What’s in the Bible Street Team! My job as a street team’s member is to spread the word about WITB (What’s in the Bible)and to get people around the country excited about this new series.

I will receive:

• A badge to put on my blog showing that you are an official WITB Street Team member (pictured to your right)
• WITB banners to post on message boards, websites, and my blog
• WITB pins to give away in my hometown & church
• WITB coloring pages
• WITB images to post on my blog and to create posters promoting the series
• A review copy of DVD #5, Israel Gets a King! so that I may  review on my blog (I will receive DVD #6 when it comes out if I prove myself a worthy Street Team member)
• A certificate of WITB #5 to give away on my blog
• The opportunity to receive exclusive benefits, available only to WITB Street Team members
• The opportunity to win other prizes from Tyndale Kids
• An affiliate link to put on my blog (I will receive a small portion of the profit if anyone purchases the DVDs through my link)

What I need to do?

• Review WITB DVDs on my blog and give away the certificate (similar to blog tours)
• Pass out pins and posters to spread the word about WITB to friends, family, and others in your community
• Send monthly reports to Tyndale about what I’ve been doing to promote WITB in my community. They’ll highlight some of what I am doing on their blog!

This is just the beginning. As they come up with more promotions for me nd the rest of the team, we’ll hear about those as a Street Team member. The street team is limited to 100 members in the U.S. and Canada only.

For many couples, money is a tough topic.  But there’s one financial issue that, like no other, causes financial discomfort among couples and raises the chances for financial fights: debt.

Take Off the Shackles

The Bible says, “The borrower is servant to the lender.”  Living as a servant to a lender isn’t wise for any of us, but it’s especially problematic in marriage.

Researcher Jeffrey Dew at Utah State University has found that not only does consumer debt (credit card debt and other installment loans) fuel a sense of financial unease among couples and increase the likelihood that they will argue about money, but “this financial unease casts a pall over marriages in general, raising the likelihood that couples will argue over issues other than money and decreasing the time they spend with one another.”

Dew’s research shows that newlyweds that take on substantial consumer debt become less happy in their marriages over time. On the other hand, newly married couples that pay off their consumer debt within their first five years of marriage are more satisfied with their marriage. Those findings held up no matter whether couples were rich or poor.

Whose Debt Is It?

How couples approach their debt is important as well.

When Scott and Karen got married, Karen brought $50,000 of non-mortgage debt into the marriage.  Scott jokingly referred to it as a reverse dowry.

One of the things I love about their story is that from the earliest days of their marriage, whenever Karen would talk about “my” debt, Scott would correct her by saying is was “our” debt. Now there’s a guy who is committed to financial oneness.

One other notable part of their story is that their faith-based convictions motivated them to give away 10 percent of their income throughout their journey of getting out of debt. Karen remembered seeing their year-end giving statement, and thinking, ‘Gee, we could have gotten out of debt so much faster if we had put that money toward our debts.” And she remembers hearing other people’s stories of unexpected blessings they felt came about because of their giving. “I started wondering where’s my cool story?” she said.

Six-and-a-half years after getting married, Scott and Karen made their last debt payment. It was a day neither one of them will ever forget. “It was amazing,” Karen says. “We felt like it was a hard road we had traveled, but we did it, and we did it in a God-honoring way. We are 100 percent debt-free.”

Scott will soon be able to retire with a full pension at a much younger age than most people, having put in over twenty years as a Chicago firefighter. They’re thinking about getting an RV and spending a year traveling the country.

Sounds pretty cool to me.

Be Done With Debt ASAP

If you are engaged or newly married, make it one of your highest financial priorities to get out of debt and then live the rest of your lives with no debt other than a reasonable mortgage (One that requires no more than 25% of monthly household gross income to pay for the combination of your mortgage, taxes, and insurance).

Put together a spending plan that enables you to maximize debt repayment.  You may find it helpful to use the recommended spending plans found in the “Money, Purpose, Joy,” workbook, which contains detailed plans for four different size households across nine different annual incomes.

Very often, when couples get married they get excited about all that they’ll be able to afford with two incomes.  But I encourage all newly married couples to base their lifestyle mostly on one income.  It’s the single most helpful step you can take to prepare for children since it makes it much easier for one spouse to choose to step out of the paid workforce if that’s their desire. 

If you have debt, it’s especially important to live mostly on one income so you can use the other income to get out of debt.  Doing so will make all the difference in helping you build a solid financial foundation and live with financial freedom.

Matt Bell is the author of three personal finance books published by NavPress, including his latest: “Money & Marriage: A Complete Guide for Engaged and Newly Married Couples.”  Matt leads workshops throughout the country and blogs at www.MattAboutMoney.com.

Proper Storage: Organize the “save” pile into labeled folders and be sure to put anything confidential into a fire-proof lock box. The “shred” pile should be properly disposed of with a Cross-Cut shredder, such as a Fellowes P-12C.

Get a Digital Makeover: Refresh your home office computer by deleting files you no longer use and backing-up important data onto an external hard drive. Clean out your inbox and change all passwords. Refreshing your computer is a good practice to follow throughout the year as well.

Make Life Easier: Plan ahead by purchasing organizational tools for your desk, such as computer risers or file folder holders. This will help clear clutter from your desk top while keeping things within arms reach.

Freshen Up: Get rid of dust and germs that easily build up on office equipment such as keyboards, telephones and cabinets. You’ll feel instantly more productive with a clean workspace.

The Fellowes P-12C paper shredder is a durable, innovative and affordable machine. With Fellowes’ industry-leading technologies, the P-12C provides high-security and is safe for family environments.

* To ensure high-security against identity thieves, the P-12C features Cross-Cut technology, which destroys a single sheet of paper into nearly 399 particles.

* The P-12C also includes Fellowes’ patented SafeSense technology, which shuts the machine down when hands come too close to the paper opening, which is so important if you have children

* The P-12C can also shred staples, credit cards and paper clips to help speed up your spring cleaning process.

* Its slim profile design allows the P-12C to fit in any office environment, including under desks or in kitchens and other rooms.

The P-12C has a suggested retail price of $89.99 and is available at Target Stores nationwide.

Begun and held at the City of Giggle Town,

the nineteenth day of March, two thousand and eleven

An Act

To stop the loneliness with prayer, sheparding, mentoring, accountability, and choice so that no mother is left behind.

Be it enacted by the Body of Christ

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the No Mother Left Behind Act of 2011.