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As a PK and a personal finance coach, Amberlee Rich has a heart for helping pastors and the church steward their resources to further God’s kingdom. She and her husband, James, developed Steward Lab, an online coaching program for churches, the Steward Lab Podcast, and their 1-on-1 coaching business, Rich Living Coaching. There’s an unrealistic expectation out there that pastors need to have their lives perfectly put together. Yet, we all know that we’re sinners, and far from perfect. Many people ...

Because I specialize in working with pastors, I’m always on a quest to get inside pastors’ heads. In order to serve you effectively, I need to understand your world, your needs, your wants, and your struggles. I do this in many ways, such as discussions with my financial planning clients, emails I receive from my readers, and the comments in our Pastor’s Wallet Online Community. I have noticed a common theme among the struggles that pastors face and the regrets that ...

Marketers are going crazy with their back-to-school ads right now and they all have one goal: to get you to spend more money on your kids. There's nothing wrong with spending money on your kids, I do it on a regular basis, but I believe that our culture takes it to an extreme.   It’s amazing how much kids activities cost and how quickly they add up. With school starting again, parents have to prepare to be nickel and dimed to ...

I recently announced that I have obtained the Certified Financial Planner™ designation. As a result, I got a number of responses asking what kind of services I offer as a financial planner. One generous reader even wisely told me, “a more ‘aggressive’ tooting of your own horn would be appropriate.” I hear you. Today I’m going to tell you about what I do beyond this blog, in case you want to be a part of it.  Financial Planning Services I offer financial planning ...

Having a baby comes with a lot of responsibility and a long to-do list. Here are the things you should do legally and financially to set yourself up for success once your little one arrives. View post

This is a guest post by Jon Neal, Executive Pastor of Hope Community Church in Minneapolis, MN. He has nothing to sell or promote, he just spent a lot of time researching this and thought he would share his efforts to be a blessing to you.  There is something very powerful in getting outside your normal context. Maybe you have an upcoming sabbatical. Or maybe you are looking for a place to take a quiet/planning retreat. Or maybe you're just looking ...

A lot of people treat budgets like New Year’s resolutions. They are lofty and unrealistic goals with only an 8% chance of becoming reality. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. Budgets are supposed to be personalized money management tools that help you take control of your finances. If you don’t have a greater sense of control and empowerment, then your budget isn’t working. If you don’t have the kind of budget I’m talking about, then you really need one. ...

The clergy housing allowance is by far the most common topic that I receive questions about. Here are 10 or the most common questions answered to help you get the most value out of your housing allowance: How does a housing allowance work? You, the pastor, calculate what your housing costs will be for the year and submit it to your church. Your church approves the housing allowance and does not include it as taxable income in box 1 of ...

Back in November, I gave you some homework. Did you do it? I hope so! Being on the same page as your spouse about your vision for the future is very important. I have some more homework for you again this week. It’s a lot like last time’s—getting on the same page as your spouse. Except this time the topic of conversation is in the nearer future. How Much Would You Like To Help Your Children Financially? After the retirement conversation, the ...

Recently, I explained to you what financial planning is. Just like pastoring is a whole lot more than just preaching, financial planning is a whole lot more than just investments. If you haven’t read that article, I would recommend reading it here before continuing on.  I gave an overview of the different areas of financial planning in that article and now today we will do a deep dive and look at some examples of how that plays out for pastors and ...