You Don't Have to Be Poor: So Plan Your Future

Publisher Marketing: "You Don't Have to be Poor" is a book addressing perhaps the most important component of life for the individual or family. Financial security or the lack thereof is the main factor in the breakdown of families, affecting both mental and physical health. It is not a simple manual on how to become wealthy. It is not just a manual of merely preparing a budget designed to lift the reader from poverty. The theoretical basis of building wealth from a Biblical and a commonsense approach to provide financial guidance is found in this book. Those who don't have a theoretical background of what the government can do and can't do may foster and maintain a mindset of dependence on social programs. The responsibility and accountability of the individual is outlined from a Biblical and a practical standpoint. When given only tools for preparing a budget without addressing root causes of poverty and the characteristics of those who build wealth, one is prone to fall back on old habits. Some will lapse into the same approach to life that was previously unsuccessful. A practical education in the economy of the country and about the world is included to provide the reader of the complexities of a global economy for which we all must prepare to insure the future of our families and our country. Decisions must be made daily that influence the financial standing of everyone, based on future goals. Biblical scriptures address these problems for everyone and perhps leaders of entire countries. Common sense approaches to personal finance based on Scripture from thousands of years ago is stressed, and simple basics have not changed since. It is imperative that habits of sound financial practices become a part of one's daily existence. Each decision should be prayerfully considered, and a budget built from at least a year of transactions should be a guide for making prudent plans. Christians must care for others and provide advice and aid as needed, based on Biblical commands to give to the poor and to help those unable to help themselves. Learning based upon the Scriptures and practical expertise should engage the same approaches when preparing a realistic budget. The focus of this book is not to merely provide handouts but to teach the individual or family to begin a journey leading to financial security, rising from the ranks of the poor through individual effort. Contributor Bio:  Ridley, Ph D John W Dr. Ridley is a son of the mountains of South Carolina (yes, there are mountains there). From an early age, he developed a love of people and due to a poverty-stricken childhood, realized that it was good to be able to eat and to stay warm in the winter. The latter was learned while delivering newspapers at 5-6 AM for a number of years. These hardships honed his desire to pursue a vocation where he could assist others to obtain a better life, perhaps better than they had ever dreamed. The author is now a retired professor and college administrator who has worked with the young and the not so young in counseling them to insure that their lives were secure from an educational, financial and spiritual perspective. With experience during the Vietnam war as an enlisted soldier and then Desert Storm, rising to the rank of Colonel, he has spent a lifetime of service to others faced with a wide variety of dissimilar challenges. This broad base of experience gives the author a unique blend of practical and academic experience with which to address many of the problem areas of many lives. Many people need the supportive body of Christ, the Church, which can minister in a number of roles which the churches can fill. Unfortunately, most people never prepare for their life's work, but often just fall into a job and may never leave it, regardless of the undesirable characteristics of the position. This leaves them in a precarious position at retirement, where Social Security will not provide any level of security, nor was it intended to be the only retirement fund for those who are no longer working. In part due to personal challenges in his life, Dr. Ridley sought and obtained a doctorate degree in Health and Human Services, where most of his education was obtained at the University of Georgia. As an author of several textbooks and one novel, the author then attended a number of financial seminars and church training groups which were greatly aided by some of his coursework in accounting and business management. After spending years of individual volunteer counseling and aiding others in establishing workable budgets, and accompanied by church service in a number of volunteer roles, the author has written a book entitled You Don't Have to be Poor. Those who understand the basics of economics in the US and the world are few and far between.