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Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples
Over 100,000 copies in Print
LARRY BURKETT
The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples
A Lifetime Approach to Spending, Saving, and Investing
Now in paperback!
• Can we ever afford to buy a house?
• Is it wrong to borrow this much money?
• Which of us should be the record keeper?
• Are credit cards a no-no?
• Do we really need life insurance?
• Why is it we never seem to have enough?
Questions like these can keep you awake at night- or worse. Without a solid financial and spiritual foundation on which to base sound decisions, problems-and not just money problems-tend to multiply in a marriage. And they come whether you're struggling on $20,000 a year or "coasting" on a six-figure income.
Whether you are about to marry or are still in marriage's early years, best-selling author Larry Burkett can steer you around the pitfalls that result from mishandling your money. In this valuable guide he will help you:
• Establish a workable budget
• Discover what kind of insurance you need and how much
• Teach your children about finances
• Diagnose economic danger signs in your marriage
• Explore different types of investments and decide which are best for you and much, much more.
Solid biblical direction, practical advice, and years of "field-testing" make this a book that won't gather dust on your shelf!
The late Larry Burkett was founder and president of Christian Financial Concepts in Gainesville, Georgia, a nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching Christians biblical principles for managing money. The host of two daily radio programs, "How to Manage Your Money" and "Money Matters," Larry wrote numerous books on finances, including Investing for the Future, The Complete Financial Guide for Single Parents, The Coming Economic Earthquake, and Preparing for Retirement.
LARRY BURKETT
The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples
A Lifetime Approach to Spending, Saving, and Investing
Now in paperback!
• Can we ever afford to buy a house?
• Is it wrong to borrow this much money?
• Which of us should be the record keeper?
• Are credit cards a no-no?
• Do we really need life insurance?
• Why is it we never seem to have enough?
Questions like these can keep you awake at night- or worse. Without a solid financial and spiritual foundation on which to base sound decisions, problems-and not just money problems-tend to multiply in a marriage. And they come whether you're struggling on $20,000 a year or "coasting" on a six-figure income.
Whether you are about to marry or are still in marriage's early years, best-selling author Larry Burkett can steer you around the pitfalls that result from mishandling your money. In this valuable guide he will help you:
• Establish a workable budget
• Discover what kind of insurance you need and how much
• Teach your children about finances
• Diagnose economic danger signs in your marriage
• Explore different types of investments and decide which are best for you and much, much more.
Solid biblical direction, practical advice, and years of "field-testing" make this a book that won't gather dust on your shelf!
The late Larry Burkett was founder and president of Christian Financial Concepts in Gainesville, Georgia, a nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching Christians biblical principles for managing money. The host of two daily radio programs, "How to Manage Your Money" and "Money Matters," Larry wrote numerous books on finances, including Investing for the Future, The Complete Financial Guide for Single Parents, The Coming Economic Earthquake, and Preparing for Retirement.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
8 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Larry Burkett
306 books55 followersLarry Burkett was an American radio personality whose work focused on financial counseling from a Christian point of view.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 17, 2008
Although it's a bit archaic at times, it offers fantastic tips for couples who are beginning to combine their finances and learning to budget and such together.
March 23, 2021
How will this book help me in my journey?
When it comes to talking about personal finances, I beleive that its a topics everyone should consider mastering. Weather you are an employee, head of a company, student, son, grandma, etc. Finances are essential to help a person live a life with beenfits. Without the proper managment of personal finances you can easily fall into the trap of debts, losts, etc. I am at an age where I just got my credit card, and my parents are giving me a monthly budget. The reason whty I chose to read theis book is becasue I want to learn how to run accounts and organize my budget for each of the areas in my life.
What impacted me the most from this book? (theme, chapter, writing style, character, topics) What really impacted me from the book was that, even though it was too short, it nvolved so many important messages. Another thing I really liked was the fprmats the book gave you to organize the budgets. I was able to do what I wanted because I got everything organized into categories, and how much I can spend on each one.
Favorite quote: Plan the future in mind.
How much would you recommend this book and why? 4/10 becasue it was kind of short and detailed on things I dont have to look into yet.
When it comes to talking about personal finances, I beleive that its a topics everyone should consider mastering. Weather you are an employee, head of a company, student, son, grandma, etc. Finances are essential to help a person live a life with beenfits. Without the proper managment of personal finances you can easily fall into the trap of debts, losts, etc. I am at an age where I just got my credit card, and my parents are giving me a monthly budget. The reason whty I chose to read theis book is becasue I want to learn how to run accounts and organize my budget for each of the areas in my life.
What impacted me the most from this book? (theme, chapter, writing style, character, topics) What really impacted me from the book was that, even though it was too short, it nvolved so many important messages. Another thing I really liked was the fprmats the book gave you to organize the budgets. I was able to do what I wanted because I got everything organized into categories, and how much I can spend on each one.
Favorite quote: Plan the future in mind.
How much would you recommend this book and why? 4/10 becasue it was kind of short and detailed on things I dont have to look into yet.
October 30, 2024
The book is definitely a little outdated. (Written in the 1980s) Some of the stories made me laugh, especially the one that talked about a man who worked for Sears Roebuck and had his entire retirement tied up in Sears stock! The author advised him against this since even though Sears is a strong company, anything could happen and any company could go under! (Hopefully that man diversified his investments)
Overall it has great Christian principles woven into logical money management principles. Some of the financial advice is clearly outdated (balancing checkbooks, average annual income and other figures). However, many of the ideas are still applicable today & give a clear perspective that can help young couples make smarter financial choices. My fiancé and I will definitely be applying many of these principles to our life.
Overall it has great Christian principles woven into logical money management principles. Some of the financial advice is clearly outdated (balancing checkbooks, average annual income and other figures). However, many of the ideas are still applicable today & give a clear perspective that can help young couples make smarter financial choices. My fiancé and I will definitely be applying many of these principles to our life.
July 29, 2020
I was tempted to give this book three stars. Despite being 30 years old, the basic principles regarding budgets and debt are still sound. However, some other advice and, um, “morals” are horribly outdated. I got just as much laughter out of this book as advice, which may not be what you want from a finance book.
January 17, 2018
Great information! Though the prices given and salaries are out of date, the financial information is very relevant, easy to understand and practical.
It's Biblical information and it works.
It's Biblical information and it works.
March 11, 2023
Extremely thorough and helpful.
March 21, 2015
These are the concepts I found most helpful from Larry Burkett's book:
(1) Keeping track of expenses: I think that doing this on an ongoing basis is too time consuming, but reverting to it one or two months a year to gauge the amount one is spending in different categories is helpful.
(2) Larry Burkett (LB) warns against the danger of consumer debt (credit cards). Truth is that that for me it is more tempting to overspend when I pay with a credit card as opposed to cash. But now that we carry no consumer debt I use a cash rewards card (Capital One) for certain set expenses and pay them off within a couple of days in order to help reinforce that this is real money I am spending.
(3) The idea of beginning to give out inheritance to one's children to see how they handle it.
(4) The necessity of keeping one's spouse apprised of family financial situation and to have an action plan drafted in the event that one passes away.
(5) LB suggests making financial planning part of discipling one's children. He suggests that some chores be for pay and gives an example of a father who matched all funds that his child put aside for college.
(6) Lastly, his suggestion that using a financial planner who is fee and not commission based can be a real help. I briefly considered doing this but determined that it is more cost-efficient to educate myself on things like what mutual funds to choose, how much life insurance to carry, etc. In the end I probably did not follow LB's advice because I am part Scots.
(1) Keeping track of expenses: I think that doing this on an ongoing basis is too time consuming, but reverting to it one or two months a year to gauge the amount one is spending in different categories is helpful.
(2) Larry Burkett (LB) warns against the danger of consumer debt (credit cards). Truth is that that for me it is more tempting to overspend when I pay with a credit card as opposed to cash. But now that we carry no consumer debt I use a cash rewards card (Capital One) for certain set expenses and pay them off within a couple of days in order to help reinforce that this is real money I am spending.
(3) The idea of beginning to give out inheritance to one's children to see how they handle it.
(4) The necessity of keeping one's spouse apprised of family financial situation and to have an action plan drafted in the event that one passes away.
(5) LB suggests making financial planning part of discipling one's children. He suggests that some chores be for pay and gives an example of a father who matched all funds that his child put aside for college.
(6) Lastly, his suggestion that using a financial planner who is fee and not commission based can be a real help. I briefly considered doing this but determined that it is more cost-efficient to educate myself on things like what mutual funds to choose, how much life insurance to carry, etc. In the end I probably did not follow LB's advice because I am part Scots.
October 1, 2009
Since I'm rather ignorant on the subject, I thought a tried and true author on financial planning would be a good idea. I don't qualify as part of a couple so I can't attest to the affect finance has on marriage (he says it's one of the biggest stresses), but the book itself seems to be a really good guide for someone who doesn't know much. I closed it much better informed on what I ought to do with my finances.
April 4, 2008
Very helpful to my fiance's and my discussion for pre-marital counseling. 3.5 years later, we haven't had hardly any arguments about finances because we discussed and agreed on how to handle them and the principles that would govern our finances b-4 we married.
April 26, 2010
What? I should have a budget? OK, but how? What should I spend where? This book was given to me and my husband by his aunt. It was one of the best wedding presents, because I didn't really think about those questions in the way Burkett lays out the answers. A must read for anyone spending money.
Want to read
March 3, 2009I have heard good things about this book... will read it probably over the summer
February 11, 2014
Will be rereading!
September 11, 2016
Must read for couples before they get married.
August 3, 2014
A bit dated. Strong Christian worldview. Sound and conservative financial advice.
June 1, 2023
Second time through. While numbers and certain financial practices are outdated, the principles remain timeless, practical, and valuable.
April 24, 2007
Practical financial advice.
December 31, 2008
I found a lot of great advice in this book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews