Have you contributed to the relief efforts in Haiti?  My family is doing so through a contribution to an organization that our church has partnered with: Water Missions International.  There are many excellent charitable organizations working to help relieve suffering among the Haitian people.  However, many scam artists are also hard at work trying to take advantage of the situation.

Charity Navigator has some helpful advice about sorting out which organizations to support along with a searchable database of non-profits that are analyzed and rated based on their efficiency at putting contributions to work.

If you have contributed to the relief efforts in Haiti, which organization did you support and why?

Since this marks the beginning of a new adventure, I thought I would let you know what you can expect from this blog – what I’m passionate about, what fuels my writing and speaking.

I believe the most satisfying uses of money are those that help us fulfill our life purpose, and while financial goals tend to vary from person-to-person, purpose is something we all have in common.  Researchers who have studied what makes for a meaningful life say we were all designed to live for something larger than ourselves, to enjoy close relationships with other people, and to use our unique gifts, talents, and passions to make a difference with our lives.

The “something larger” for many people, including me, is really someOne – God.  I am a Christian and my faith is the single most important aspect of my life.  Exploring ways that faith impacts our use of money is something that interests me a lot.  In fact, once a month I will write about a money-related verse from the Bible.  Whether you are committed in your faith or simply curious about spiritual matters and how they relate to your use of money, this blog is for you.

I believe our use of money has a significant impact on our relationships with other people. I plan to frequently write about how we can use money in a way that helps strengthen our most valued relationships, with a focus on marriage and raising money-smart kids.

I believe each of us has a unique set of gifts, talents, and passions.  Used well, money can free us to make the difference with our lives we were designed to make.  And that is one of the best possible uses of money.  I plan to tell stories highlighting ways that people have arranged their use of money accordingly.

I believe a budget may be the single most misunderstood and disliked personal finance tool around (at least among people who have never used one), and also the single most helpful financial tool.  If you don’t use a budget, or as I prefer, a “cash flow plan,” it’s my mission to inspire you to give it a try and to teach you how.

I believe we were designed to be generous.  In fact, one of the most enjoyable uses of money is contributing to causes that matter to us.  I will write stories of people who are just beginning on their journey of generosity, people who are “crazy generous,” and people at all points in between.

I believe one of the best ways to dial down financial stress is to keep some money in reserve.  I’ll write about how to build savings and the best places to keep such money.

I believe debt can enslave us (I know this one all too well).  And I’m not just talking about credit card debt.  Taking out too large a mortgage can be a form of financial bondage as well. So, I will champion the cause of living free of all forms of debt (with the exception of a “reasonable” mortgage) and I’ll teach you how.

I believe the timeless principles of investing still hold true, even after the tough times we’ve been through with the recession.  I will use this blog to teach those principles.

I believe spending well isn’t about obsessive frugality.  In fact, it’s not about less.  It’s about more – having more knowledge of where our money is going, so we can be more effective in our use of money, so we have more for what matters most.  A frequent topic in this blog will be new ideas for spending smart on everything from cars to clothes, and from travel to technology.

So, those are some of the essentials of what I believe.  With each post, I welcome your feedback, friendly debates, and follow-up questions.  For a free subscription, click here.  You’ll receive an e-mail each time a new article is available – approximately twice a week. I believe you’ll find them well worth your time.

The simplest, most effective framework I know of for wise money management is to make generosity and saving our two highest priorities and then build our lifestyle decisions on what remains. The much more common approach is to base decisions about where to live and what to drive on a person’s full salary. However, when lifestyle spending comes first, consumer debt and low savings always seem to be part of the package.

A key step toward a give-save-spend life is to pay off all debt other than an affordable mortgage. After waking up to my financial mess many years ago, it took me over four years to pay off my debts. But I can tell you it was worth every ounce of effort. Here’s the best calculator I know of for creating a plan to get out of debt.

A friend recently went through his closet and gave away literally half of his clothes. Rather than missing the items, he has a new sense of freedom. Instead of feeling deprived, his life feels a bit less complicated.

Jane Hammerslough, author of Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions, describes how a roof repair gone wrong forced her family into a quick move to a small, sparsely furnished rental house for six months. She writes of their surprise that they didn’t miss much of what they left behind. Rather than feeling depressed by the “hideous living room” and “mismatched plates” in their temporary quarters, they felt liberated. And when they returned home, she felt “overwhelmed by the utter excess of stuff.” A purging of things soon followed. She concluded that, “When ‘enough’ is always just a little more than you already have, you don’t have a lot of room left for the truly great pleasures of life: family, friends and the time to enjoy them.”

Of course, too much stuff can also leave too little room for God. With the time required to shop for, move, insure, use, store, clean, maintain, organize, and worry about our stuff, there can be a shortage of time for God’s Word, prayer, ministry, church, and reaching out to others.

In his classic book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster agues that, “The majority of Christians have never seriously wrestled with the problem of simplicity, conveniently ignoring Jesus’ many words on the subject. The reason is simple: This Discipline directly challenges our vested interests in an affluent life-style.”

But the recession may be changing that.  The stripping away of financial assets and our faith in ever-increasing real estate values seems to have sparked a renewed interest in simplicity.  Writers ranging from mutual fund company founders to spiritual thinkers have been weighing in on the question: “How much is enough?”

Answering that question is no easy task, which is what makes Foster such a good guide.  He makes an important distinction when he describes the Christian discipline of simplicity as “an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.” In other words, focus too quickly on the externals – the doing without – and it’s the good intentions that are likely to be cast aside instead of the goods.

He also emphasizes that simplicity isn’t just about uncluttered closets: “It is possible for a person to be developing an outward life-style of simplicity and to be filled with anxiety.” He describes simplicity as “a life of joyful unconcern for possessions” and suggests that it “is the one thing that sufficiently reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us.”

Foster, who explores the meaning and practice of simplicity in more detail in his book, Freedom of Simplicity, says there are three heart attitudes related to possessions that lead to peace. “If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety.”

Once we have begun to cultivate those inner attitudes, what might the outer expression of those attitudes look like? Foster offers 10 suggestions:

• Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status
• Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you
• Develop a habit of giving things away
• Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry
• Learn to enjoy things without owning them
• Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation
• Look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes
• Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech
• Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
• Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God

In our materialistic, over-marketing-messaged world, simplicity isn’t, well, so simple. But as Richard Foster points out, it begins on the inside with the attitudes of our heart. And those are cultivated through prayer and meditation on God’s Word. Some good places to start include Matthew 6:19-34, Luke 12:13-21, and Philippians 4:12-13.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the recession seems to be spurring a surge in people wanting to help others. Apparently, layoffs are prompting some people to rethink the direction of their lives and seek greater ways to make a difference.

Have our economic tough times prompted any changes in your charitable activities or those of someone you know?