The faith-finance connection has a long history. A verse in the New Testament’s Gospel of Matthew, for example, speaks to the relationship between money matters and happiness: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
Paul Otto, assistant business librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library Business and Career Library (N.Y.), says that patrons looking for financial advice often seek inspirational, faith-based books to help them solve money problems. “There is a strong demand,” he says. “We don’t have enough to meet the need.”
Happily for Otto, several forthcoming titles share how the authors’ spiritual beliefs helped them conquer debt, live frugally, or even start a business. B&H is bringing out a 10th-anniversary edition of 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal, by Dan Miller (Jan. 2015), with more than 60% new content. Coming in April 2015 is Evangelpreneur: How Biblical Free Enterprise Can Empower Your Faith, Family, and Freedom, by Josh Tolley (BenBella), who hosts a national radio show on the Genesis Communication Network.
Debt, a perennial personal finance topic, can also be a spiritual issue, says Sarah Atkinson, Tyndale associate acquisitions director. In Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After (Tyndale, Jan. 2015), author Cherie Lowe describes how her family dug its way out of more than $127,000 in debt in four years. The book discusses valuing relationships and faith over material goods, as well as offering other wisdom. “When debt comes about from purchasing things you don’t really need,” Atkinson says, “it may signal a desire to fill some void in your heart—one that ultimately can’t be satisfied by more stuff.”
In Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets to the Good Life (Zondervan, Dec.), Ruth Soukup describes life as a former shopaholic and shares her tips for frugal living. Soukup, who refers to herself as “a money-savin’, sneaker-wearin’, Jesus-lovin’ mama of two,” credits God with saving her from a clinical depression.
From Revell comes an update of The Financially Confident Woman: What You Need to Know to Take Charge of Your Money, by Mary Hunt (Jan. 2015). Vicki Crumpton, executive editor at Revell, explains that Hunt is among those who have turned to God for help emerging from debt. Hunt also runs the website Everyday Cheapskate, which began as the Cheapskate Monthly newsletter.
The United Methodist publisher Abingdon Press is releasing You Can Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption, by Julie Gumm, in January 2015. “Our adoption story is very much rooted in our faith,” Gumm says. “The book talks about how God helped provide for our adoption.” You Can Adopt Without Debt, a revision of the 2011 self-published edition, offers advice on saving, budgeting, and earning extra income.
And while not overtly religious, The Resilient Investor: A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money, by Hal Brill, Michael Kramer, and Christopher Peck, with Jim Cummings (Berrett-Koehler, Feb. 2015), advocates social responsibility, offering alternative investment options that the authors say are better for people and the planet.
