Your Money Counts - Book Review
In 1973, Howard Dayton’s business partner and good friend challenged each other to read the Bible and identify all the scriptures that referred to money and finances. To their amazement, they found 2,350 scriptures that directly or indirectly address money.
This discovery and personal conviction motivated Howard to start Crown Ministries (1985) and author 8 books on biblical finances. Your Money Counts was originally written in 1996 and updated in 2011. While almost 30 years old, the book builds on the timeless wisdom and direction of scripture and remains very relevant today.
Your Money Counts is broken into 18 reader-friendly chapters that combine stories of a real-life couple’s financial questions– many which you will probably face in your life – answered with solid biblical guidance. The book emphasizes the importance of stewardship, budgeting, giving, and investing in alignment with biblical principles. It is on our recommended list.
Book Overview
Chapters 1 through 4 set the stage and foundation: God is owner of it all, the Bible is a great source of financial wisdom, and you are the steward of His resources. This is an essential truth that must be accepted to benefit from this book.
Chapters 5 and 6 provide practical advice on debt. Proverbs 22:7 tells us that the borrower is a slave to the lender. If we are to experience financial freedom, we must escape the slavery of debt that too often weighs people down.
Chapters 7 and 8 begin to address the heart. Where do you go for advice? Will you really be honest about your thoughts on money? Howard emphasizes the importance of having godly counsel and being aligned as a couple.
Chapters 9 through 10 discuss the fruit of a changed heart as reflected in your giving and working.
What is our attitude about giving? Does it reflect your “first fruits”?
What is your attitude about work? Who is your ultimate boss and how are you stewarding your time and talents?
Chapter 11 dips lightly into investing. Howard intentionally puts this toward the end as the heart, giving and our work are truly priorities. Yet, being a wise investor - and stewarding God’s resources well – is also our responsibility, and he provides some big picture advice. This is not an investment strategy, though, and we would recommend having a good financial plan in place that drives your investment strategy.
Chapters 13 and 14 (I will get back to Chapter 12) provide some practical advice for our couple.
How do you raise children to be good financial stewards? Howard shares techniques for teaching children about money and stewardship. Most importantly, he reminds us as parents that we have a responsibility here.
How do you develop and implement a good budget? Some practical tools and guidelines are provided. From our experience, good budgeting starts with learning where your money is going and then reflecting on the question: Is this where the Lord wants me to direct His resources? Howard does provide some general guidelines.
Chapters 12, 15-17 are probably the most important as these chapters focus more on issues of the heart:
How is your walk with and trust in the Lord to provide for you? Money is “neutral” but how we view money does reflect our spiritual walk.
What does the Bible say about an appropriate level of living standard? A very hard question to ponder! Again, Howard provides many passages of scripture to help you wrestle with this. For most of us, it is probably a lower level living standard than we can afford, which will then create more financial freedom.
How will you respond and in what will you trust when those inevitable storms of life hit? What is a fair emergency fund? Where is the intersection of savings versus faith?
The final chapter (18) sums it all up and reminds us that faithful stewardship is a lifelong journey of learning trust and contentment.
Conclusion
Overall, Your Money Counts is full of practical wisdom and timeless advice for achieving financial freedom and living a life of purpose. You don’t learn it overnight. And, you will probably fail at times. It is a journey. If you are looking for a resource to help you take control of your finances and align them with your values, Your Money Counts may be a valuable read for you. If you would like a copy or would like to discuss, please feel free to reach out.
