Wealth of Joy Blog

Raising kids with a heart to serve is a goal for many parents.  I find that my kids likely would not show concern for the needs of others without making a concerted effort in facilitating opportunities to connect with and serve those in need.  I find that we do better with serving if the ideas are easy to apply, and safe for the kids.  Here are 10 easy ways for kids to serve others.  https://www.wealthofjoy.com/10-easy-ways-children-serve-others/

Recently I had been noticing that I was feeling down, insecure and was worrying about things I have no control over.  This was compounded by feeling guilty for having these feelings that a person of faith should not have.  I prayed and prayed and prayed.  Prayer is good because it is a way to submit to God and express needs, but what I needed to be doing was reading Scripture.  This is where God's answers are always found. Read more at  https://www.wealthofjoy.com/finding-strength-scripture-weak/

There are habitual differences between people who find financial success and those who don’t.  Of course there are always exceptions and people don’t have the same starting points or advantages.  However, by following the good habits listed below, and changing any of the bad, you are helping situate yourself for financial success. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/financial-habits-success-vs-financial-habits-failure/ #Succeed #financialhealth #personalfinance

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells us that what we do unto the least of these we do unto Him.  This is great news because this means we have the opportunity to bless our Lord and Savior.  By caring for others, we are caring for Jesus!  However this should make us pay very close attention to our treatment of others.  This could have opposite implications if we choose to ignore, disregard, fail to meet the needs of, and/or cause harm to the least of these. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/caring-for-the-least-of-these/

https://www.wealthofjoy.com/thoughts-and-prayers/ Are thoughts and prayers worthless? People who have the capacity to help through money, time or action should absolutely do so.  Sometimes money, time, and action can’t help.  Sometimes the only hope people have is in thoughts and prayers because everything else has been exhausted. #thoughtsandprayers

https://www.wealthofjoy.com/is-your-job-killing-you/ Studies have shown that people are more productive when they work less.  Recently there was a story in the news about a Japanese woman who died of overwork.  Below are some questions that you should consider when determining if your job is hurting your health. #worklifebalance #overwork 

CONSUMERISM = HAPPINESS? Christmas spending has been in the rise for several years now.  This is good for retailers,  manufacturers,  and the economy.  However,  the purpose of this post is to help individuals and families find ways to reduce spending. I personally do not like to be lumped in as a “consumer”, and I don’t buy into the competitive nature of the season that I believe is intentionally imposed on people and families who are only valued as consumers by retailers. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/spend-less-monday-happiest-christmas-ever-10-tips/ #frugalchristmas #minimalism #debtfree #lovechristmas

Most of us work hard for our money.  In most cases, money is an exchange for our time, which we also don’t want to waste.  There are a lot of expenses that we have, which make our lives easier or more convenient.  Paying for convenience can sometimes be thought of as buying some of our time back, and it is justifiable for sure.  The below list contains 10 things that could be wasting our money, with little or nothing back in return. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/10-things-waste-money/ #savemoney #personalfinance #debtfree #frugalliving

This post is just to share my experience for those who find themselves in a similar situation as me.  You want to invest, you have a little bit of money, but you don’t know where to start.  My process for choosing investments involves deciding on which industries I think will be growing, and then researching companies within those industries.  Below you will see a snippet from my current performance graph on my capital one account.  With a 45% annualized return, I am pretty darn happy with it and am sharing which stocks I invested in, why I chose them, and how each on performed to get this return. Read entire post here:  https://www.wealthofjoy.com/stock-picks-45-annualized-return/ #investinginstocks #stockpicks #stockmarketinvesting #2017stocks

Being a millennial is expensive.  I’m not a millennial, but am at the bottom of the Gen X.  I see many of my slightly-younger millennial friends struggling to buy homes, get insurance, and start their retirement savings.   It used to be typical for families to live on one income, while building retirement savings and paying off a home.  Now it is much more common to have two working adults, and even so, still struggling to get by.  It is much more expensive to live now than when their parents or grandparents were in their 20′ and 30’s. Continue Reading at https://www.wealthofjoy.com/why-its-expensive-to-be-a-millennial/ #millennialfinance #debtfree

If you are trying to choose a blog or business niche, this list provides 25 blog ideas to help get you started.   If you have been through my instructions on how to choose your blog niche, you know that I suggest that you choose your niche by determining a challenge that you can help solve through your blog.  Then you need to determine who your audience is.  Below is a list of 25 good niches, and the problem or challenge that each one addresses.  I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was pursuing some of these myself, as separate sites because I truly do believe these are good. Continue Reading @ https://www.wealthofjoy.com/25-growing-blog-niche-ideas/ #blogging #makemoneyfromhome #workfromhome #blogniche

Time might be our most valuable commodity.  We can use it to make money, spend time with our loved ones, or self-development.  There are many things that people do without even thinking about it that are a waste of time.  Getting into the habit of valuing our time more, just by paying attention to what we are spending our time on, is a good start in the process of optimizing our time.  The list below contains ten time wasters.  Even if you don’t agree with all of the items on this list, just ask yourself as you are doing things if it is worth giving up the amount of time it takes. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/10-things-waste-time/

With many experts predicting the next housing crash, the next stock market crash, or the next recession, it would be smart for us to be watchful and prepared.   The following suggestions are what we might want to consider when we see signs of a crash: Read about this here: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/how-to-prepare-for-a-recession/

Before working towards paying off your mortgage faster, make sure it makes sense for you.  For me, it is something I desire to do.   Even knowing that I can get a better return on my money if I invest it, rather than use it to pay more against my mortgage. I have a very low mortgage rate of 4.25.  I know that many others do too.  We must consider that we can get a much better return on our money by investing it, than the interest savings gained by paying down a mortgage with a rate like this. Still, it’s the way I am wired to not want to be obligated for long periods of time or to be in debt.  I like investing, but I also want to pay off my mortgage at an accelerated rate.  Putting more money than necessary into the pockets of lenders just doesn’t make me happy.  Below are some ways to get your mortgage paid faster. Read more at: https://www.wealthofjoy.com/pay-mortgage-off-years-faster-tips/ #financetips #mortgagelife #savemoney #debtfree

Last year my family took our dream vacation to Tahiti!  This is one that we had literally been discussing and trying to find a way to afford for over five years.  We weren’t sure that we would ever get to go, but I am going to explain how we came up with the money and how we booked our trip to make it as affordable as possible. First off, did you know that on Air Tahiti Nui, kids under 11 fly free with a paying parent?  Yep!  This is why it was important for us to go last year.  My oldest son was one month away from turning 11 years old when we took our trip. Read more here:  https://www.wealthofjoy.com/took-family-tahiti/

https://www.wealthofjoy.com/five-reasons-need-start-blog-today/ Have you been considering starting your own blog for a while, but haven’t found the courage to start yet?  After looking back to when I was in that position, I can tell you that you should stop hesitating. The below list gives 5 reasons to start your blog today.

https://www.wealthofjoy.com/why-its-expensive-to-be-a-millennial/ Being a millennial is expensive.  It used to be typical for families to live on one income, while building retirement savings and paying off a home.  Now it is much more common to have two working adults, and even so, still struggling to get by.  It is much more expensive to live now than when our parents or grandparents were in their 20′ and 30’s.