Have you ever thought about how Jonah relates to your finances? If not, you should.

For those who didn’t go to Sunday school as a kid, Jonah was one of God’s prophets. He came from a rich family and was a big deal prophet of God.

One day, God tells Jonah to prophecy to the most horrible people in the world: the Ninevites. God wants them to know He’s coming for them if they don’t repent. Jonah, not being overly keen on God’s idea,  hopped on a boat heading as far away from Nineveh as he could get.

If you went to Sunday school you’ve got this next part memorized.

God sends a huge storm and the crew, in order to appease God, throws Jonah overboard.  It works! God calms the storm and has a big fish eat Jonah and take him to land. While in the fish’s belly, Jonah has a change of heart and agrees to prophecy in Nineveh.

Once there, Jonah gives the absolute minimum effort. He tells the Ninevites God’s going to kill them and offers them no hope.

The Ninevites believe Jonah and God’s message gets all the way to the king who calls for the entire city to repent of all the horrible things they’ve done.

God relents, but Jonah isn’t happy about it. He wanted to see God kill the Ninevites. At one point he even tells God the whole reason he avoided prophesying to Nineveh was he knew God is merciful and wouldn’t kill them if they repented.

God asks Jonah some poignant questions and we never find out Jonah’s answer.

What Does That Have To Do With Money?

That’s a good question.

The truth is, God will make you do things with money that will make you resent Him. He’ll tell you to give money to someone whom you’re sure will blow it on alcohol; he’ll ask you to take on responsibilities you can’t fathom affording. And once you begrudgingly follow through with God’s commands, he won’t work everything out the way you hoped. He won’t repay your tithes 100 times or give back the thing you gave up to follow Him. He’ll never change His character to accommodate your feelings. He will always do the right thing, and — because you are His child — He’ll make sure you’re doing the right thing too.

And that’s a good thing.

Money is an idol in America and no one is exempt. We all prefer the safety of our stock options over the safety of God. We’d prefer a million dollars in the bank and a few hundred in our pockets than total reliance on the creator.

But God doesn’t play by those rules. He’s going to do the things that are better for us and for those around us – and he’ll make us do them with Him.

When I’m stuck in a hopeless situation; when my income stifles; and when I don’t like how things are working out, I’ll consider Jonah and remember that God is good, He’s in control, and I can trust Him.

It probably won’t make me feel better, but it’ll get me thinking in the right direction.

What is God making you do?

Alex Humphrey is a personal finance writer and coach at EntrepreLife a personal finance blog that teaches easy ways to dominate money by dropping debt, investing well, and saving for the things you love to do. When he’s not blogging he leads a youth group, spends time with his wife, and figures out new ways to teach people personal finances. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to the EntrepreLife mailing list.

Even with all the advice here at Personal Finance By The Book, you still managed to overspend this holiday season.

It’s not that surprising; one-in-three Americans put their holiday on credit cards. Many more used loans, credit lines, and same-as-cash deals to pay for the big day. And with presents, eating out, travel, and increased utilities (your mother-in-law needs to take shorter showers) you’ve found yourself up to your eyeballs in bills.

But fear not! There is still a way to enjoy 2012 without paying Christmas debt for the next 6 months.

Using these three methods to make some extra cash this year and get out of the mess left from the holidays.

Sell Unused Stuff

January is a good time to get rid of all the junk you’ve built up in recent years.

Even the most frugal among us has useless junk lying around their house. You are not the exception. Maybe it’s a shirt you never wear, a lamp you never use, or plates that have been collecting dust for years. Whatever it is, you need to find all that stuff, set is aside, and sell it.

There are plenty of ways to make money. You can:

• Sell things on consignment. Consignment selling is a great way to keep your stuff local and make a little cash.
• Get it on eBay. For all the hate eBay gets, there are still millions of users buying things from it every day. Put your stuff on eBay and make a little bit of money. Amazon is another great way to sell stuff, but it usually takes longer.
• Use Craigslist. Like consignment, Craigslist is a great way to sell your stuff locally. Just set your price, post your ad, and wait for emails. You may have to deal with some hagglers, but you’ll probably sell it at a great price.

If you’re having trouble getting rid of things, use the four-seasons method to decipher what’s useful and what’s “stuck”. All you have to do is ask yourself:

“Have I used this in the past 12 months?”

If the answer is “no” then you should sell it. Going all four seasons without using something means you likely won’t ever use it – no matter what you tell yourself.

The only exception to the four-seasons method is truly meaningful stuff. This doesn’t mean you save things you might use someday; it means you save things that have meaning (like pictures, heir looms, etc).

A Part-Time Job

You should have seen this one coming.

The best way to make a little extra cash is to get a part-time job. Minimum wage is over 7 dollars an hour and with 25-30 hours you can make enough money to get that Christmas debt paid off. If you get a job that includes tips (pizza delivery, waiting tables, etc) you can get it paid off even sooner!

Someone may say, “You can’t get a part-time job after Christmas! Spending has slowed down.” And while it’s true spending has diminished, it hasn’t stopped. That’s like saying, “You can’t eat after thanksgiving, everyone is full!” And while they may eat less the next day, they will still eat something.

In the same way, people are still buying things after Christmas – just less than they were in December when (like you) they were over-spending.

Cut Spending

Since you refused to cut spending in December, you’re going to have to do it now.

Instead of eating out, stay home in January. When you’re friends want to see a movie, invite them over for a $1 red box viewing. And when you’re ready for a date night, hit up the free-night at your local art museum.

There are millions of ways to save money without ruining your life. Take a look at where your money is going and resolve to slow down in January. This not only frees up cash to pay debt with, but also forces you to change the way you think about spending and saving in the New Year. The creative ideas I’ve seen people come up with when they couldn’t spend money have brought together families, reignited romances, and built relationships.

It’s tough, it’s not as fun (at first), but it’s worth it.

Start Today

You’ve made resolutions, now set some goals. Starting today, look over your budget and find a few things to cut. Then go around your house and pick two or three things to sell. Once you’re finished, list out a few places you can apply at a part-time job.

In no time, you’ll work your way out of Christmas debt and be able to start the year off right.

Aren’t we all looking for the freedom to enjoy the year without the stress of last year following us?

Alex Humphrey is a personal finance writer and coach at EntrepreLife a personal finance blog that teaches easy ways to dominate money by dropping debt, investing well, and saving for the things you love to do. When he’s not blogging he leads a youth group, spends time with his wife, and figures out new ways to teach people personal finances. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to the EntrepreLife mailing list.

Will your child be better off than you are?

A recent article in Money Magazine provided some interesting statistics.  A group of people was asked how they felt the economy would impact their lives.  From questions about children to retirement and family life, the results were interesting to read.

53% of Americans aren’t sure their kids will be better off than they are.

How many of you have said or heard this before?  It’s a noble thought to want those you love to have a more successful life than you lived.  But half of those surveyed didn’t feel like their children would have it better than they did.

While there are circumstances that we cannot control (i.e. available jobs and investment performance) we can do some things to make sure the next generation is truly better off than we are.  Here are two ways that I thought of:

• Instill an attitude of contentment – I really liked the article that Joe wrote over at Christian PF entitled: How to Raise Non-Materialistic Children.  What better way to set them up for success than to prepare them to be content with what they have in life?  I think we can all agree that a lot of the economic trouble we’re in today was caused by greed and discontentment, so encouraging children to be content with the things they have will put them way ahead of the crowd today.
• Encourage financial education among children – This follows closely to point one.  If you don’t emphasize the importance of a budget and saving when your children are young, they might not catch on until it’s too late.

67% worry their quality of life will suffer in retirement.

Unfortunately, a lot of Americans have held onto a false sense of security when it comes to Social Security.  I think the fear of the unknown has driven many soon-to-be-retirees to the point of worrying.  So how do you combat those worries?  If you can afford it, you can try to max out retirement plans.  You can also take some larger measures and downsize your home.  I know my parents are looking to downsize and it will save them a tremendous amount of money in their retirement years.

80% say they’re eating at home more often.

I definitely fall in this category.  We like to cook at home anyway, but the eating out budget is the first to go when finances get tight.  We still find creative ways to treat ourselves, but we usually end up eating around the table almost every night of the week.

75% say that time with the family is more important than ever.

The wording on this is interesting to me.  It’s not that 75% of people think their families are more important than they were five years ago.  Most would say that their family has always been a priority in their lives.  To me it says that people are realizing which priorities truly matter most.  We’re not guaranteed another day with our family members and we can’t replace them like we can a job or house.  If there is one good thing that has come out of this economic dip, I think we can consider this one a positive thing.

So what about you?  Do you agree with these stats?  Would you fall in the majority or minority for the topics that were mentioned above?

Tim is a personal finance writer at Faith and Finance a Christian financial help blog that provides financial insights for individuals, businesses, and churches. Outside of finance, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, playing the saxophone, reading economics books, and a good game of RISK or Catan. Find him on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to the Faith and Finance RSS feed.

Read about these three toward the end of this post

The traditional view of retirement — working for the same company your entire career and then retiring to draw a lifetime pension — is a thing of the past. Yes, some government workers continue to retire with paid pension plans, but as states and municipalities continue to fight for survival, these pension plans will also be phased out. To add to the angst, Social Security is scheduled to run out of money within the next 25 years.

The bottom line is that many, many of our upcoming retirees are in trouble. The average baby boomer has less than $100,000 set aside for retirement and, according to Financial Planning magazine, 56% of those nearing retirement age have no idea how much income they will have in their retirement years.  Because they have no personal finance plan, the time to wake up is now.

“But Joe”, you stammer. “It is too late for me to do anything now. I have waited too long.”

“Wrong! You just need to redefine your retirement. These tips will help.”

1) Learn where you stand.

Whether you run the numbers yourself or get some help from a financial counselor, you need to know the truth. Answer these questions: “If nothing changes, what will my retirement income be?” and “How does this compare to my current standard of living?”

2) Budget accordingly.

Based on what you learned, make the appropriate changes now.  Make those sacrifices today, while you have a choice, because some day you won’t have that choice.

3) Pay off your house.

Think of it this way: getting that house paid off will bump your retirement cash flow by whatever payment you are currently making. Besides, having your home paid for in your retirement years will give you a security you wouldn’t have otherwise.

4) Invest in your health.

No matter how fit you are financially, your retirement will be dampened if you lose your health. Our local community college offers exercise curriculums, with all of the equipment and a trainer for only $30 a semester. The time to invest in your health, regardless of your age, is now.

5) Don’t retire.

One way to redefine your retirement is to change that definition from one of lazing around for the last 20 or 30 years of your life to one of staying active and productive. Ask yourself, “What dreams have I left undone?” If you do what you love to do, you won’t want to quit doing it…ever! Fulfill that passion and your later years will be full of wonder and meaning.

To close this post, I challenge you to allow some of these seniors inspire you to redefine your retirement:

• Olive Riley: began blogging at age 107, and continued until two weeks before her death at age 108.

• Pierre Jean “Buster” Martin: Claims to be the United Kingdom’s oldest employee at the age of 102, and notably refused to take a day off on the day he celebrated his 100th birthday. Martin entered the 2008 London Marathon and, according to press reports, he walked the 26 mile course in approximately 10 hours.

• Arthur Winston was a Los Angeles Metro employee for 72 years. He is best known for being honored as the “Employee of the Century” because he was never late to work and only took one day off during his entire career.

• Ron Donahue (72), Norm Benson (77) and George Nesbitt (80), who volunteer their carpenter skills to make school desks for special needs children.  (See picture at beginning of post).

Maybe you won’t run a marathon or work for one company 72 years, but you CAN live life to the fullest for all of your life.

Doing so will redefine your retirement.

Readers: In what ways do you need to redefine your retirement?  What changes do you need to be making today?

"Do not store up treasures in this world, where rust will destroy."

Tell me if you have heard this one, “Hey buddy. Have I got a deal for you! This is a zero risk investment which will pay huge dividends. Guaranteed!” Sleazy and cheesy, huh? But don’t walk away just yet. There really IS such an investment …one that will pay dividends forever! In fact, forever is the key word. Once you start thinking in terms of eternity, you will be laying your money down. What am I talking about? An investment touted by no other than Jesus Christ: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21

Absolutely guaranteed

There you go. Our investments here on earth will always be at risk. The stock market can fail, banks can fail, the dollar can fail and nations can fail. We foolishly think these investments give us security, but the truth is this: even if all our investments last us our entire lifetime, they will still be worth zero to us when our lives come to an end. A wise financial planner will challenge us to get out eyes off of today and think thirty years into the future. Jesus tells us to get our eyes off of this world and think thirty thousand or thirty million years into the future. According to Jesus, only an eternal investment is absolutely guaranteed to last. Everything else is guaranteed to fail. Does it not make sense, therefore, that we should be taking advantage of Jesus’ offer?

You can’t take it with you.

You may have heard this one, but it bears repeating. John D Rockefeller was one of the richest men who ever lived. After he died, someone asked his accountant, “How much money did Mr. Rockefeller leave?” His classic reply? “All of it.”

The Psalmist agrees, “So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.” Psalms 49: 16-17

The bottom line is the obvious: investments in this life are temporary; investments in Heaven are eternal. We would do well, therefore, to make eternal investments.

How do we take advantage of this guaranteed investment?

In many ways, heaven is the antithesis of earth. God’s reign is unhindered in heaven while Satan is considered the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4). This life is full of sorrow, but all of our tears will be wiped away in heaven. We struggle with sin as long as we live on earth, but we will not even be tempted to sin in heaven. Our investments likewise are turned upside down in heaven: we build our earthly nest eggs by squeezing our possessions tightly, but we can only store treasures in heaven by giving away what we have.

This doesn’t mean that we should give away every penny we ever touch. God expects us, for example, to use money to provide for the material needs of our families (1 Timothy 5:8).  We should likewise be prudent in saving for emergencies and planning for our later years. But make no mistake: EVERYTHING we hang onto is fleeting. Eternal investments, on the other hand, can be made only by giving.

Think “delayed gratification”.

We live in a microwave society of instant gratification, but storing treasures in heaven is the ultimate form of delayed gratification. We are intentionally and deliberately giving away what we have here on earth, a tactic many would consider short sighted. However, think one moment of the ramifications of eternal investing. In his book “Managing God’s Money”, Randy Alcorn poses this scenario, “Suppose I offer you a choice of $1,000 today or $10 million dollars if you wait one year, then $10 million dollars more every year thereafter. Which would you choose?” Only a fool would accept the $1,000 today.

Yes, that year might seem like a long time, but the wait would be worth it. In the same way, heaven might seem like a long time off. But once you get there, won’t you be glad you were willing to forego the temporal treasures of earth in order to enjoy your heavenly investments forever?

Life here on earth is but a blink when compared to the eternity of heaven. The time to start your guaranteed investment is now.

Readers: Jump in here.  Does this seem like “pie in the sky” or something to be seriously considering?

Great retirement will require some ingenuity

For many Americans, the prospect of a dream retirement is fading.  However, those very factors which produce so much gloom can actually make retirement better.  Hold that thought as we first examine the bad news about retirement.

Retirement Pensions are Gone Forever

The days are gone forever when an employee worked for the same company his entire career and retired with a lifetime pension. Industry can no longer afford such extravagances and even government workers are giving up pension benefits as state and local governments nationwide are struggling with huge budget deficits.

The 401(k) is “iffy”

I am a huge proponent of the 401(k) because it forces us take responsibility for our futures. However, with a struggling economy, many companies have cut back or eliminated their match. Without the match, employees are less prone to contribute, thus amplifying retirement shortfalls.

The future of the market is shaky.

Whichever retirement vehicle one uses, if it is dependent on positive stock market returns, the fragility of the market gives little assurance that an investor can depend on having achieved his desired nest egg by his projected retirement date – or hang on to it once retired.

Social security is under funded.

For the first time in 30 years, Social Security will pay more than it takes in this year. Those who run Social Security predict the program will go into the red permanently by 2015 and will run out of money in 2037 unless dramatic changes are made.

How could all of this possibly be good?

Good question. Let’s start by rethinking retirement. Realistically, a life of leisure may not happen for you. But this is not bad. This study indicates that when people retire with little to do, their life expectancy plummets. Why? Evidently work gives people purpose, and people without purpose don’t live as long.

Living your purpose is good.

Reality is that you may need to continue earning an income at a more advanced age than you had previously thought. Therefore, instead of viewing work as drudgery, now is the time to dovetail work and purpose. After all, if you are going to be doing it anyway, why not be doing something that you are gifted at, something that you love, something that meets a need in others’ lives and something that gives you purpose. Your life will have a new vitality and you will not only live longer; you will live better.

Developing ingenuity is good.

With your retirement future hazy, you should develop as many income streams as you know how. This doesn’t mean working 100 hours a week, but it does mean becoming more innovative.   When you allow your creativity to kick in, you will discover both active and passive income ideas — many of which you will be passionate about and will therefore will want to continue later in life. Yes, you need ingenuity, but that is a good thing.

Serving others is good.

“What?” you say, “You challenge me to find my purpose and develop my ingenuity. Now you say I need to be serving others. This is overwhelming!”

My response is that your purpose will include serving others. You weren’t put here on earth to live for yourself. A truly prosperous life is one focused on others, not yourself.

Concluding thoughts

Realistically, your retirement might not come exactly as you schedule it. However, this is not all bad. If you make plans now to find your purpose, become ingenious about your income streams and make serving others a high priority, you will live a rich and fulfilling life.

Allow this quote from James Michener settle deep within:

“The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving to others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.”

Thanks: My 91 year old Mom, who continued in the work force well into her 70′s, is the inspiration not only for this post, but for me personally.  Thanks Mom!

Readers:  Does the gloomy retirement outlook throw you into a funk or motivate you to be more innovative?  In what ways?

Note: This is a modified version of a previous post I wrote for Christian PF

A reader recently shared these thoughts with me, “My husband and I are from the ‘great depression era’, which always meant if at all possible, don’t go in debt.  For the past 10 to 15 years we have watched people as they lived ‘the American Dream’. To us it was watching them as they lived far above their paycheck. Then reality hit and, by the thousands, have lost everything.”

This letter challenged me to ask, “What exactly is the American dream?”  My ensuing research reveals that this definition has changed over the years — and not for the better.

The original American Dream

America’s Founding Fathers gave us their meaning of the American Dream in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”…

Note that wealth and materialism were totally absent from this definition.  In fact, many of our founders gave up their wealth to pursue this dream … a dream of a land where the people were free to pursue happiness.  This very pursuit, I believe, constitutes the dream.  It is an ongoing endeavor, for the moment anyone quits pursuing happiness, he also quits dreaming.

The Dream Today

Now…fast forward to today and ask yourself  how you would define the American Dream.  In fact, ask anyone you know how they would define the American Dream.  My guess is that it had something to do with owning your own home.  Assuming I am right, read on.

The Dream Becomes a Nightmare

Many, in their zeal to achieve this dream, purchased too much home.  Then, as the real estate bubble burst, they found themselves irreparably attached to their house, making the ongoing payments as long as they were able or facing the prospect of foreclosure if a hiccup disrupted their income stream.  The dream, for many, has become a nightmare.

But, as horrible as this financial nightmare is, I believe the change of the dream has produced an insidious nightmare which is much more prevalent.  We have substituted brick and mortar for the dreams of pursuing our passions, discovering our gifts and using those gifts to make this world a better place.  In losing the original dream we have compromised the zest for life that America was once known for.  We have also compromised our honor.

Don’t misunderstand me — we own our home, but doing so does not fulfill my dreams.  Like the founders, my dream is to discover and live out my purpose for being here on earth.  I pray that you too will adapt the original American Dream.  Anything less is second best.

That sounds like a nightmare to me.

As I researched this topic, I came across the following blog posts that are well worth the read.

• The American Dream is an Illusion at Free From Broke

• Are You Chasing the American Dream?  Maybe it is Time You Stop. At Redeeming Riches

• Is Home Ownership Still the American Dream? At Frugal Dad

• Selling the American Dream at Little House in the Valley

• Retired Early, In Debt, No Job: When the American Dream Becomes a Nightmare at Fiscal Geek

Readers: How do you define the American Dream?  Has this post changed your thinking in any way?  If so, how?

A reader recently wrote the following comment on my post 4 Reasons You Should Not Use Your 401k to Pay Off Your Credit Card so I have pasted both the comment and my answer, hoping that you readers will help scrutinize my logic and point out any flaws you may notice.  Obviously, I made some assumptions (which didn’t seem unrealistic), but I saw no other way to run these numbers without doing so.

Question from reader

Ok, so what if I don’t want to take out a loan on my 401K? I already practice the snowball effect and we give the minimum amount to our 401k – essentially whatever is being matched by our jobs. We have about $66,000 in revolving CC debt. We could use our 401K to eliminate that debt and be left essentially with only our mortgage payments and my school loan. With all this debt eliminated we could max out our 401k’s going forward at 15% each (we only give 5% now). It would also help come tax time as our taxable income would be lowered considerably if we give the 15%. We would also be able to give additional money to the IRA allowing our 401K to grow at a much more aggressive rate while being virtually debt free. I also realize if we take that much out we will likely be penalized at about $30,000 for this year. My question is, couldn’t this all be offset in some twisted way to work in our favor while getting virtually debt free? I don’t want to borrow, I just want to drain it and use it pay off the debt altogether. The CC debt was created due to losing my job and being out of work for an extended period. We are followers of Dave Ramsey and have been chopping away slowly but would love to start really charging after our retirement but at 5% per person it’s not really getting where we need it as quickly as we’d like. I just feel like if we can get rid of all our revolving debt we could begin really growing our 401K at break neck speed. Thoughts?
joeplemon May 4, 2011 at 10:36 am [edit]

My response

Let’s run some numbers based on the following assumptions:
1. You would need to withdraw $100,000 from your 401k to pay off the $66k in credit card debt.
2. You are 30 years from retirement.
3. Your combined annual income is $50,000, which means you are contributing $2500 annually (5%) to your 401k plans and receiving a 100% match for those contributions, effectively giving you $5000 annual contributions.
4. Over that 30 year period, your investments will earn an 8% average annual return.

Based on these assumptions,

If you continue what you are doing, your retirement nest egg will be about $1.7 million in 30 years. However, if you draw out the $100,000 and start anew with 15% investments (earning 100% match on your first 5% and zero match on the next 10% contribution), you would be effectively investing $10,000 annually. With an 8% return, your nest egg would be worth $1.2 million in 30 years, meaning that withdrawing $100K today is a $500,000 mistake.

It is actually more than that because you WILL eventually get that credit card debt paid off and bump up your investment contributions, thus increasing that $1.7 million you would have if you only contribute the 5% for the next 30 years. For example, if you paid off the credit card debt in five years and bumped your retirement investments to 15% at that time, (although I would recommend a big emergency fund before increasing your investments) your nest egg in 30 years would be about $2.1 million…$900,000 more than if you pulled the $100,000 from your 401k today.

I realize that the money in that 401k is tempting, but I urge you to leave it alone. One of you might consider a second job just long enough to pay off that credit card debt but even if you don’t get it paid down for a long time, your retirement will be more solvent by leaving your contributions in the fund instead of tapping what you have worked so hard to build up.

I also realize that I made some huge assumptions, but the results would be very similar even if the specifics changed considerably.

Please write back. Feel free to ask questions and let me know if what I have said makes sense.

OK readers — your turn. What advice would you offer? In what ways do you agree with me? How do you disagree?

I don’t know about you, but my cleaning alter ego kicks in every once in a while. There just comes a point where I can’t stand the mess of papers on my desk, drawers, laptop bag, bookshelf, nightstand, you name it. Usually I’ll get on a roll and knock out a room or two in my cleaning fury.

Once things are clean, I get comfortable again. I try stay organized, but it’s just inevitable that things get a little dusty later.

Now about my finances…I can get comfortable with those too. (You knew it was coming – the ol’ spring cleaning your finances article.) It’s a little more of a challenge than cleaning your desk or organizing your closet because your bills, statements, accounts, budgets, credit reports and everything else financial can feel like they’re just everywhere. So here’s some guidance to help clean up your finances.

Update Your Financial Plan

It doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be. We have so many different account types, online logins, account numbers, and bills that it’d be hard for someone to sift through them without a roadmap. Using a financial snapshot can really help to organize your info in case something unexpected happens. It’s also nice just to have a visual of your accounts so you don’t go crazy trying to keep it all in your head!

Approximate Time to Complete: 1 Hour

Streamline Your Accounts

We use mint.com to manage all our accounts online. It’s just nice to see everything in one place (and it’s free). Other tools include adaptu.com, American Express Money Manager, Smarty Pig, NeoBudget, or Wesabe.

Approximate Time to Set Up: 30 Minutes

Check Your Credit Report

The last thing you want is to find out about something fishy when you really need to utilize your credit. Set a date every spring to check out your report – treat it like a holiday. Make a cake that day…just do something to remember to check your credit report. You can get a free report on www.annualcreditreport.com. Remember, this is different than your credit score. Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents wrote a great article about finding your TRUE score here.

Approximate Time To Complete: 15 Minutes

Overhaul Your Wallet

This actually involves actual cleaning. I have a habit of keeping receipts. It’s a good practice, but most junk receipts just stay in my wallet for a week..err…month. The same is true with business cards and other items.

Look through your wallet and get organized a little bit. (If you can’t keep your wallet organized, how can you expect to manage anything bigger!) If you find a few credit cards that you haven’t used in a while, consider filing them away so that your wallet is lighter.

Approximate Time To Complete: 15 Minutes (Depends how big your wallet is!)

Review Your Goals and Projections

You made financial goals this year right? How’s it going? If you need some nudging or ideas for shaping up some of the smaller things with your finances, consider these:

• Review insurance plans (auto/home/life)
• Check you cell phone bill for extras you can cut
• Sell some stuff (old books, gadgets, clothes)
• Check your tax withholding (calculate what you owe, withhold it, and save the rest!)

I hope you’re already doing a lot of these, but it’s always good to have an occasional  reminder.

Do you have a routine for cleaning up your finances? What will you be doing to shape up your finances this spring?

Tim is a personal finance writer at Faith and Finance a Christian financial help blog that provides financial insights for individuals, businesses, and churches. Outside of finance, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, playing the saxophone, reading economics books, and a good game of RISK or Catan. Find him on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to the Faith and Finance RSS feed.

Are you trying to get a better handle on your finances? Would you like to establish a solid financial plan for your future? Whether you want to budget your money or invest it, there are a variety of online tools that can help you, and many of them are free. Compiled here is a list of 10 free online tools that can help you with your personal finances.

Adaptu

This site helps people manage their money wisely by tracking how it’s spent while still saving for the future. Membership is free and includes tools that will assist you in managing your finances, show you investment performance, and give you up-to-date financial market news. As a member, you can interact with others in the Adaptu community to discuss finances, exchange stories, and share advice.

Budgetpulse

Budgetpulse offers free online tools to help you budget your money and set financial goals. With this easy-to-use software, you can organize your accounts, track your spending, find ways to save, and reach the personal financial goals you set for yourself.

LifeTuner

Here you can find several useful financial tools and calculators for budgeting, saving, investing, and retirement tracking. Other featured tools help you figure out how long it will take to pay off a credit card, determine the actual cost of your credit, and where you stand when it comes to your spending and saving- in other words your “financial health.”

MyCalculators.com

This user-friendly site offers a comprehensive collection of free calculators to help you manage your finances. Here you will find calculators for loans, savings, investments, 401K, retirement planning and tracking, credit card payments, college savings and withdrawals, and more.

Online College Blog

Here college students and their parents can find 100 college financial planning calculators. From calculating the cost of college to planning a monthly budget, this site has got you covered.

Wallet Watcher

Wallet Watcher is a free online tool that you can use to create a budget and stick to it. It’s quite simple to use–every time you spend money you enter the transaction into Wallet Watcher. If you have spent too much or are close to a spending limit you have set, you will receive an alert. Alerts can be sent directly to your mobile phone so you’ll know right away when it’s time to quit!

Expensology

Similar to Wallet Watcher, Expensology is an online tool that requires you to enter in all of your expenses manually. After you sign up for a free account, you can track expenses, manage your bills, and establish a budget. By entering in money as you spend it, you will get a better understanding of your spending habits.

Budget5000

Budget 5000 offers free tools to help you create a budget, track both cash and credit expenses, and plan for a secure future. This site also offers informative articles and tips to help you budget and save.

Moneytracking

By signing up for a free membership, you can use Moneytracking’ to help you watch your spending and track shared expenses you may have. You can also use their online accounting tools to manage your small business. Members can share tips and advice with each other through a private online community.

ClearCheckbook.com

This site features a deluxe checkbook register to help you keep more accurate records. You can note checks as cleared so that you’ll always know what your balance is. There are also tools for setting personal spending limits, scheduling payments, and alerts to let you know when payments are due. Members can also utilize a special application for mobile phones, allowing them to keep track while on the go.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about home insurance and related topics.