Change Maker by Compass Catholic Ministries

Money Stories: Faith and Finances with Allison Gingras

Allison Gingras shares the story about her financial journey. Allison realized the extent of her debt when the bank refused to extend her any more credit. Around the same time, she met the co-founders of Compass Catholic Ministries, Jon and Evelyn Bean. They presented her with the opportunity to participate in a Compass Catholic Bible study, which she now credits for her much of her family's financial wellness. It hasn't always been easy but now Allison can use her family's financial journey to glorify God. 

Learn more at the Compass Catholic website.

Life After the Pandemic

How has your life changed for the better since the pandemic? Have you looked for the good in the stay at home orders and the chance to stop the crazy busyness that pervaded our pre-pandemic normal?

While this situation wasn’t something anyone wanted, there is always some sort of good that comes out of any situation.  Maybe now is the time to think about the good and say a little prayer of thanksgiving for whatever bright spots you can find.

The Compass Blog has more on some of the positives that will come from our new normal.

Create, Update and Organize Your Important Information

If you are like most people, your important information is scattered all over the place. It may be in a file drawer, on your desk, in your computer or on your phone.  What would happen if you were incapacitated and your family or caretakers needed to handle your affairs? Would they know where the important information in located and how to use it? Join us to hear what you need to get organized.

The Compass Blog has more on creating, updating, and organizing all that information so your family knows where it is and can use it if needed.

The Stock Market - A Godly Perspective

Watching the stock market going up and down can cause stress, tension and anxiety.  Yet there is nothing we can do about it.  And you haven’t really lost any money until you pull the money out of the market. Until then, it’s just a number on paper.

Instead of stressing over what you can’t control, try meditating on 1 Timothy 6:7-8, “For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.”

The Compass Blog has more on putting the stock market gyrations into perspective.

Challenge Your Expenses

It is easy to get into a spending rut and not pay attention to where the money is going. But those assumptive spending habits can be wasting your hard earned cash.

Look at both the big things and the small things you buy on a regular basis in order to challenge each and every expense to see what can be eliminated.

The Compass Catholic blog has more on which expenses to challenge. Your bank account will thank you!

How to Payback Your Student Loans

Paying back student loans can be a long painful process. Join us and our guest, Victoria Sechrist, the Consumer Catholic, for tips about paying off student loans.

There is also a 5-part blog series related to this podcast:

Feeling Hopeless About Student Loans? Start with a Theological Virtue 

Slay Those student Loans with Prudence

Slay Those Student Loans with Temperance 

Slay Those Student Loans with Fortitude

Slay Those Student Loans with Justice

Money Decisions for Your Marriage

Money can destroy a marriage.

All the assumptions and experiences of the way your family used and managed money come into your marriage. Each spouse was raised in a different environment, so no two people come into a marriage thinking exactly the same way as their spouse on any issue, most especially money. And that difference can mean disaster.

Learn how to tackle those important money decisions as a team in this podcast and the Compass Catholic blog

How to Handle a Financial Pandemic

The world seems a little upside down right now with a lot of uncertainty about the spread of the COVID-19 virus, consumer mayhem in stores, events being cancelled and the ensuring financial panic.

We may be on edge because of uncertainty or we may be in panic mode because everyone around us in is panic mode and the media is doing a great job of spreading the fears.

None of us knows the future. All we have is today. If you are feeling overwhelmed by everything around you, meditate on these verses:

Isaiah 41: 10 “Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Psalm 46:2  “God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.”

The Compass Catholic blog has more on staying calm while the winds of fortune swirl around us. It also has links to several charts showing the ups and downs of the financial market. 

Manage Your Money God's Way - You Need a Will

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die’” (2 Kings 20:1). Not a very pleasant thought is it?

Even if you live, your family may need to deal with your affairs in case of an accident or illness. Being prepared is the best gift you can give them. If you don’t do it, the government will make those decisions for you.

Our guest on this podcast is Vanessa J. Skinner, an estate attorney at Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, P.A., who will share thoughts on what to consider in estate planning, which is NOT just for those who are rich.

The Compass blog has more on what to consider in your estate plan. The Compass Catholic Set Your House in Order Bible study provides forms and discussion points for you to consider when making these important decisions.

Tackle Your Taxes

Filing your tax return is a once-a-year event but paying attention to your taxes all year could easily save you thousands of dollars.

The goal is to be tax neutral–not paying too much or too little. The Compass blog has more on what to consider in adjusting your W-4 so you can come out as close as possible to that net zero goal.

Our guest on this podcast is Matt Marcoux, CFP and co-founder of CandorPath Financial.