Gather Little by Little - Personal Finance with a Christian Perspective

3 notes about your IRS tax refund

Stew — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:19:10 +0000

Nearly 50 percent of US tax filers will be due a refund this tax season and that number continues to grow. It used to be that only a few low-income filers who did not claim enough on their W-4 forms during the year were issued refunds. These were people who had actually paid too much [...]

Tips for Excel spreadsheet budgets

Stew — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:00:23 +0000

The Microsoft Office suite of programs is nearly universal when it comes to personal computers. Nearly everyone has a working knowledge of Word and is familiar with PowerPoint. Outlook, Microsoft’s email software, also has wide use and acceptance. However, my favorite MS program is Excel. When I worked as a soccer coach, I used Excel [...]

4 Tidbits of Financial Wisdom Straight From the Bible

Guest Author — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:34:41 +0000

This is a guest post by Pastor Eric Johnston of the Christian Prayer Center, a site to post and receive prayer requests. At the Christian Prayer Center, we often get prayer requests asking for miracle financial blessings that include new homes, luxury automobiles, fancy motorcycles and the like. Instead of people praying for wisdom in [...]

Tax penalty scare

Stew — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:10:41 +0000

Our household taxes are always been fairly complicated. This is mostly due to the fact that Mrs. Stew and I have always had multiple streams of income. While God has blessed me with steady, full-time jobs over the course of our marriage, we have always had to supplement our income with part-time, self-employed and contract [...]

Footloose, Blue Light Specials and Layaway

Stew — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:26:25 +0000

KMart and Sears Layaway commercials are some of the most unintentionally hilarious advertisements on television right now. They are always met with smirks and sarcasm by Mrs. Stew and I. Layaway? Seriously? Sears and KMart are in the midst of conducting a full-court press on behalf of their layaway programs without seeming to realize that [...]

5 Reasons Why a 5 Year ARM Made Sense

Stew — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:37:22 +0000

Last spring, my family and I made the commitment to purchase a home. Our new mortgage is a Adjustable Rate Mortgage that is scheduled to adjust in about five years. In my first post about this topic, many readers questioned the wisdom of getting a 5/1 ARM. The point that the readers made was solid: [...]

Impulse buy or once in a lifetime opportunity?

Stew — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:55:29 +0000

Earlier this summer, Mrs. Stew and I went on an overnight trip in honor of our 10 year anniversary. We were able to stay at one of the nicest vacation venues that either of us had ever experienced due to an offer through a website called LivingSocial. We got a fantastic price because everything came [...]

April 25th Family Finance Carnival

Stew — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:56:15 +0000

Yes, I am aware that today is May fifth. It is Cinco de Mayo, why wouldn’t I know the date? It would be like not knowing the date of the Fourth of July. Of course, my Spanish is a bit rusty, so anything is possible . . . That said, due a number of factors, [...]

Auto loan refinance

Stew — Sun, 01 May 2011 23:25:03 +0000

Last week, I decided to refinance the loan on our van. Interest rates have dropped so low, that I cannot put it off any longer. Furthermore, our credit score has recovered so well from our 0% APR balance transfer days, that loan companies are offering really incredible rates to customers like me. I regularly check [...]

Why we decided to buy instead of rent

Stew — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:10:09 +0000

Three years ago, we moved across the country and almost went under financially when it took 16 months for our old house to sell. I immediately promised that I would never buy a house again. . . . Until last month when we signed on the dotted line for a home once again. Here is [...]