Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times: Ditch the Debt, Get Past the Crisis, Find Some Breathing Space, Position Yourself for Lasting Success

Matt’s new book is a breath of fresh air in a world cluttered with financial self-help books. He brings an air of authenticity and gracefulness that provides common-sense solutions for every person who needs some financial help. And that would be most of us!

The strength of the book is the foundation on which Matt provides his practical advice. And that is the fact WE DON’T OWN anything we have. We’re all managers of stuff and unless we approach money management from that premise, stuff will always manage us.

If you’re in trouble financially, or just want to improve your money management skills then don’t delay – get this book! It will help you take control of your money, rather than the other way around.
Rating: 5 / 5

Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times is an excellent resource for all of us. Both personally and professionally, many of us find ourselves having to buckle down as jobs are lost and bills are due. With an excellent combination of biblical reflection, market insight and practical helps such as charts and assignments, Bell provides the reader a framework by which to think Christianly and then to act diligently with the money God provides.

Throughout the book, Bell asks simple, but piercing, questions. “Are you in a financial crisis or a financial crunch?” (p. 30). “How did you get here?” (p. 33). These questions set the stage for the reader to honestly reflect on his/her own financial situation and then to heed Bell’s clear plans for getting out of debt and for saving. If your wallet is being crunched, read Bell’s book. If you feel inadequate to talk about money, you will find Bell’s consistent habit of defining his terms helpful (“secured” vs. “unsecured” debt, etc). Additionally, the book contains several sidebars where he lays looks at some specific issues, offering warnings on payday loans, 0% percent loans and other potential pitfalls that offer more hope than they are likely to deliver.

If you are looking to cut back some bills, turn off your lights. If you are looking to get radical with your finances to get out of debt and to give generously, read Matt Bell’s Money Strategies for Tough Times
Rating: 4 / 5

This is a great book for tough times. Matt has extensive research and links to support the reader. His sharing of personal financial experiences and struggle and those of other’s identify opportunities and provide hope that anyone can live financially free. I appreciated Matt getting real and answering difficult questions in dealing with tough times. The book is an easy read. It took just a few hours to read.

Way to go Matt!
Rating: 4 / 5

I’ve read enough financial help books to know what I was in for, but having one written so recently, I knew it’s relevance to current economic conditions would be valuable. What made this one different was the way Matt Bell truly encouraged the reader that it is possible to be successful and to think big. What will life look like when you are free from the current troubles? What will you be able to do for God? It really set the stage to dig in and do the work. The chart referenced throughout the book is daunting at first, but Bell applies it’s uses in stages. He also doesn’t load the book up with easily referenced resources, choosing to direct the reader to internet sites of reputable organizations and ministries. He wraps up all the practical advice with a healthy dose of matters of the heart and that the way out of your troubles must be intentional. As you reach your goals, Bell has you be conscious of community. 2 Tim 2:2 tells us as we are entrusted with these truths so we can “teach others also.” I truly enjoyed this book and will read other titles by Matt Bell.
Rating: 5 / 5

Money Strategies for Tough Times is an easy-to-understand but challenging read for anyone wanting a Biblical perspective on money.

Not considering myself to be in a financial “tough time” right now, I didn’t think I would get much out of this book. But, even for me, it contained helpful reminders of not only how to handle money practically, but how the handling of money reflects our values, not just our behaviors. While using a combination of scripture and scripture-inspired principals, Bell sets up not a recipe for financial success, but a recipe for God-honoring financial stewardship. He steers away from the twistedness of the Prosperity Gospel for the truth of realizing only the Kingdom of God is what will last.

Bell gives age-old financial advice about budgeting and saving, but with the redeemed perspective of Kingdom values. From simple tips (which websites to go to calculate your social security benefits) to totally retooling the way we think about money, I found Bell casual, but alert to the seriousness of the matter. I loved his simple approach to re-prioritize our handling of money from most people’s default of spend, save, and then give to a God-honoring discipline of give, save, and then spend. Simple changes in thinking like this can make all the difference in the lives of families struggling to make ends meet.

My only major critique of the book was Bell not mentioning the importance of understanding interest when deciding when to save and when to pay down debt. He advocated saving, yes, but when he gave instructions on which debt to pay down first, he recommended simply paying off the lowest-balance accounts first. But it seems to me that this might not be the best approach if the interest rates on your higher-balance accounts are higher than the lower-balance accounts. I understand that this system might help to boost people’s morale as they pay off their debt, but that doesn’t seem enough of a reason to recommend it if it simply costs more money.

That silly critique aside, I sped through Money Strategies for Tough Times in a day (although I skipped all of the homework) and would recommend it to others.
Rating: 5 / 5