Customer Reviews

7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free: A Catholic Guide to Managing Your Money

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While there are a lot of personal finance books, only a few really deal with the reasons why a person/family get into a debt situation. Well this book starts with the reason why and goes from there. The book is divided into two parts: "the reasons why" and "what to do about it".

Personally, I didn't know what I'd get out of the book (I've read a number of finance books by secular authors). To my surprise, I actually started to understand where I was making my mistakes and where my place and my money's place are in God's plan. If you want to finally fix your money problems, this is the book for you.

I must admit that the second part of the book is much more helpful with the workbook, so plan on buying both.

I have been looking for sound Catholic advice on manoey managing and am happy this was shown to me. It is a great investment. But you must get the text that goes with it. At the time I ordered it, I was only able to find the text (sorry Amazon) on the Barnes and Noble websight. I got mine used and in great condition. It is a treasure I will share and give as gifts to newly married couples whenever possible. I wish I learned all this years ago!!

This workbook is a great way to work with your spouse when talking about finances and it helps you make godly decisions about your purchases.

This book does a great job of showing you how to put your faith first and money second. Phil makes money simple to understand and gives you basic goals to shoot for in order to get financially secure.

While showing you how to take the basic steps of getting to financial security, Phil includes short stories to emphasize key points and wraps everything up with biblical principles.

There is no promise that it will be easy to get financially stable, but the peace of doing so is well worth it.

This book is easy to read and relate to, and even if you are a financially minded person, the "why" behind your saving and spending gets clarified.

Read it, get the basics down, and you will get to financial security and peace.

This book was great in giving step by step instructions that dont eat up too much time at one sitting. Better for people starting out so they do not get in over their head.

Protestants have long dominated the field of practical advice on money rooted in a faith tradition. I was glad to see this series enter the field to represent the Catholic tradition. I think it does a fair job.

Note: this is a review of the workbook. You should also buy the regular book in order to fully understand the lessons. This workbook has lots of forms and fill-in-the-blank pages, and some spiritual homework exercises, but not much on the theory of each chapter. So buy both.

Their competition is with Crown Financial Ministries, which adapted a protestant presentation to the Catholic community. I'm not sure how well that works as I've only read a bit of their material. It was good, but so is this series by Lenahan.

"ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phil Lenahan, president of Veritas Financial Ninistries, is a Catholic who has counseled many families on financial issues.

His extensive background in accounting included overseeing the finances of a $250 million division of a Fortune 300 company.

Mr. Lenahan and his wife have seven children."

"The 7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free Workbook offers all the nuts and bolts to MAKE THE MOST OF GOD'S GENEROUS GIFTS.

In this perfect complement to the book 7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free, you'll find all the necessary tools to implement sound principles of financial management, budgeting, and investing in your life...."

[from the book of the back cover]

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book. It is a must have for newlyweds or teenagers. But it is not for someone who already is in serious financial trouble. Yes, it does give some advice for those folks, but the book is mostly preventative. I know a family of 12 who live in Alaska where so many things are much more expensive than in the midwest (where the author lives) and though I see that they practice much of the advice in the book, it is impossible to practice all of it. (They do their own haircuts, get food in bulk from a co-op, make their own bread, do not eat out, dress in used clothes....) I really do not see anywhere they could cut - they could move but their extended family is here, and so are their connections and the Dad's job). They do not even have family vacations! And though the family of 12, and we, are not in serious debt, the book does not help us much to be able to make dramatic changes so that we could be more comfortable. Also, music lessons and such, that are a priority for some families, are not even discussed. And if we are truly going to bring about a cultural renewal, some of our children need to be trained in, and enter into, the arts!