Chuck Bentley
Chuck Bentley
Americans are currently saving an average of 4 percent of their annual income. This is the lowest savings rate for any country in the developed world. At a seminar I just completed, a participant asked me, “Well then, what is the right percentage of our income that we should be saving?” Glad you asked. First, […]
The Bible makes it clear that the standard for good stewardship is that we are to be both faithful and disciplined. Here is my list of best practices for good stewards. 1. Be faithful by honoring God with the first fruit of all your income. That means make giving to God’s causes your highest priority. […]
According to Bankrate.com the percentage of banks offering free checking with no strings attached fell to 37 percent in 2015. A total of 95 percent of the non-interest-bearing accounts Bankrate surveyed were either free or waive monthly maintenance fees for account holders who meet certain requirements, such as keeping a minimum balance or, most commonly, making regular […]
This may surprise you, but I carry a credit card. I never fail to pay off my balance at the end of the month, and I never pay late fees. For that, Ann and I take advantage of the convenience the card allows, earn airline miles, and enjoy 30 days of interest-free money. I have […]
The average personal savings rate for Americans has been hovering around 4.9%. We save $5 out of very $100, which is not bad… unless we compare it to other countries. The Chinese average 38%, the Irish 19%, the French save 16%, and Australians save 9.3%. For a developed country, we have one of the lowest […]
A friend recently sent me an article where the author gave this challenge – What is a better investment, planting an Apple orchard or buying Apple stock? According to the author, “If you had bought Apple stock at its IPO in 1980, you’d be up over 200x your money. And that is truly phenomenal performance. […]
A universal desire of a Christian is to hear those wonderful words of affirmation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” This well known and highly coveted reward is found in Matthew 25, where Jesus shared the parable of three stewards. To one Jesus gave 5 talents, which […]
According to an article in Bloomberg Business, “Citigroup Inc. is sounding the alarm bells for the world economy. The New York-based bank’s chief economist, Willem Buiter, said there is a 55 percent chance of some form of global recession in the next couple of years, most likely one of moderate depth and length. “Unlike the U.S.-driven […]
I once heard poverty described as living on the edge of a financial cliff, not knowing from day to day if you will fall over it and be destroyed. This fear and uncertainty can grip the heart of anyone who is living from paycheck to paycheck, juggling the stress of paying debt that is spiraling […]
I came across a fascinating article called When Work is Punished: The Ongoing Tragedy of America’s Welfare State. Essentially, here is what I learned. “Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pointed out that ‘the single mom [on government welfare] is better off with gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income […]
