Tag: MoneyLife

Crown’s new MoneyLife® Personal Finance Study aims to help participants strengthen finances and get out of debt

Posted by admin – April 16, 2013

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Financial strain and growing personal and national debt continue to have a stranglehold on Americans in this sluggish economy. The difficult part is that many Americans have no idea how to impact their financial health. About 1 in 5 Americans, surveyed by the Princeton Survey Research Associates, said that they do not keep track of their finances at all.

At one point or another, it is common for people to think about taking a closer look at their finances – whether he or she needs to make minor tweaks to cut costs, save for a down-payment on a home, or take on a second job to reduce debt. Sometimes, an individual’s financial situation can be a slippery slope that leads to sleepless nights if not careful.

Crown knows that getting and keeping finances in order is a major component to achieving a happy life, marriage and family. That’s why Crown is introducing its new MoneyLife® Personal Finance Study (MLPFS) to help individuals examine and improve their financial health. It is a 10-week journey designed to provide biblical teaching, online tools and practical experiences to help participants gain a life of meaning and purpose.

MLPFS is a resource for individuals seeking to control spending, reduce and eliminate debt, save for unexpected costs, invest for the future and strengthen finances.

MLPFS consists of weekly homework, scripture memory (to remember the most important principles), practical financial exercises like creating a spending plan or debt repayment plan, and prayer. There are even inspirational videos from Crown’s CEO, Chuck Bentley, to go along with each lesson.

In addition to its basic components, this study contains a collection of online applications designed to assist participants in their financial journey:

  • MoneyLife® Indicator™: After taking a brief survey about one’s finances, the MoneyLife® Indicator™ will provide a snapshot of each individual’s current financial health, and will also give a breakdown of 12 key areas related to his or her financial actions and attitudes.
  • MoneyLife® Budget™: This is not a traditional spreadsheet! MoneyLife® Budget™ is a usable, flexible spending plan. This tool begins with some simple questions related to income, giving and spending habits. Then, the tool helps create a spending plan to achieve short and long-time financial goals.
  • MoneyLife® Tracker™: This is a simple tool to help track income and expenses for up to three months. As transactions are recorded, an individual’s real-world spending is compared with his or her MoneyLife® Budget™ in various categories of spending. This empowers people to make thoughtful decisions so that their spending syncs with their spending plan.
  • Financial calculators and worksheets, as well as a library of articles to help in financial planning are also available.

“The MoneyLife® Personal Finance Study is really very simple,” said Crown Financial Ministries CEO Chuck Bentley. “This study allows you to hit the ground running by taking a snapshot of your finances, showing you next steps to improve your financial house, and finally – helping you develop a plan that you can actually stick to.”

To learn more about Crown’s new MoneyLife® Personal Finance Study or to get started on a path to financial freedom, visit www.Crown.org/moneylifestudy.

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Crown, a non-profit, helps people and businesses integrate their values into business practices, debt reduction, and financial decision-making. For more than 35 years, Crown has been offering economic analysis and advice based on timeless truths. Theirs is a strong, international grassroots organization with offices in the U.S. and overseas. Crown experts work one-on-one with individuals and business leaders, as well as through workshops and seminars, teaching people how to build on a strong foundation that includes the business principles and practices found in the Bible. It is well known for its cutting edge materials first developed by its founder, the late Larry Burkett.  For more information, go to www.crown.org or call 800-722-1976.

Media Contact:

Sandra Heinig

(865) 584-0550

sheinig@ackermannpr.com

Crown MoneyLife Coaching provides personal financial coaching to individuals and families

Posted by Erin Freeman – September 11, 2012

CrownKnoxville, Tenn. – Financial strain and growing personal and national debt have a stranglehold on Americans in a sluggish economy that has now crawled 43 months with higher than 8 percent unemployment. But what if our depressed personal finances are not just a function of the economy, but also a function of a crisis of education? Crown Financial Ministries this week is launching a new and improved MoneyLife Coaching Program that begins with a little old fashioned schooling.

“Today in America 36 states require some financial education before a student can graduate from high school – and that is a good beginning. But most people have never been taught how to handle their finances. Generations are struggling without the right tools,” said Crown Financial Ministries President Robert Dickie III. “Crown wants to fill the Financial Education Gap that exists in the lives of so many Americans.”

Earlier this year, USA Today examined the financial literacy of young people in particular – and found a serious problem.

Reporter Hadley Malcome wrote: “The Treasury Department and Department of Education have teamed the past three years to assess financial literacy in U.S. high schools, and the results haven’t been pretty: the average score of almost 76,900 students in 2010 was 70%. Last year’s testing of about 84,000 students and this year’s of about 80,000 students were both a point lower: 69%.”

“We can’t expect people with zero financial skills to make insightful choices,” said Dickie. “But MoneyLife can help.”

MoneyLife education begins with an intricately designed series of assessments that includes a Money Life Indicator that measures financial health, an on-line test that can be taken as often as desired to “take the temperature” of your financial health and ensure you are on-course. More than 10 years of experience with MoneyLife and more than 35 years in financial counseling has uncovered an interesting truth: this kind of training can really help couples.

“One of the things we’ve learned when working with couples is that money stress usually begins with conflicting views on how to make a decision,” said Dickie, who noted that more than 25 percent of people surveyed recently by Yahoo! and Fitness magazine reported that they fought most over money. That is more frequently than about chores (13 percent), kids (8 percent), sex (8 percent) or even the infamous in-laws (8 percent).

“We’ve seen that a plan like ours helps people find common ground over what is a very stressful topic: family spending,” said Dickie.

Rather than a cookie-cutter formula, MoneyLife is personal, strategic and tailored to fit the needs of each individual or family. For a one-time fee of $49.95, people will first go through a personal and financial assessment to get a plan created for them alone. Also available: easy to understand materials and personal education.

But Crown does not leave people alone in the process. While the assessments and materials come with a slight cost, financial counselors will meet privately, on-line or in person, for 5 free sessions so that everyone can ask their most difficult questions of people who are giving their time and knowhow to help. And it is all confidential.

“Real people don’t have one-size-fits-all problems or solutions, and too many so-called financial experts push a single solution or formula for everyone,” noted Dickie.

To learn more MoneyLife, visit www.crown.org.

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About Crown: Crown, a non-profit, helps people and businesses integrate their values into business practices, debt reduction, and financial decision-making. For more than 35 years, Crown has been offering economic analysis and advice based on timeless truths. Theirs is a strong, international grassroots organization with offices in the U.S. and overseas. Crown experts work one on one with individuals and business leaders, as well as through workshops and seminars, teaching people how to build on a strong foundation that includes the business principles and practices found in the Bible. It is well known for its cutting edge materials first developed by its founder, the late Larry Burkett.  For more information, go to www.crown.org or call 800-722-1976.

Media Contact:

To schedule an interview with a Crown specialist or to talk with people and experts whose lives have been changed through these tools, e-mail media@crown.org.

Media may also contact Sandra Heinig (sheinig@ackermannpr.com) or Shane Rhyne (srhyne@ackermannpr.com), 865-584-0550, for additional information.

Crown Launches MoneyLife Workshop National Tour in Knoxville

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 7, 2012

CrownKnoxville, Tenn. – Crown, an international non-profit financial ministry dedicated to transforming lives and providing Biblically-based financial management principles, is launching a new national touring workshop in Knoxville, Tennessee, this week.

The MoneyLife workshop is ideal for church, ministry and business leaders who would like to learn more about how Crown provides a sound financial ministry to help participants be better stewards to their community through personal financial management, business management and career guidance. The workshop will be held on Knoxville’s Market Square at Café 4 from 8:30 am to Noon on Wednesday, May 9. Registration for the workshop is $39 and includes a full breakfast and materials.

For additional information about the workshop, visit https://events.crown.org/FINDEVENTS.aspx?eventid=312. For additional information about Crown and its full service of financial ministries visit the organization’s website at www.crown.org.

Register for the MoneyLife Workshop to be held May 9 at Cafe 4 in Knoxville