Abrahams Wallet

Could there be a lurking trap in the oft-glamorized world of debt freedom? This week I sat down with Scott Dotson and heard something I’ve never heard before in the personal finance media – that there was a hidden, dangerous side to the path he and his wife walked as they aggressively eliminated almost $200k in debt over 3 years. Tune in for some wise words to anyone thinking about how to approach tackling their debt (and don’t worry, we’ll still be rooting for you as you pay that stuff down).

Sukkot is one of the big Jewish holidays that we at Abraham’s Wallet have come to love and value for its impact on our families. It tosses us fathers a veritable softball to smash out of the park: the teaching opportunities are easy, highly physical (easy for little brains to grasp, since they’re so sensory)… and lots of fun. That makes Sukkot a great holiday for the budding family leader seeking to get his feet wet. (“I don’t know how to get into this crazy world of Jewish stuff! The bar for entry is too high!” “No, not really. Just try. Everybody will love you for it. The Wallet will show you how, monsieur.”)

In this episode Mark and Steven come at you live from St. Louis and discuss the importance of having a bias for action. A relevant follow up to last week’s talk about the need to move from ignorance to readiness, this week we talk about what it’s like to move forward in faith even when that requires a bit of risk. Have we been acclimatized to so much safety that we find it difficult to take a risky step forward into the sometimes unknown (even when all signs point to that being the right way)? Here’s our thoughts on moving through that hesitation.

Many of us are like the fool from the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 – we prefer to bury our financial problems and ignore them instead of confronting reality and creating a plan. In this episode, Mark and Steven got together to talk about what it looks like to move from ignorance, to order, to readiness – in your financial life and elsewhere.

In the final episode of our inheritance series, we bring you 25 actionable tips on how to make your family a place where inheritance can be a positive, and not destructive force.

This week is part 2 of 3 on the topic of inheritance. You’ll want to grab some snacks and settle in for scary stories of inheritance gone afoul. After we spin these tales, we’ll wrap everything up next week with 25 tips on how you can set up a household to produce healthy, Biblical inheritance, whether you end up with much or little in terms of material wealth to pass along.

The Bible says we are supposed to leave an inheritance… but does this mean what we think of when we say that word? (hint: no). In this episode, we explore what the Bible means when it says the word inheritance all over the old and new testament, and we think about the implications for a family builder in the various stages of life.

Whether or not you even had any kids, you should listen up as we discuss the benefits of the 529 savings plan as a vehicle for creating multigenerational inheritance – even for yet-to-be-born people! In this episode we give you a quick overview of why 529 plans are powerful and discuss how very few people use them to their fullest advantage.

A little change of pace this week – we bring you an episode that we actually published over a year ago on the blog when we were wondering if we could ever make podcasts. Well, now that you’re here at the OFFICIAL Abraham’s Wallet podcast, we thought you’d like to sit in on this chat between Mark Parrett and Steven Manuel, in whence they cover the following: Why you shouldn’t be a spiritual generalistHow to figure out what your speciality will beWhy small groups of men are important in this pursuitWhen (and when not) to imitate men who are ahead of you

Mastering the art and skill of budgeting will result in you ending up with more money than you need to run your household. Did you hear that son? Tis true my hombres – you don’t need a raise or a side hustle—necessarily (though we love them)—to end up with more than you need. You just need to get good at this one thing, and, barring irregular circumstances, you’ll have extra money at the end of the month (which we call slush). Amazingly simple. The converse is also true: if you don’t get good at budgeting, you’ll never end up with extra cash and you’ll usually fall short in some areas, no matter how much money you make. In this episode we explore some advanced tips on how to budget for the times when you end up with more income than you planned for. This episode’s sponsor: https://www.outpostadvisors.net