We are midway through a tumultuous financial year and it’s time to revisit your current financial situation and define what’s going to change or remain the same in 2020. This year, more than ever it’s imperative to stay on top of your financial situation.
The Compass Money Map is a great place to start and the Compass blog has more about a financial health checkup.
In this week's episode of Money Stories, Anne Folan discusses the toll student loan debt is taking on vocations. Anne is a member of the board of directors of the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations, a nonprofit Catholic organization that makes grants for student loan debt relief for young men and women with vocations to religious life.
45 million Americans owe student loan debt, collectively owing more than $1.5 trillion dollars. Two out of every three college graduates will graduate with a student debt load averaging over $30,000. For individuals discerning a call to religious life, student loan debt can create a tremendous obstacle they didn't consider when pursuing their college degrees because religious communities usually don't allow a person with unresolved debts to enter formation.
Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations: https://fundforvocations.org
Compass Catholic Ministries: www.CompassCatholic.org
Matthew 6:24-“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
We talk about all kinds of things with our friends, but the conversations rarely focus on money and how much we earn, spend, save and give.
One money area that’s a little less than personal is ideas for being frugal. Frugal means being careful with how you manage all the blessings God has given you, including your finances. Being frugal is being a good steward.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about why being frugal is so important to your financial health.
Aaron Munoz is the creator and author of DollarsandSaints.com. He's also in the field of cybersecurity. In this episode of Money Stories, Aaron not only gives our listeners tips to protect their finances, but he also shares how he found how his career can be used to build the kingdom of God.
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." -Martin Luther King
In Compass Catholic's Faith & Money Matters Bible Study, you are given the opportunity to explore how your career fits into the God's kingdom. If you have not yet participated, you can register for an online class at www. CompassCatholic.org.
Compass Catholic Ministries: www.CompassCatholic.org
Dollars and Saints Blog: www.DollarsandSaints.com
Cyber Securing Your Finances in Five Steps: https://dollarsandsaints.com/2020/03/20/cyber-securing-your-finances-in-five-steps/
Young Catholic Professionals: www.youngcatholicprofessionals.org
The reason so many people get into debt for Christmas is simple—they haven’t planned ahead. They haven’t saved or given thought to how they may be able to creatively reduce the cost of Christmas.
This year with the financial implications of the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to make this the Christmas you’ll stay out of debt.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about why and how to plan financially for Christmas.
Whitney Allen is the founder of Healing Hopeful Hearts (H3), a ministry for men and women to walk with each other in healing and prayer as they navigate the challenges of infertility. Once of those challenges may be financial. 1 in 6 families will struggle with infertility and of those, 59% say finances are barrier to proceeding with treatment. Whitney talks about how couples can navigate the challenges of infertility, particularly from a financial perspective.
For more information about Compass Catholic Ministries, please visit https://www.CompassCatholic.org
Healing Hopeful Hearts Ministry: https://cathedralctk.org/healing-hopeful-hearts
Pope Paul IV Institute: https://popepaulvi.com
Whitney Allen Email: Whit760@gmail.com
Staying informed about your credit report and your credit score is a great way to monitor financial progress. A low credit score or errors on your credit report can mean thousands of dollars wasted on paying higher interest rates.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about staying on top of your credit report.
Matt and Jenny Brady were a young couple with successful careers. After participating in a Bible study regarding the link between their financial behavior and their finances, Matt and Jenny made the decision to change their financial habits. By following the Compass Catholic Money Map, they paid their large student loan debt and were better equipped to live their current vocation as parents to three young children.
For more information about Compass Catholic Ministries, please visit www.CompassCatholic.org.
For the Compass Catholic Map, please visit https://compasscatholic.org/compass-money-map/
Raising money smart kids starts even before you get pregnant. Talking about all aspects of money when you are engaged includes discussions about how well you were trained by your parents to be fiscally responsible. What did your parents teach you that was valuable to you as an adult? What do you wish they had taught you? These questions lead to deep discussions between you and your future spouse on how you want to teach your children about handling money.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about raising money smart kids.
Scott Williams is the co-founder of Sock Religious (www.sockreligious.com), a company that sells fun socks that celebrate the lives of the saints. In this week's episode of Money Stories, Scott talks about how Sock Religious is growing while maintaining its Catholic identity, and while navigating the current economic environment.
For more information about Compass Catholic Ministries, please visit www.CompassCatholic.org.
Financial challenges due to debt can be a hidden monster in many families and marriages. We can tackle and tame the debt monster by learning that every area of our life, including how we handle money, has a spiritual impact.
The Compass Catholic blog has more about the spiritual cost of debt.
The Compass Catholic Money Coach Training Program just launched this week. In this episode of Money Stories, Caitlyn Kano talks about her personal money story and how the new Money Coach Training Program came to be. If you are interested in the Money Coach Training Program, please visit www.CompassCatholic.org.
Finally, we are beginning to recover from all the shutdowns that began in February and got worse in March and April and people are going back to work. When you get back to your job, it’s also the time to get back to your new financial normal.
Create a budget, and use that to create a crisis budget. Build up your emergency fund and start digging out of any debt you incurred. It will be a long hard road, but starting now will put you in a better position if there is another emergency around the corner.
The Compass Blog has more on how to get back to some sense of financial normal.
Lauren and her husband have been blessed with five children including triplet boys. With five children under four years of age, Lauren learned many lessons about prioritizing and the logistics involved with having a large family. She shares those lessons and explains how she and her husband decided to make a career change to benefit their large family.
For more information about Compass Catholic, please visit www.CompassCatholic.org.
Planning retirement while there is a recession can be tricky. Start by looking at your current monthly expenses. Exclude expenses related to work and include new expenses related to retirement. Subtract the monthly expenses from your monthly retirement income.
If your expenses are more than your income, how much do you need to withdraw from savings each month and how long will your savings last?
Doing these calculations before you retire will either bring you peace of mind or the realization that retirement needs to be delayed.
The Compass Blog has more on details to consider if you are retiring during a down market.
Allison Gingras shares the story about her financial journey. Allison realized the extent of her debt when the bank refused to extend her any more credit. Around the same time, she met the co-founders of Compass Catholic Ministries, Jon and Evelyn Bean. They presented her with the opportunity to participate in a Compass Catholic Bible study, which she now credits for her much of her family's financial wellness. It hasn't always been easy but now Allison can use her family's financial journey to glorify God.
Learn more at the Compass Catholic website.
How has your life changed for the better since the pandemic? Have you looked for the good in the stay at home orders and the chance to stop the crazy busyness that pervaded our pre-pandemic normal?
While this situation wasn’t something anyone wanted, there is always some sort of good that comes out of any situation. Maybe now is the time to think about the good and say a little prayer of thanksgiving for whatever bright spots you can find.
The Compass Blog has more on some of the positives that will come from our new normal.
Diana is a teacher in south Florida. She was taught her money management skills by her parents. As an adult, Diana participated in a Faith & Money Matters Bible study which unified her money management skills with her Catholic faith. Now Diana "pays it forward" by utilizing a classroom management program called "My Classroom Economy."
If you are like most people, your important information is scattered all over the place. It may be in a file drawer, on your desk, in your computer or on your phone. What would happen if you were incapacitated and your family or caretakers needed to handle your affairs? Would they know where the important information in located and how to use it? Join us to hear what you need to get organized.
The Compass Blog has more on creating, updating, and organizing all that information so your family knows where it is and can use it if needed.
You may have heard of the FIRE Movement either on social media or in the news. FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Brent and Amy Jones are a young couple with young children. In this episode of Money Stories, Brent and Amy talk about their pursuit of financial independence and how they balance their family's needs, generosity, and their financial goals.
Visit CompassCatholic.org for more information about Compass Catholic and our many offerings.
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