Financial Planning in a Catholic Way: How to Attack Debt, Build Savings, and Change the World through Generosity

[photo credit: WalletWin website]

How to Attack Debt, Build Savings, and Change the World through Generosity: A Catholic Guide to Managing Your Money

by Amanda and Jonathan Teixeira

The authors are the founders of WalletWin, an organization offering courses and support in learning to budget, pay off debt, and grow wealth.

This book was recommended in one of the Facebook discussions of the Mater Amabilis group when someone asked about personal finance. I've assigned You Need a Budget for my homeschool's personal finance study and was satisfied with the book. The recommendation was glowing, though, and since it seemed like it might appeal to other Mater Amabilis families, I decided I'd get a copy to see for myself.

I was pleased to learn the Teixerias actually use the YNAB system, which is my favorite way to budget and plan. They explain enough you don't need any prior knowledge of it to understand their book. 

As I was reading, I found the financial advice solid, but not much different that what I have read in financial columns, from Dave Ramsey, or from You Need a Budget. One benefit of this book over You Need a Budget is the assumption you are planning a financial future with a spouse, rather than a "partner," which most Catholic homeschoolers would probably prefer.

The two chapters of Part V, though, brought to the fore-front what it means to live your Catholic faith as a person whose economic needs (and those of his or her family) are met. 

A good, though fuzzy, rule of thumb is that you should give at a level that's noticeable, even a little uncomfortable. You should feel the difference that giving makes in your budget. (p. 257)

The Teixeiras challenge the reader to carefully and repeatedly consider what it means to give your excess away. They don't just encourage you to pray about your needs or to continuously examine your situation. They present what many would consider a counter-cultural example, even in the Christian world, of how to live generously. 

You could use wealth to smooth out all the problems in your life, but the Teixeiras encourage you to meet your needs, and allow some suffering in order to be more generous.

Avoiding suffering can be another appetite that is never satisfied. There will always be some suffering, however small, to avoid, to stamp out, some annoyance you don't want to deal with, and will try to find a way not to. And this neverending quest for a perfect life here on earth will never end, except in misery and disappointment. (p. 277)

They suggest asking yourself, "Does addressing this suffering allow me to freely focus on God and my vocation/enter more fully into life, or might I be running away from life by trying to escape?" (p. 277)

Your money might be able to make some things happen, but the power is not yours. Even if you worked harder or smarter than others to earn your living--it doesn't mean you are more worthy or have more dignity than anyone else.

Remember, the money isn't even yours. It's God's money, and he's asking you to manage it for him. (p. 279) 

I haven't used WalletWin; I've only read the book. If I heard a parish was considering offering Financial Peace University, though, I'd say, "Call WalletWin instead. Right now." No one asks me for financial advice, nor should they, but I will always recommend WalletWin over You Need a Budget or anything Dave Ramsey from now on.

One quibble, and one I have with essentially every Christian pay-down-your-debt-and-build-wealth book or program, is the idea that investments (e.g. for retirement) should be judged solely based on the rate of return. I would like to see more Christian and Catholic financial organizations address concerns about what companies are included in various mutual funds or investment portfolios and how those companies make their money, treat their employees, and act in the world. If you choose to avoid using products from a company because they allow child labor in their overseas practices, then you probably don't want to own stock in that company, but it's really difficult to find that message or to know what to do about it if you come to that decision on your own. If more companies like WalletWin spoke out about these kinds of issues, it could be the beginning of a movement. 

I have updated our previous lesson plans to use this book instead of You Need a Budget. I am also going to encourage my older daughter, who already finished the old plans, to read the last couple of chapters.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. I purchased the book. Links to Bookshop.org are affiliate links.

Update on Personal Finance for High School: You Need a Budget

You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

by Jesse Mecham

I wrote a few weeks about about a book I thought First Son might use for Personal Finance (in tenth grade, though I might move it to ninth grade for later students). The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it was really want I wanted. Frankly I was uncomfortable with aspects of the book that focus on maximizing profit in investing in our current economic system and with its defense of wealth accumulation. There were a few chapters that just seemed unnecessary for a high schooler. (Not unexpected as it wasn't written for high schoolers.) So I was keeping my eyes open for an alternative and found this on the library shelf of new books.

You Need a Budget focuses on how to budget with the money you have for the expenses you know you will have. It's the outgrowth of a budgeting website and app available on a subscription basis, but the book itself is beneficial independent of the service. Though not written for high school students, I think it gives a good idea of how to handle personal finances. First Son already does this sort of thing for his finances now, but this book will push him to think ahead to budgeting when he is responsible for more expenses.

There is a chapter on talking with your "partner" about managing household finances and goals. The information is reasonably good, but as the book is written for the millennial generation, it does not assume marriage (and frankly gives many examples of couples who are not married). I talked to Kansas Dad about it and we decided our high school students could still read the book, but it's good to be aware in case you prefer to choose a different option for your family.

I intend to pair this book with other resources like an article on investing showing how compound interest builds if you begin investing early. Retirement accounts of investments in stocks seem inevitable for at least the near future, so I want him to understand about investing when he's young. I am also, however, planning for him to read a number of essays by Wendell Berry and parts of Small Is Still Beautiful to help him question the status quo and consider what role economics might play in a society that strives to build the Kingdom of God. All of this will be in addition to the economics book he'll use as a text over the next two years but the personal finance part should be fairly easy so I think he won't be overwhelmed.

Personal Finance in Level 5: Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money

Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money

by Dave Ramsey

Update on May 27, 2019: I've picked a different book.

The Mater Amabilis™high school beta plans, available in the facebook group, recommend an economics book each year for a full credit of economics. We started the ninth grade recommendation, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?, but I didn't like it so we stopped a few weeks in. Since then, I've spent some time reading from various books on economics and still haven't found the perfect book. I think we're going to read two or three books next year that together will give First Son a half credit of economics.

Our Personal Finance component will be this book by Dave Ramsey. If you've read anything by Dave Ramsey, it's in this book. In it, he has gathered and organized his Financial Peace University course material. It's written to adults, but that includes young adults just starting out so I think First Son (and the other kids) but a high schooler can read it and just tuck information away for later.

The book covers: savings and compound interest, budgeting, debt elimination (and avoidance), the credit and finance industry, insurance, and investing. Simple skills like how to balance a checkbook are not covered, but there are lots of sites and videos online with that kind of information.

There are constant references to Dave Ramsey's other books, Financial Peace University, their website, and the events they host. While it's understandable, given that it's the textbook for the course, it can seem tedious.

I intend to ask for narrations for each chapter, but not to give tests based on the book.

I don't agree with everything Dave Ramsey says, but it's pretty good. I'm still looking around for a book that will cover economics at the community level (city, state, national, international) and something that will introduce and explain the Catholic idea of subsidiarity. Basically I think Ramsey has started on the right path in pulling out of the debt economy of our nation, but I'm more radical and want to expose the flaws in the system itself. I'm currently considering Economics for Helen and Small Is Still Beautiful.

I have received nothing for this post and it contains my honest opinion. I check this book out of the library. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.