"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."- 2 Corinthians 12:9a

When I first started reading the Bible, I had $20,000 of credit card debt. Even though I had recently become a Christian, there were many days when I felt very discouraged about my debt. It seemed like it was going to take forever to pay it all off. In one of my first Bible studies, the leader asked us to turn to 2 Corinthians. After someone helped me find that book, I read these words from the apostle Paul. Read more...

News You Can Use

Bank Fees Head North
Checking account fees are on the rise, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. The average fee for a bounced check is now $28.33, a new high. Also setting a record are ATM surcharges, with most banks now charging $2 for using their ATM if you do not have an account at the bank. Bank of America recently raised its surcharge in most markets to $3. The survey also noted that interest-bearing checking accounts require significantly higher opening balances than non-interest-bearing accounts, but offer very low interest rates. An article about the survey pointed out that a savings account at an online bank may be a better option for excess money that you have sitting in a checking account. Read more...

"Advergamers" Aim at Young People
As advertising within video games continues to grow, the hottest trend among video game advertisers is to create their own games. As reported by the New York Times, Toyota has a new Xbox game named for and featuring an animated version of its Yaris subcompact. The game is available as a free download to all Xbox console owners in the U.S. and Canada. A Toyota spokesperson said, "People can…do all sorts of different things to avoid advertising. That's why we have to move beyond traditional advertising to do things that are really engaging for people." Burger King is another advergamer, selling its Sneak King Xbox game at its restaurants for $3.99. Some 3.5 million of the games have been sold. Read more...

Home is Where the Debt Consolidation Is
Increasingly, homeowners are looking to home equity loans to consolidate their debts. That's one of the key findings of a new Census Bureau report. The most frequent use of such loans is still home improvement projects (45 percent of home equity borrowers in 2001 said they used the money for such projects—down from 54 percent in 1991). Some 26 percent of home equity borrowers in 2001 said they used the money to consolidate debts—up from 21 percent in 1991). Rounding out the top uses of home equity loans, 9 percent used the money to buy a vehicle (down from 10 percent in 1991). Read more...

Christmas Starts Early
If the Christmas selling season seems to start earlier every year, well, it does! And this year is no exception. An article in the New York Times said that Wal-Mart, L.L. Bean, and Toys R Us are trying to boost what is predicted to be a lackluster holiday sales with earlier than usual promotions, and in the case of Toys R Us, by opening a temporary holiday store in Manhattan. Sears and Montgomery Ward have already published their holiday catalogues. The last two months of the year typically account for 20 percent of retail sales. But economic jitters and large-scale summer toy recalls have retailers feeling a bit anxious. Hence, the early jump on holiday promotions. Read more...

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