Financial Wellness and Stewardship Tools
Wartburg Theological Seminary forms valued leaders for God’s mission through a worship-centered community of critical theological reflection where learning leads to mission and mission informs learning. We believe that this formation happens in a whole variety of ways and providing tools and resources for financial wellness and stewardship formation is part of our mission.
We are dedicated to increasing personal financial wellness and stewardship formation awareness, tools, and resources. We encourage students, spouses/partners, and families to utilize these tools and resources throughout their seminary career and even after graduation.
Financial wellness is an intricate balance of the mental, spiritual, and physical aspects of money. This unique combination is an ideal to strive towards in our dealings with money. Financial wellness is having an understanding of your financial situation and taking care of it in such a way that you are prepared for financial changes.
Below you will find links, tools, and resources for your exploration.
Financial Wellness Tips:
- Limit debt. Understandably, you will not be able to pay cash for everything that you purchase, for example, homes, cars, or an education, but by limiting the debt that you take on and paying attention to the terms of that debt, you can save yourself an incredible amount of money down the road. Secondly, understand your level of debt. Know who you owe, how much, and when the payments are due.Information on your federal loans, including loan amount, lender, servicer, and contact information for your servicer can be found at https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/. Please keep in mind that any private student loans will not be listed on this site.Information on federal loan repayment plans can be found at https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/. You can apply for the various repayment plans through your federal loan servicer.
- Have a budget and stick to it! A well planned budget will provide you with the guidelines to live within your means and create awareness of where your money is spent each month. Review your progress regularly and reassess budget categories, increasing savings and lowering debt as the budget allows.
- Save. Even if it’s just a few dollars a week, a savings account can help lessen the blow of unanticipated expenses (and there will be unanticipated expenses each month!) Clearly define what expenses qualify for use of these dollars and replenish the fund when you use it.
- Pay off your most expensive debts first (generally credit cards). After paying one card off, use the extra funds to pay towards your next most expensive debt.
- Protect your assets. Consider, research, review, and purchase life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, home/renter’s coverage, and disability coverage (if not provided through your employer).
- Know your credit score. By establishing and maintaining a healthy credit score, you will qualify for lower interest rates on loans than other borrowers.
- Speak to an expert. As you are setting financial goals, establishing your budget, or considering taking on debt, speak to an expert that can provide you with an unbiased opinion on your progress or decisions.
Budget Worksheets and Affordability Calculators
The following tools are available for your use:
Tracking your expenses can be a real eye-opener and great first step when it comes to financial planning and healthy stewardship.
Tips from recent Wartburg Seminary graduates for financial success during your first call:
- Remember that self-employment tax must be paid quarterly. The first payment may be soon after you begin your new position.
- Realize the cost of moving and settling into a new area and home. It is said that it takes up to 6 months to recover financially from a move.
- Realize that Synod Salary Guidelines vary from synod to synod.
- Encourage household expenses to be limited to household income.
*Links have been reposted with permission from Auburn Seminary’s Resources for Theological Student Financial Planning *
Financial Wellness Resources:
Lutheran Social Services Financial Counseling Service www.lssmn.org/portico/
- This service is available for those who have serious debt issues. The service is free. The reputation is outstanding. For information or appointments call 888-577-2227.
Credit Card Repayment Calculator https://www.dallasfed.org/educate/calculators/open-calc.cfm
- Based on information provided, the calculator will give an estimate of how long it will take to pay off a current credit card balance.
Credit Score Information www.myfico.com/crediteducation/creditscores.aspx
- This website provides information about both credit scores and credit reports.
Smart About Money www.smartaboutmoney.org
- This is the site of the National Endowment for Financial Education, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping people make sound financial decisions throughout life’s ups and downs. The site contains practical articles, worksheets, tips and resources from across the Web to help people understand and manage their money.
- This site will provide valuable resources about future benefits for those students who will become plan members after graduation.
Thrivent Financial For Lutherans
- Thrivent provides free financial assessment for Thrivent members. Thrivent also has educational programs available on several financial topics.
U.S. News and World Report Information and Education on Student Loans and Credit Card Usage
Stewardship Tools:
Stewardship of Life Institute www.stewardshipoflife.org
The Stewardship of Life Institute (SOLI) is devoted to teaching, inspiring, equipping, and challenging Lutherans to live out stewardship as more that just financial support for the church. SOLI is an ELCA-affiliated nonprofit headquartered at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America “Competencies in a Well-formed Stewardship Leader”
The enclosed publication from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America addresses the question, “What qualities should a stewardship leader have?”. Resources related to the “Competencies in a Well-formed Stewardship Leader” are available at http://www.elca.org/en/Our-Work/Congregations-and-Synods/Stewardship/Steward-Leader
‘How Much is Enough? E-book’
The book was produced by Region 9 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America/ Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Council on Stewardship Education.
Editor: Catherine Malotky Contributors: Charles R. Lane, Craig L. Nessan, William O. Avery, Jim Mauney, Stephen Paul Bouman, and Marty E. Stevens
ELCA Wholeness Wheel
The Wholeness Wheel is increasingly used by ELCA individuals and organizations as an important learning and discernment tool. It illustrates that wellness is multi-dimensional — made up of spiritual, vocational, intellectual, emotional, physical, social and financial dimensions of well-being. Spiritual well-being is intertwined with and influences our well-being in all other dimensions.
Recommended Resource:
Nowen, Henri J.M., The Spirituality of Fund-Raising, 2004, Estate of Henri J. M. Nowen. Order at: www.henrinouwen.org/