

We are blessed to be a blessing. So if you are in a rough season, we are praying for you this weekend! I know that God can turn ANY situation around.

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friday::FINANCE

TIP::Know how your financial choices will affect your credit, and make responsible decisions based on your personal situation.

The best way to maintain a good credit report is obvious - keep current on all your payments and never spend more money than you have.

But what are some other things that affect your credit score?

With so many tips circulating out there, it can be hard to find what really works. Aside from the basics, maintaining or raising your score can be tricky. The answers aren't “one size fits all”, but here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. Most of these pointers come from the FTC website (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit.shtm) so if you want to learn more, check it out.

1. Keep track of how many lines of credit you have. Access to a lot of credit raises your balance-to-credit ratio which helps you look more responsible, but it also raises questions about how you plan to use your credit in the future. On the flip side, canceling a line of credit (even if it is all paid up) lowers your balance-to-credit ratio. So evaluate your situation and weigh the consequences before canceling a credit line.
2. Always make your payments on time. If you can pay off your entire balance every month, even better.
3. In most cases it's best to maintain credit card accounts for as long as possible. Credit checkers want to know how loyal you are. If you have more cards than you think is best, cancel the in-store cards (i.e. Express, JC Penny’s etc.) first and keep the card you use the most on a regular basis. Also, look at the credit limit you have on each account. The higher the limit, the more valuable the card is to your credit score. Instead of canceling a card, you may want to just cut it up and let it become inactive on its own. (Make sure you only do this with cards that do not have an annual fee.)
4. Keep your balance low. It's good to pay a portion of your balance off weekly or at least twice a month. Doing this keeps the ratio of your balance-to-available-credit low, something lenders like to see.
5. Finally, pay off all debt as quickly as you prudently can. The lower your outstanding debt, the higher your credit score.

Remember money is a talent we all have, let’s seek to use it wisely and to the glory of God.

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friday::FINANCE

TIP::Be sure you know what's in your credit report.

I have always been a little bit confused about Credit Reports and Scores, so I decided I would take the time to do a little research. As part of educating myself I went through the process of requesting and reviewing my own credit history (more on how to do this later). I am still not an expert on the topic, but I thought I'd share with you a few of the basics I learned.

So what goes into a credit report? I have to admit I was a little surprised at how detailed mine was. It contained information about all the credit cards I've ever opened, what the credit limit on each card is/was, my balance and payment history for each statement I ever received and my pending balances, as well as information on any credit cards I have closed. I also found information on how faithful I've been to pay my electric bill, water bill, etc. If I had school loans, a car loan, or a mortgage it would record all those details too.

Basically, a credit report contains a detailed history covering the last 7 to 10 years of any loan or line of credit you have. Even medical related bills may be included, although the names of the medical institutions will not be accessible to those who are requesting a credit check on you. As long as your name is tied to an account as the primary holder, joint holder, or authorized user that account information will appear on your report.

Who has access to your Credit Report? If you are applying for a credit card, insurance, mortgage, loan, or any service from a company that provides services based on your promise to pay, (i.e. the local electricity company) they have the right to do a credit check on you. Also credit card companies that want to extend preapproved credit offers may check your report before expending their offer.

Ideally it would be nice to work on a cash basis only, but because of how our financial system is set up, your credit report is an important link to getting the goods and services you need on a daily basis. In the next couple of posts I will talk about how to get your credit report safely and for free, as well as how to improve your score.

Get to know Heather here.

If you are interested in doing some research of your own, visit the FTC website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit.shtm. The information I found there was really helpful and easy to understand.

Remember money is a talent we all have, let’s seek to use it wisely and to the glory of God.

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new column::LIFESTYLES

We know (from personal experience!) that being a PW is about more than just church issues. It's about marriage, family, money, politics, hospitality, forgiveness, frustration, ecstasy - and the list goes on. It's about our public life and our private lives.

As we seek to be godly women who care for our families and support our husbands and love our church members and train our children and, and, and... often we totally forget to take care of our own needs. We forget to be healthy. We forget to look nice. We get overwhelmed by pinching pennies to stay within the budget.

So we want to bring some freshness to CLUTCH. Here are three new writers who will be blogging under our new LIFESTYLES column. A slight departure from our normal content, but we hope you'll enjoy it.

Look for these writers on Fridays!

fashion::SARAH

Hello! I’m Sarah Nelson. I’ve been married to Ian, the most incredible man I know, since September 2009. Six months into our marriage we moved to Portland, Oregon to work at a church called Solid Rock and I have just loved living in the big city!

I studied apparel design at Oregon State University in Corvallis and then switched to Interior Design when I transferred to Portland Community College. Though I never finished college, my passions still revolve around design and creativity.

I'm a part-time administrative assistant at our church and a full-time wife! My personal blog, Frills for Thrills, is an outlet for me to share my passion for fashion and interior decorating, crafting and thrifting, and all the other fun things that come with being a girl! Over at Sitting Solo I also write about the blessings and burdens that come with being a Pastor's wife. Otherwise, find me right here on CLUTCH!

I am so excited to write this fashion column on CLUTCH to share affordable and creative tips to broadening your closet and style. I hope you'll share your ideas with us too!

No matter how natural, conservative, or eccentric you are -- all women long to feel beautiful. I believe fashion is an easy way to feel good about ourselves and confident standing next to our man when other women in the church try to get at him! : )

fitness::MICHELLE

Hi! I'm Michelle.

I strug­gled with anorexia and obses­sive over-exercise for four years, but was brought out of my addic­tion and restored to health through a real rela­tion­ship with God and an under­stand­ing of His plan for my life.

Because of how poorly I treated my body in the past, I am amazed every day that my job is now help­ing oth­ers get healthy the right way — through a bal­anced lifestyle of proper nutri­tion and exer­cise. You can read about my jour­ney in my book, The Look that Kills: An Anorexic’s Addic­tion to Control.

Now I'm the new mom of baby Noah, as well as a nutrition coach and fitness instructor. I'm a pastor's wife in Austin, TX.

If you’re into the aca­d­e­mic thing: In 2005, I received my Bach­e­lor of Arts in Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Stud­ies with a minor in Psy­chol­ogy from The Uni­ver­sity of Ten­nessee in Knoxville, TN. In 2010, I earned my Mas­ters of Arts in Chris­t­ian Education (Women’s Min­istry Con­cen­tra­tion) from South­west­ern Bap­tist The­o­log­i­cal Semi­nary in Fort Worth, TX.

Every­thing I do revolves around my top pri­or­i­ties: my faith in Jesus Christ, my incredible family, and my com­mitment to a balanced lifestyle of fitness and proper nutrition.

finance::HEATHER

Hi there, I'm Heather! 

Growing up a pastor's kid, I always said I would never marry one, but love has a way of changing things. When the guy I'd had my eye on since middle school announced he was going to study theology, I gave in.

Andrew and I have been serving in our first two churches for almost a year. We are also blessed with a 2 year old son, Jaden, and a six month old baby girl, Lilly.

Between being a PW and mother of two little ones I rarely have time to "play," but when I do, I love to scrapbook, decorate, shop, and cook. Budgeting/Finances is another one of my hobbies that grows from lots of personal experience. Raised in a single-income home, serving as a missionary to India for two years, and currently raising a family on one income has taught me a lot about economy. I enjoy finding ways to minimize our spending while still providing nice things and creating quality experiences for my family.

During these financially challenging times I know I'm not the only one pinching pennies, so I am looking forward to sharing some of my tips with you and hearing your tricks too. My prayer is that we grow together as we seek to bring glory to God in the way we use our financial resources.

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