Hiring a financial professional can be a daunting task. It can be a bit like dating – you need to understand yourself and what you need out of the relationship. Get up to speed on the lingo of professional credentials. Then you can look for some good candidates to team up with you. Finally, a few clicks on the Internet can confirm credentials and find out about any past problems.

What is your current situation?

The hardest step in meeting with a professional is doing your homework first! Take time to gather some general information about your household that includes a list of your assets and market value, your debts’ balances and interest rates, insurance policies, and short and long term financial goals.

Think about whether you want someone that will hold your hand through the entire process and be an active partner with you. Or, perhaps you want someone to listen to your goals, determine how you can meet those goals, and then you will do all the work to put the plan into place.

What type of advice do you need?

Overall Advice & Planning – You know you need to start saving for college, a home, or retirement but you aren’t sure where to start.  You wonder if you have enough life insurance or whether you might get sued for an accident.

Investments  – You have money to invest now and going forward, but you want to know what are the best types of investments to reach your goals.

Specific – You have a special needs child, want to save on taxes, struggle with your house payment, started late in saving for retirement, need estate planning,  or getting ready to retire and need to know how to make your assets last.

Debt Management – You need strategies to get your credit card, auto loans, and/or student loans under control so you can turn the tide on your financial picture and start saving for a home or retirement.

What do all those letters means after a name?

The financial services field is full of capital letters!  Get to know the lingo so you can understand the initials after a professional’s name.

The FINRA has a great guide to learn about each type of designation. This will help you understand their education, experience, and how they are regulated.

How does a financial planner get paid?

Fee only – Planner receives payment for their advice – either by the hour, by the plan, or a percentage of assets. This financial professional tends to be the most objective about products and investments.

Fee based – Planner receives most of their payment for their advice, but it’s reduced by any commissions on products you purchase from them.  This financial professional may have some bias towards the products & investments they offer.

Commission only – Planner receives a commission on the products you purchased. This financial professional might favor their investment products over other strategies or products.

Management fees – Planner receives an initial & ongoing commission from products sold along with an annual fee (usually a percent of assets) each year for their maintenance of your investments.

Regardless of the fee structure, a financial professional should focus on the strategies and products that will meet your personal goals – not just the products they sell.  When selecting a professional, look at the overall value and how it meets your needs.

How do you find a local professional?

Friends and family members in your area are always a good place to start looking for a local professional.  Just be sure they have been with the professional for several years and have a similar financial situation.  Just because someone in the family sells investments doesn’t mean you should automatically seek their advice.

One online place to start is the Financial Planning Network that searches professionals in your area based on payment structure. If you are looking for an advisor that is a fellow believer, be sure to check out the ChristianPF Financial Advisor Directory.

Your attorney or CPA may have a network of financial professionals to recommend.  In many rural areas, the local attorney or accountant provides financial services to the community.

The Dave Ramsey organization trains counselors and can provide the names of Endorsed Local Providers in your area. These counselors follow the Financial Peace University program strategies and can provide one-on-one help with your situation.

Interview the Best Candidates

Money is a very personal topic and you want to be comfortable with a financial professional.  Interview two or three candidates to see if your personalities and communication styles are a good match.

If you are married, both of you should go to the initial interview.  Your financial professional should be comfortable working with the goals and interests of both a husband and a wife – because these are not always identical.

Bring in your homework so the candidate gets the best picture of what you need and ask them the following questions:

• What are your credentials?
• Have you ever had a disciplinary action against you?
• How did you get into this field and how long have you been in business?
• Why types of services do you provide?
• How are you paid?
• What is an estimate on the total cost to me?
• Do you have an area of specialty?
• What will my plan look like in regard to investment recommendations and other ways to meet my goals?
• Can you provide me with two clients in similar situations who would be wiling to give you a reference?

The interview is a two-way street: Be sure the professional asks you questions too!  They should want to know why you are seeking help, details about your current situation, and your goals.

Do a Background Check

Once you have selected a professional, take a little time on the Internet to verify their credentials and good standing with the appropriate organization.  Search for any disciplinary action or sanctions. Check with your local Better Business Bureau, too.

Follow-up with the two client references and their experience with this professional.

Helping you Succeed

Hiring a professional is one way to meet your financial goals.  Take the right steps to select a candidate and then bring your best efforts to the relationship for successful results.

Have you found a great working relationship with a financial professional?  How did you find them?  How did they help you succeed with money?  Leave a comment below!

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• 2 Critical Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor

Cherie is a small business accountant with a passion to teach others about personal finance -especially military families through the Financial Peace program. With her son & daughter at college, Cherie enjoys spending time with her husband of 24 years, quilting, and volunteering.

Whether you hire workers for your own business, train co-workers within the context of your current position, or equip others for ministry in your church, you should consider the following lessons from the Master trainer:

1. Be real during the interview process.

If you are salivating over a prospective employee, don’t succumb to the temptation of sugar coating the job.  When a teacher of religious law asked Jesus if he could follow him, Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to even lay his head.”  (Matthew 8:20)  If you don’t share realistic job expectations BEFORE hiring, you can expect a disillusioned employee.  However, if this prospect still wants to come on board after knowing the downsides of the job, he will stay committed to your company during the good times and the not-so-good times.

2. Be a leader, not a boss.

Employees will repeat what they see you doing – not what they hear you advising.  If you expect your subordinates to be punctual, don’t show up late yourself.  If you want them to be innovative, you need to be constantly tweaking protocol.  Once Jesus called his disciples to follow him, he demonstrated his expectations of them by placing his calling ahead of his personal comforts, loving the unlovely, standing up to hypocritical big shots and eventually give his life for his cause.  The difference between being a leader and being a boss is living out the values you expect from your subordinates.  Jesus was a leader.  You should be too.

3. Select an inner circle.

When employees shows great promise, you should develop their potential by investing yourself in their lives.  Don’t worry about “playing favorites”; do what Jesus did … he devoted special time with Peter, James and John because of the demanding leadership responsibilities which would one day be required of them.   Jesus included this “inner circle” in:

• The Mount of Transfiguration experience.  (Mark 9:2-8) Jesus was showing them that their leader was greater than Moses (the law giver) and Elijah (the greatest prophet); he was God’s dearly loved son.  You can give your potential leaders something to aspire to by allowing them to see you handle difficult sales calls, respond to dicey challenges from upper management, or comfort a subordinate who just learned her husband has cancer.
• The Garden of Gethsemane experience. (Mark 14: 33-41)  When Jesus’ greatest trial was imminent, he wanted these three with him while he prayed.  Yes, he was demonstrating to them that prayer–during life’s most difficult moments–is the best course of action.  But this time of travail was more than an object lesson; Jesus wanted his inner circle with him as he struggled.  Great leaders, during the worst of times, do not avoid the situation or put on a false front; they face reality with full commitment to deal with it.  When things go wrong with your business, you are doing your inner circle a great service by inviting them to share the struggle as you handle it with integrity.

4. Share the big picture vision.

Jesus continually reinforced the big picture.  He began his ministry by telling his followers why he was here on planet Earth (Luke 4:18,19) and he concluded his ministry by passing that baton to his disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).  He was constantly reminding his disciples that they were involved in a work which had far reaching and eternal ramifications.

The story is told of two laborers working side by side in the construction of a great cathedral.  When asked what they were doing, one replied, “I am laying blocks” while the other proclaimed, “I am helping construct a magnificent edifice which will be used for the glory of God.”

If your employees are going to be passionate about what they do, they need to believe that it is worthwhile, important, and making the world a better place.  You need to impart the big picture to them.

5. Pray for them.

Jesus’ not only practiced a life of prayer, he also prayed specifically for his followers (John 17:21).   You can do everything right in training your employees, but, unless you pray for them, you are omitting the most critical element in molding them: God’s hand on their lives.  Do you pray for your workers?  By name?  If you don’t, now is a good time to start.

Do you train others?  Which of these lessons from Jesus do you use?  What other lessons would you recommend?

Related Articles:

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Joe Plemon, a retired engineer, financial counselor and blogger, lives in Southern Illinois with Janice, his wife of 40 years. Joe likes online Scrabble, St Louis Cardinal baseball, blues music, power naps, high school football, short term mission trips and Sunday family dinners. You can read more from Joe at Personal Finance by the Book.

Are you stressed out by your paid-by-the-hour job? Do you feel like you’ll never make a substantial income? Then you should take some time to learn how residual income can help you relax and increase your profits at the same time. Are you ready?

Linear Income vs. Residual Income

The Definition of Linear Income

With linear income, you do work and get paid once. Pretty simple.

Like many of you, I was raised as a kid to produce linear income. I was told by teachers that the way to make a living was to go to college, get a steady paying job, and support a family. All of that is great, but the “steady” part led me to believe that I had to make a linear income–doing the work that would pay me once for the effort involved. I believed that the only “steady” paying jobs were the ones where income was immediately realized yet low in compensation.

So, I took up several jobs where I was paid by the hour with no chance of a reoccurring income. I’d work for my $10 per hour and then consider the transaction finished.

Many years later, I’d discover something entirely different–something called residual income. This proved to be pretty exciting.

The Definition of Residual Income

With residual income, income is generated on a reoccurring basis after the initial effort has been expended. This is a bit more complicated to learn and implement.

I first realized the power of residual income when I started working part-time from home. I had written a few pieces online that were earning some advertising revenue–long after I finished the work. These small victories showed me the value in trying to obtain residual income. Although, at that time, I didn’t know what to call it.

Yesterday I listened to a podcast by Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal. In it, Dan explains that he vastly prefers residual income as opposed to linear income. He is always evaluating new opportunities to see whether they would provide him the reoccurring income we’re talking about.

The only problem with residual income is that the income sometimes takes months or years to be fully realized. Linear income, on the other hand, often has an immediate payout. This is not always the case for residual and linear income, but I think you’ll find it is often the case.

How to Make More Residual Income

The podcast by Dan Miller got me thinking about ways I could start making more residual income. Also, I started to question whether or not I should only seek work that pays on a reoccurring basis. How might I make that transition? What’s a good balance?

Differentiate Between Your Linear and Residual Income Opportunities

The first step in making more residual income is to list all your job opportunities–current jobs and potential ones–and determine if they are linear in nature, residual in nature, or a little of each.

For some of you, listing your jobs is going to be easy, as you only really have one income source. For those of you who are self-employed at least part-time, you might have a handful of different types of jobs to bring in money. Just write down everything.

Next, go down your list of jobs and identify as many residual income opportunities as possible. You might find that the potential opportunities you’ve identified lead to even more ideas.

Eliminate Some Linear Income Opportunities

I work in a variety of different capacities online. I won’t bore you with all the details, but some of the work I do provides linear income while other work provides residual income. Writing a product review for my website can produce residual income, while writing a non-linked article for another website produces linear income.

If you ever decide to learn how to make money with a blog, you’ll find that the Internet holds many residual income opportunities–but you can also find yourself with a lot of linear income opportunities as well. This is what happened in my situation, and now I understand that in order to succeed in the longterm I’m going to have to continually evaluate whether an opportunity is residual or linear in nature. The point here is that I know I need to let go of a few linear income opportunities in order to take on the residual ones.

By the way, if you’re interested in becoming a professional blogger, I’d recommend checking out Blogging Your Passion University (founded by Bob Lotich of ChristianPF.com and Jonathan Milligan of CPACareerCoach.com). It is currently helping me identify the most important blogging practices, and know it will help you as well.

Transition Income Models Very Slowly

If you’re like me and want to transition from a completely linear income model to a mostly residual income model, I’d recommend making the transition slowly. The last thing you want to do is jump ship into the icy seas of a risky business venture. Test the waters first.

For example, if you have a full-time paid-by-the-hour job and want to start experimenting with making some residual income, perhaps you should cut your hours down to part-time if you can afford it and get your feet wet by trying some residual income opportunities. Once you’ve successfully created a reoccurring income, it will be easier for you to pursue even more residual income opportunities.

Remember That Linear Income Isn’t Bad

By no means am I saying that linear income should be avoided at all costs. After all, if you can find a high-paying job you love that compensates you based on a linear income model, go for it! There are still a select few linear income jobs I still hold that provide excellent income. But I’m going to ensure I don’t overwhelm myself with jobs that pay only one time–I prefer those opportunities that provide reoccurring income!

Ultimately, you have to determine how much of each form of income is right for you. Everyone’s ideal work situation will be different, so figure out what best suits your time and talents.

Are you as excited about residual income as I am? I truly believe that if you try and focus on working on projects that will continually provide an income, you’ll live life with less stress and with more money in your wallet.

What residual income opportunities do you have? Brainstorm some ideas in the comments below and let’s explore this topic together.

Related Articles:

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John Frainee is a personal finance writer at TheChristianDollar.com. His goal is to provide biblical financial principles that encourage people to live healthier lives. Beyond personal finance, John enjoys spending time with his wife and two crazy cats, playing a competitive game of Monopoly, and reading just about anything he can get his hands on. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

In today’s mutual fund–and computer–driven investment environment value investing can sound almost exotic. Yet it’s probably the most time-honored way to successfully invest in stocks.

It has none of the thrill of watching your portfolio grow every quarter or every year in bull markets, but it can be a cozy place to be when the market is heading the other way. Think of it as being as close to “patient capital” as it gets in the stock market.

What is Value Investing?

Value investing is buying stocks that are lower in price than other stocks in the same industry group. This can be determined by the fact that the stock has a higher dividend yield than its competitors, trades for less than its book value (the value of its outstanding stock is less than the company’s net worth) or very commonly because its price-earnings ratio (P/E) is low for its industry.

Such stocks are often said to be “out of favor”—meaning the mainstream of the investment world is largely ignoring them. This can come about because the company has had a recent run of bad news or poor earnings results, because of negative rumors, or even because it’s a laggard in an industry-wide recovery.

The fact that a stock is cheap compared to its competitors doesn’t automatically make it a value stock however. You have to find stocks that are fundamentally sound, have moved past their negative recent performance and just haven’t been discovered yet by the investment crowd.

The Advantages of Value Investing

The primary payoff with value investing is the chance to make a big hit on a small number of stocks. If you buy a stock that is part of the current, hot trend you’ll never do any better than where the trend takes you. But if you buy stocks that are out of favor, which is to say before the larger investment crowd jumps in, the potential for the stock price to multiply to several times the price you paid is far greater.

The key is often to buy, say, ten value stocks, with the understanding that two or three will take off and provide a big payoff even if the rest stagnate.

Another advantage to value investing is that you’re less affected by short-term market swings. When you’re a trend investor, your investment fate rises and falls with trends that can go down as well as up. But when you’re a value investor you’re in for the long-haul, for the big payoff, so you don’t worry about where the stock market is on any given day.

You also won’t be a trader—moving into and out of stocks on a regular basis trying to catch the next wave. You’ll buy a very small number of stocks in any given year and wait for them to hit, which is more like tending to a garden than managing a stock portfolio. That can be a lot easier on the nerves!

Value Investing Versus “The Nifty Fifty”

If you look at the holdings of many portfolios of mutual funds, pension funds and many individual portfolios you’ll often see the same stocks appearing again and again. This is part of Wall Street’s famed “herd’’—everyone investing in the same few stocks. This group of stocks is sometimes referred to as The Nifty Fifty–“fifty” because it rhymes nicely with “nifty”, even though the exact count can be wildly different.

These stocks tend to rise, often well in excess of their investment value, precisely because of the heavy investor interest they draw. No one wants to be out of a stock whose price is performing favorably.

The problem with this strategy is that it’s also a revolving door. In any given year, some stocks will fall off the list and be replaced with new ones. Determining which and when that’s happening is a skill all its own.

If you’re a value investor your portfolio will be dominated by stocks that either aren’t household names or that are underperforming the market. This is true because they aren’t part of The Nifty Fifty, or put another way—they haven’t been “discovered” by the investment herd.

If you do your investing job well, some of your holdings may eventually become part of The Nifty Fifty, and you’ll probably score a huge gain for having gotten in ahead of the herd. But when you’re in places where people talk about their stock holdings, you’ll probably find you have little in common with most other investors.

Hint: you won’t find value investment prospects in The Nifty Fifty–when they reach that status they’ve already been discovered by the herd.

What Scares People About Value Investing

Many people invest in trends because that’s where the crowd is going. There’s a sense of “safety in numbers” and it’s very prevalent when it comes to investing. When you’re a value investor, you mostly sit these out. It can be kind of lonely, especially if the trend is rewarding so many other investors.

You also need to have the courage of your convictions. Value investing is all about putting your money in stocks that aren’t popular and you have to have the confidence in your investment selections to stay with them until they pay off.

Value investing is also a long-term process where you’ll have to wait several years for a stock to take off. Many investors are hyper-focused on annual or even quarterly returns so the prospect of having to wait years can be discouraging.

But here’s the thing: the negative effect of long-term investing is mostly a problem at the very beginning. Since you’ll be buying value stocks each year, after two or three years you’ll also begin to see some of those holdings taking off each year. But you’ll have to wait out those first few years to get there.

The most successful investment strategy is “buy low, sell high”—while that’s much harder to master than it sounds, value investing is probably the closest we can ever come to doing it. You’re buying a stock when everyone else is either selling or staying out, and selling when everyone starts jumping in.

If you really want to make money with your investments—and do it consistently—over the very long-term, value investing is the way to do it.

~ You can get started investing at a discount broker like Zecco for as little as $50 today. ~

What do you think about value investing? Leave a comment below!

Related Articles:

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With backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry, Kevin Mercadante is professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of OutOfYourRut.com, a website about careers, business ideas, money and more. A committed Christian, he lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage kids.

Owning a vehicle is expensive. Not only do you need to consider payments, taxes, and insurance; a vehicle requires routine maintenance and fuel. And since, in the last three months alone, gasoline prices have risen 50 cents, fuel is a major consideration. So what’s the traveller to do?

1. Reduce the number of vehicles you own.

When we lived in a major metropolitan area, our family of six only owned one car. Since I stayed home with the children, my husband generally drove the car to work. If I had something planned for the day, I would take him to work and keep the car. This required that I plan ahead, keep my pantry stocked, and time my outings around his work schedule; but we saved a great deal of money this way.

2. Choose different modes of transportation.

Ride your bicycle wherever you go. Baskets can be purchased to go on the front of the handlebars or over the back tire, saddle-bag fashion. You can even buy pet baskets and insulated bags to hold hot or cold items. If you have a child, attach a baby seat on the back. More than one child? Check out the new pull-behind carts that hold two children. Travelling this way not only saves on vehicle expenses, but keeps you in top physical condition as well.

If cycling isn’t your thing, or if you have more children to accompany you, walk. Unless you live in a rural area, you probably have shopping and eating establishments less than a mile or two from your home. Walking not only helps you to keep off those extra pounds, it keeps your heart in shape and sets a great example to your children. Ever wonder how many calories you would burn walking to the grocery store twice a week or the office every day? Try this Calorie Burn Calculator.

Many people in urban areas use public transportation. In the city near my now rural home, you can ride the bus for a dollar. A transfer is free. Since the city has two universities and one junior college, students are half fare—as are senior citizens and those with disabilities. Grade school students are free. To check out the availability of public transportation in your area, visit your city’s website or do a web search for “city name, state + public transportation.”

Although not a family vehicle, motorcycles average more than 50 mpg.  Where gas prices hover between $5 and $6 per gallon, my son drives a motorcycle in Haiti. The guys at his mission average 90-125 mpg on their bikes. Not up to tooling around on a Harley? Try a slower-paced scooter. These smaller, gasoline-powered, two wheelers will get you there faster than a bicycle, and still brag at getting over 100 mpg. If you want to be a one-car family, perhaps dad could commute on the two-wheels while mom shuffles the kids around in a more economical car.

As you can see, there are several low-cost transportation alternatives when you consider different modes of transportation. But there are more ideas as well . . . .

3. Carpool.

In rural areas with limited jobs, many professional people commute to the city for work. Currently, the United States highways have about 126 High Occupancy Vehicle lane projects in place that cover more than 1,000 miles. These sections of highway are reserved for those with more than two people in the car. Some of these areas include parking lots near interstate exits for carpoolers to leave their vehicles for the day. The Departments of Transportation have made carpooling more inviting than it used to be in order to encourage people to share the ride. To find someone going your way, check out eRideShare.com. This free service will list you in a database of travellers going in the same direction.

4. Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle.

If you are not getting the fuel economy you would like, do some research before purchasing another vehicle—that includes whether or not to purchase a hybrid. A friend sold her hybrid before having to replace the battery because the expense was prohibitive. “If I had to do it over again,” she shared, “I wouldn’t have gotten the hybrid, just a regular Honda Civic.” For up-to-date information on green transportation and electric or hybrid vehicles, see the Mother Earth News website. Whatever you have in mind, the Kelly Blue Book website will give you a miles-per-gallon estimate for any particular vehicle.

5. Reduce your number of trips.

Gone are the days when a mom can run out for a carton of milk. Add the price of fuel and the cost of that carton of milk just skyrocketed. Try to limit your shopping to once a month. Call home before returning from town to see if anyone needs anything. If a family member has an appointment, check the pantry before leaving the house and combine that trip with a visit to the library, Walmart, or the grocery.

6. Seek vacation alternatives.

Maybe you’re not looking to save on transportation every day; but want to take a trip. Renting a vehicle to drive on vacation saves wear and tear on your own car and possible fuel costs if your vehicle is not fuel efficient. To save on airfare, hotel reservations, car rental, and cruises, use Priceline.com. At this site, you can compare prices in one convenient location, or you can name your own price and Priceline will try their best to match it. According to them, “If you can fly any time of day, agree to fly on any major airline, stay in any name-brand hotel or rent from any of the top 5 U.S. rental car agencies – you can save a lot of money with priceline!” Also, don’t forget about the train or the bus. Do your research and compare. This is one of the best ways to save money.

What about you? What have you done to fight the rise in fuel costs? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Related Articles:

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There’s never been a more important time than now to teach kids about money.  Your children are soaking up life lessons everyday, so wouldn’t you want them to learn the importance of saving at a young age?  Helping your child open a savings account can set them up for a lifetime of good stewardship.  While it only takes a few minutes to open a savings account for your child, you’ll likely give them one of the most valuable lessons in money that they’ll ever learn.

How to Open a Savings Account for Your Child

Children under the age of 18 are not able to sign legal documents.  This means that a teenager cannot simply walk into a bank and open an account without a guardian present. That’s why you’ll need to be present while opening a joint account – one that has both your name and your child’s name on it.

The process of opening a joint savings account for your child is easy.  You’ll need to make sure you and your child come prepared with the following information:

• Driver’s license
• Social Security Numbers (yours and child’s)
• Initial Deposit

If you’re opening an account for an infant, be prepared to show a birth certificate.  While an infant child may not need to be present at most banks, you will need to show proof of guardianship, so a birth certificate is essential.

Consider an Online Bank Too

Your children are probably tech savvy enough to surf the web, so the concept of online banking should be easy for them to comprehend.  While it’s always good for them to learn how to use a brick and mortar bank, an online bank option could be convenient too.  Consider an online bank like ING Direct or Ally if you’re looking for good rates and convenience.

Visit Your Local Bank or Credit Union

Many banks go the extra mile when it comes to opening a savings account for your child.  There are some banks that encourage savings by giving away piggy banks for your child to use.  They may also give a quick tour of the safe while giving a small lesson about saving money.  Those things can really stand out to a young child and can spark their desire to save money in their bank account.

Don’t forget to bring your child with you to the bank when you make deposits into your own account.  That way, they’ll feel comfortable when it’s their turn to make a deposit into their savings account.  Use account statements and deposit slips to reinforce basic math skills and to introduce them to the power of compound interest.

Savings Accounts for College

Once you’ve opened a basic savings account for your child, you might consider opening a 529 college savings account for them as well.  Each state provides a 529 plan, which allows you to save and invest money that grows tax free for your child’s college education.  The great part about these savings vehicles is that the money can be withdrawn tax-free as long as it is used for qualified higher education expenses such as tuition, room and board, books, and approved transportation.

Always Encourage Your Child to Save

If you aren’t excited to save, how can you expect your kids to be excited either?  Be creative and enthusiastic about getting your child to save.  If you have the means to match a certain percentage of their savings, go for it!  If you can teach them to ‘pay themselves first,’ awesome!   Always look for opportunities to encourage the principles of savings and your children’s lives will be impacted greatly because of it!

Have you opened a savings account for your child?  How do you encourage them to save?

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Tim is a personal finance writer at Faith and Finance a Christian financial help blog that provides financial insights for individuals, businesses, and churches. Outside of finance, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, playing the saxophone, reading economics books, and a good game of RISK or Catan. Find him on Twitter and Facebook.

You want what’s best for your children. If they have to spend more than 40 hours every week working they might as well do what they like, right? All of the life coaches of the world say that you have to find your passion and that makes sense. Few would argue that working at a job that you don’t enjoy is good for your health but the world has taken a turn in recent years.

The turn is that a college degree far from guarantees you or your child a job. Because a bachelor’s degree has become somewhat of a cultural norm, the degree increases your chances of finding work but doesn’t assure it.

If the Occupy Wall Street movement is any indication, there is a generation of college graduates that were rewarded with a degree and college loans and no way to pay them back. Today, taking a career path that you enjoy is important but making sure the path will lead to high-paying jobs is more important than ever.

The drummers of the world are the stereotypical whipping boys for not finding a job but they’re not at the top of the list compiled by the Wall Street Journal as the careers with the highest unemployment.

1. Linguistics and Literature

There is certainly a need for those who study language and literature but not right now. With a 10.2% unemployment rate, this liberal arts career path has seen a sharp decline.

2. Architecture

10.6% of architects are currently out of work and with a real estate market that shows little sign of recovery, avoiding this degree program may be the best idea until the market recovers, the unemployed architects with experience go back to work, and demand picks up. That could be a long time.

3. Military Technology

With the United States engaged in wars and other police actions all over the world, it may seem like those who design, build, or work with new military equipment would be in demand. The reason that 10.9% of military technologists are out of work is because Washington has drastically cut its defense budget and will continue to slash funding as the country deals with overwhelming debt.

4. Library Science

15% of librarians are out of work. If you no longer see a need to head to the library because of the Internet and your phone–you understand why. Libraries still serve a valuable purpose but as technology improves, this career may transition to a technology job.

5. Drummer

The “Fine Arts” doesn’t only include music but if you were wondering where those with fine arts degrees fell on the list, they were #2 with an unemployment rate of 16.2%.

6. Psychology

Of the top 10 worst career paths, Psychology careers held 4 of the 10 spots with clinical psychology coming in at #1 with a 19.5% unemployment rate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for psychologists will grow at an average pace but the amount of people graduating with psychology degrees has oversaturated the market. Those with doctorate degrees in psychology have the best chance of finding a job.

Bottom Line

If you want your child to marry somebody with the hottest career of 2011, be on the lookout for a petroleum engineer. These high demand jobs start at $127,000 per year.

Related: Check out some high-paying jobs without a college degree to fight off unemployment!

What jobs do you know of that are doing well in today’s economic climate? Leave a comment below!

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• Is a college degree still worth it?

This article was written by a Guest Author. If you would like to write a guest post for our personal finance blog, you can find out how here.

To many in America, personal finance from a Christian perspective begins and ends with Dave Ramsey. If you listen to Ramsey long enough, though, you will hear him give a tip of the cap to another man, Larry Burkett. Burkett died in 2003, but his legacy as a leader in the world of Christian personal finance was secure well before his passing.

Who Was Larry Burkett?

Burkett taught many of the same principles that today are heard over the airwaves from Ramsey such as getting out of debt, having an emergency fund, and giving generously. His message was quite simple, but it resonated with millions who read his books and heard his three different radio programs (“Money Matters,” “How to Manage Your Money,” and “MoneyWatch.”). In addition, many others remember his short radio blasts called “A Money Minute,” which focused on personal finance, but covered many related topics as well.

Burkett is probably best remembered for his books, and he was a prolific author. Many do not realize (in fact, I didn’t know this until I researched for this article) that Burkett wrote novels in addition to his financial and leadership writing. All told, Larry Burkett authored or co-authored some 70 volumes, which, according to different sources, have sold around 11-12 million copies worldwide.

To house all of this work, Burkett founded a ministry called Christian Financial Concepts (CFC) in 1976. In 2000, that ministry merged with the well-known Crown Minstries, and the joint work became known as Crown Financial Ministries. Burkett was the CEO until his passing, and the work that Crown does continues to this day, following the same basic concepts Burkett used throughout his life.

Larry Burkett’s Works

While several of Burkett’s works are noteworthy, two books stand out to this author. The first was his 1991 work, The Coming Economic Earthquake. In that volume, Burkett looked at the national debt problem, and the overall economic picture of America. At its most basic level, he was arguing against a nation piling up debt without any real plan to pay it back. He believed that, if the tide was not turned soon, the “earthquake” would occur very early in the 2000s. Burkett, never one to shy away from questioning the government, asked whether or not those in elected positions of power would do anything to stem the tide, and then gave his opinion that they would not.

The other book that stands out to me is one that is along the same line of thinking: Whatever Happened to the American Dream, published in 1993. In this volume, Burkett turned most of the attention away from Washington and toward Main Street. The book was a clear call against laziness and the pursuit of easy money, and a reminder to many Americans that “the good life” does not come without some level of hard work and sacrifice. A firm believer in education (he was a campus minister before founding CFC), Burkett also used this volume to call to Americans to remember the importance of both an education and the ethics that must accompany an honest days’ work.

But Burkett did not just write about “macro-problems,” he dealt often in his works with each individual family and what they needed to do to live by God’s principles for handling money. Books such as Debt-Free Living, Your Finances in Changing Times, and the children’s book What if I Owned Everything continue to be bought and read. They continue to help families gain the proper perspective–the Biblical perspective–for handling money.

Larry Burkett’s Legacy

Burkett’s legacy is seen in sites like the one you are reading. For many years, Christians only talked about money when it came to the subject of giving. Rarely were topics such as investing, spending, or leaving a financial legacy ever discussed in Christian circles. However, the Bible speaks to each of these issues and many other money-related issues, as well. Leaders like Burkett opened many eyes to see that God cares about how we deal with our money in every way, from earning it honestly, to handling it wisely. His work lives on, both in the foundation that is named for him, and in other writers, speakers, bloggers, and personalities who have taken that same message to a vast audience.

If you wish to read more about Larry Burkett, here are some additional resources. Each of these was used in preparation for this short article.

• Larry Burkett: 1939-2003 (Crown Ministries biography)
• Larry Burkett (Wikipedia)
• Amazon.com Larry Burkett home page
• Meet Larry Burkett (ChristianBooks.com bio page)

What do you think about Larry Burkett? Leave a note in the comments section below!

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Adam Faughn is a minister in Nashville, Tennessee. He is married to Leah and they have 2 children. You can check out his personal blog or follow him on Twitter.

This is a debate that’s been going on for as long as people have owned cars, do you buy a brand new car—with a brand new car loan—or pay cash for a used car? In the best of both worlds we can buy a new car, pay cash and not have a loan with its annoying monthly payments. But most of us either don’t have that kind of cash, or don’t feel comfortable tying up $20-40,000 in a car.

For many it may boil down to the basic question, do I want a car payment(?), but I think there’s more to it than that.

There are a series of questions that need to be asked and settled before going one way or the other, and not all of them have to do with money. Here are just a few.

How much do you drive your car?

This may be the most underrated part of the new-car-vs-used-car debate. If you do a lot of driving you’ll lean in favor of a new car; if you tend to stay close to home a used car is typically a better option.

A long daily commute, especially if it involves heavy stop-and-go traffic, cries out for a brand new car. So does a sales job that has you driving 30-40,000 miles per year. Not only will a new car stand up better to the daily grind, but that amount of driving requires a vehicle that won’t be spending too much time in a repair shop.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re a retiree or a homemaker mostly driving local errands, a used car will get you where you’re going without a big monthly payment. Another group of people who can easily get by with an inexpensive used car are the work-at-home set. This is a rapidly growing group, and they have no commute and usually little business related travel. An inexpensive, loan-free car is one of the perks of working from home!

How mechanically inclined are you?

There’s no getting around the fact that used cars require more repairs than new ones, and that should have an impact on your decision.

If you can do most of the routine maintenance for your car and handle many of the repairs, a used car is a good fit. If you know nothing about cars and have to rely on paying mechanics to do the work then a used car can be a money pit, and a new car will be the better fit.

Repair Costs Versus Monthly Payments

OK, so a used car will cost more for repairs than a new car—simple enough. But what about those car payments on the new car? That’s an annual expense just like repair costs are, even if it is broken down into neat, predictable payments.

Let’s say you buy a new car for $25,000 and, after a $5,000 trade-in for your old car, you have a $20,000 loan at 5%, payable over five years—that’s about $377 per month for the payment. Now multiply that by 12 months, and you get an annual loan service cost of $4,524. Plus, even though the car is new, you’ll still have maintenance costs—oil changes, tune-ups, tires, etc—that will add at least $500 per year. With payments and routine maintenance, the new car is costing you over $5,000 per year.

As a veteran used car owner I can say with some confidence that it costs, on average, about $1,500 to $2,000 for repairs and maintenance each year. In a bad year it can go over $3,000, but some years it’s below $1,000 so it averages out.

Now it can be argued that new cars tend to be more fuel efficient than used cars, saving money on gasoline, but it’s equally true that new ones also cost more to insure. We probably have a wash on this part.

Comparing $5,000 in annual expenses for payments and maintenance for a new car to roughly $2,000 in repairs for a used car, we see that not only does a new car have a higher price, but it also costs more to keep each year.

How much cash do you have for a car?

At least some of the choice to buy new versus used is determined by the amount of cash you have to buy a car with. The lack of cash is the reason people take loans to buy a car. It’s also the reason people often buy new cars—dealers offer sweetheart deals that can include cash rebates and very low interest financing. This is all the more attractive if you have little cash and not much trade-in value on your old car.

If you do have cash sufficient to buy a good used car, you won’t need (or even want) to take a loan.

How good are your personal money management skills?

Some people are better at paying bills than they are at saving money—loans work for them! Large, unpredictable repair bills can be very disturbing when you aren’t a saver. New cars with loans are better if this is you. The loan is a forced savings plan because you’re building equity in the car over a period of years.

Savers are actually better suited for used cars. You have to have more cash to purchase the vehicle (loans can be harder to come by on used cars) and you need to be able to budget for repairs before they happen.

As you can see, new car/new loan or used car/no loan isn’t just a debate over the monthly payment. How often you use your car, how much you know about repairs and even how good you are with saving money are all factors that need to be considered.

Are you facing this decision on buying a car? What factors are you considering in that decision? Leave a comment below!

Related Articles:

• How do you pay off a car?
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• How Do You Save Money for a Replacement Car?
• Should You Sell Your Car or Repair It?

With backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry, Kevin Mercadante is professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of OutOfYourRut.com, a website about careers, business ideas, money and more. A committed Christian, he lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage kids.

Generation Y is known for a multitude of things, the biggest being their aptitude for technology and software.  With the Apple and Microsoft’s of the world, it’s not surprising that Generation Y has excelled at using the latest and greatest gadgets.  However, one of the skills that most Generation Y individuals struggle with the most is personal finance and money management, more specifically: banking.

Give a young person an iPod or a tablet PC and he or she is off and running.  However, ask the person about why they chose their bank and many times you will get a clueless face.

Whether you are a part of Generation Y or know someone who is, I’ve compiled some banking tips you should be aware of.  I don’t care if you’re just getting started with your money or you’ve been with Bank of America for years . . . it’s always good to have a refresher course on banking and what to avoid and how to properly bank.  There are many exciting banks out there to be aware of!

1. Don’t let your cash sit idle.

Why let your cash just sit there?  There are many ways you can be earning interest on your stash of cash.  Think about opening a high interest bank account with likes of Ally Bank or Discover bank.  Although the interest may seem small, earning something is better than nothing.  Remember to keep your checking account fully funded for miscellaneous bills and spending.  Any other money should be stored in a high interest savings account.  It’s common sense, but some times it’s easy to forget about the small stuff.

2. Automate your bills.

This is my biggest tip for Generation Y.  Manually writing payments on a daily basis is just a waste of time when there is online bill pay.  Long gone are the days where you need to write a rent check or mail your payment for the utility bill.  All of these things can now be automated so you don’t have to worry about payments being late!  It also decreases the chance that you will receive a late fee.  Nothing is worse that realizing you owe money for something you could have prevented in the first place!

3. Keep bank or credit union locations mapped out.

Whether you’re on a trip or simply going out for a night on the town, you should always be aware of the nearest locations for a quick cash withdrawal.  If you map out your ATM locations, you will never has to resort to high fee transactions like cash advances from a credit card or a short term loan from a bank.  It’s better to always know where the nearest bank or credit union is so you can avoid hairy situations.

4. Be on the look-out for easier ways to bank.

This is one that you need to be aware of though the media and doing reading on your own.  Oftentimes, banks will comes out with a new technology that makes your life easier.  A good example of this is electronic check deposits.  Instead of going in to a bank and depositing a check, you can simply take a picture of your check and submit it electronically.  How cool is that!  Next, of course, you have mobile banking.  Now you can have your accounts at your finger-tips through a smartphone!

There you have it Generation Y!  A couple tips about banking that will lead you on the path to success.  While each of these tips may seem small, they add up to make big differences in one’s personal financial life.  Use these tips and take your banking to another level!

Related Articles:

• Banking
• How Online Banking Works
• Where To Open An Account on Bank Transfer Day
• What is bill pay?

Jon is a Christian personal finance writer at Free Money Wisdom. His mission is to help you succeed in your personal finance life with the Bible as your compass. When Jon is not writing on personal finance, he spends time with his girlfriend, lifts iron at the gym, and plays Scrabble. You can subscribe to his site through EMAIL/RSS or you can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.