Your Money Made Simple: The Key to Financial Freedom

by Russ Crosson

Financial Advice for Every Season of Life

Does successfully making the most of your money feel like a mystery? Are you wondering where it goes or how to get a grip on your spending?

Author and Christian financial advisor Russ Crosson has spent more than 40 years guiding individuals and couples in everyday financial situations. In Your Money Made Simple, he offers the key to mastering your finances biblically—and it’s not about how much money you make.

Customized to meet your needs, this resource teaches you how to manage your income wisely by....

offering proven formulas that work for any income level, age, or vocation setting you on a path to freedom from financial worries including easy-to-use financial planning tools and graphic charts

Packed with wisdom and practical applications, this book will help you make the most of your money and how you spend it.

Genres: Money, Christian, Marriage, Christian Non Fiction

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Samm Ellingson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know a few people who would order things a little different than this book in terms of building wealth and living financially “free” but the most significant thing I learned was how to approach/deal with the non-monthly/unexpected expenses that occur every year and it was really helpful! I’m excited to adjust my budget to account for those things :)

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good content. Definitely needs and update for the numbers. The financial world has changed a LOT since before Covid. Particularly regarding housing savings and mortgage rates. Most of the concepts however are timeless. Good book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward, and really practical advice for how to determine if you’re genuinely making more money than you’re spending.

The formulas he provides to make the calculations are straightforward, so while the results could be discouraging depending on your financial situation, it’s still easy to get the big picture.

In particular, I like that he encourages you to approach your finances from an annual perspective, and to look at the gross number and all the factors into it, rather than your net income on a month-to-month basis. This allows you to have a better overall picture of your financial situation, and to also plan well for those non-monthly expenses.

My only major issue is when it comes to recommending how much one should potentially be saving for things like an emergency fund, down payment, etc. The amounts he recommends are clearly based on a much lower cost of living than where I live, so they're not exactly realistic. As such, it would've been more helpful if he'd given a range, or at least a bigger caveat that these numbers might not be realistic depending on where you live.

The child of two financial advisors, I’ve been on the personal finance/budget train for a long time, but I’ll definitely be running our finances through these formulas so we can truly have the big picture of where our money is going. Overall highly recommend.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you tried living on a budget only to have unexpected expenses arise that knocked you off track, and you just didn't know how to get back on? Do you wonder how much you should have in savings, and how you can ever accumulate that much money? Do you want to give more to your church and other charitable organizations, but your paycheck just won't stretch any further? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you.

The best feature of Your Money Made Simple is that Russell Crosson doesn't just tell you what you need to do, he also gives you clear steps to take to achieve financial freedom. He backs up the principles of money management outlined in the book with Scripture, and provides real life examples. This book would be wonderful for individual reading, for a couple to study together, or for a small group or Sunday School class. I give it my highest recommendation.

I am grateful to have received a copy of Your Money Made Simple from Harvest House Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

[Kenny Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of good, simple, powerful principles, biblical wisdom and practical advice. Be content with what you have, spend less than you earn, etc. "Most of our living expenses are driven by our home purchase decision...but also where you vacation, what kind of cars you drive, and so on." He also did a good job of explaining the importance of prioritizing your savings goals (i.e., don't over-focus on retirement): 1) pay off personal debt, 2) save 3-12 months living expenses in an emergency fund, 3) save for major purchases such as a car or down payment on a home, 4) fund retirement and other long-term goals.

[Parker Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really practical and lots of good wisdom from the authors years of working in the financial industry. Helpful for people trying to be intentional with their spending, getting out of debt, saving, investing, etc. The book lays out things to think about such as putting off retirement saving until certain things are saved for with more cash on hand which are also really helpful. I would recommend to anyone but really younger folks starting out their careers or newly weds starting to plan together.

[Andrew Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly quick read that I found super helpful as I move towards having a budget and learning how to manage money with a full time job. Russ did a good job of framing financial matters within Biblical and common sense principles. Easy recommendation to anyone looking to better understand how to manage their finances in a God-honoring and practical way.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy Read, Difficult to execute

These recommendations are excellent and easy to understand. Executing them consistently is a whole other story! I particularly agreed with his steps to complete before you begin investing and saving for retirement.

[Jack Heimbigner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple is the name of the game

So often we make money, finance, and budgeting so complicated. This approach reduces the stress to figuring out how to handle your God given finances. This book will easily become the reference material you need to help you get things in order.

[Ricky Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Jacob gave me this book and I think it was very helpful to simply lay out what finances should look like and sort of redefine for myself what I think financial freedom really is - contentment and trusting in God to provide

[Eli Homan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a newlywed, I really appreciated the financial advice that’s not hard to understand and doesn’t feel insurmountable. Biggest takeaways for me was how to get started with giving and some tips for our budget setup. Would recommend!

[Chad Crosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great content and easy read about a usually challenging topic. Everyone should read this as it has the potential to provide tools and wisdom that result in financial freedom and peace of mind.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal finance

A personal finance management book. Its like others, but there is why factors and the explanation on why questions was based on biblical view.

[Nathanael S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a practical and thorough walkthrough of the tools and ideas needed to master the basics of personal finances. I will be using many of his budgeting techniques.

[Jacob Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

A “how to” book for financial well being. Straight forward and wise!

[Cassi Furr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A view easy to understand, practical book.

[Jake Childers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for work but it was actually good. Re reading in a year when I actually have money to spend and budget from a Biblical perspective

[Luke Lackey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most practical finance reads I've read to date. Simple & easy to understand ways to budget, giving step by step ways to calculate where you stand financially and what to do next!

[Michael]

no options

[Deborah Chaffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing principles and perspective!

[Joshua Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read to balance out some family finances! This was a great resource!