Surviving Financial Meltdown | Review

This book review of Ron Blue’s Surviving Financial Meltdown was written by Whitney Perkins. Whitney is a stay at home mom of three who is currently working toward a degree in secondary education. She is excited to impact this generation while teaching them to be passionate, well-rounded individuals.

As I sat down to read this book, I was immediately drawn to the honesty of the contents. On the first page of the first chapter, the authors state that “It’s easy enough to present our case that economic times are challenging.” This statement is followed by what their desire for this book really is: “to prepare you so that you have less fear and more financial peace.” Wow! What an undertaking! One thing they have a great understanding of is that we can go through life striving or thriving. This passion to see people thrive in life resonates throughout the entire book and is exactly what makes this such a reliable resource.

Ron Blue and Jeremy White are so up-to-date on the crisis of the times, yet this book is loaded with Biblical approach and Godly wisdom on how we should respond to different curveballs this life may throw us. They continually talk about common fears that we may have, but always bring it full circle with a “but God” kind of response.

4 Principles of Financial Success

The authors repeatedly fall back on what they call the “four principles of financial success.” These principals are extensively explained throughout the book, but to give you a briefing, here they are:

1. Think long term.

The longer term your perspective, the better financial decisions you’ll make. Set goals in writing and invest for the long term.

2. Spend less than you earn.

Develop the self-control to avoid over-spending.

3. Maintain emergency savings.

An emergency fund reserve will help you ride out the surprises life throws at you.

4. Minimize the use of debt.

Debt increases risk. Financial problems are magnified with debt.

They tell several stories of families who have went from struggling to prosperity and who have stood firm through very difficult financial storms and have made it through with their heads above the water. It is evident that the basis of wise financial instruction is the Bible. One of the section titles is “Biblical Perspective – Always Right, Relevant, and Unchanging”. In this section, they exhort to put your hope in God, not your wealth. The news is always in your face, whether it be the paper, the TV or the chatter of people in the store, there is always buzz about how bad the economy is right now. Blue and White advise to avoid distractions by staying focused on your goals and reading truths in God’s Word. They remind us to be thermostats instead of thermometers. By this analogy, they mean we need to control the temperature instead of responding “to mounting fear and uncertainty with a jump in emotional mercury.”

Overcoming Fear

Chapter three addresses what seems to be the root problem of bad financial decisions: fear. They immediately go to the Word with a blocked out section of the page titled: 6 Incredible Promises from God to Remember in Tough Times. The truth that “failing to reach your desires may not be as devastating as realizing your fears” is addressed. One sentence that stuck out to me was a prompting to “confront your fears head-on, wrestling them into submission before they become a stronghold in your life.” This sentence really made me think and turn inward for a moment to identify these fears. Then I turned the page to find an entire section dedicated to exactly that: Pinpointing Your Fears. “To conquer the negative emotions stirred up by your circumstances, you must first admit to and then specifically identify your fears.” Then there’s a little worksheet to help you catalog and manage your fears.

Ron Blue said that as a financial advisor he has “found that people wrestle with two primary fears: the fear of failure and the fear of the future.” These fears translate into both the search for significance and the search for security. This is great insight that they use to segue into a truth from God’s Word that “Jesus Christ is the only true source of personal worth and fulfillment.” They then give a few bullet points to help you recognize when a decision is fear-based.

The final six chapters of this book break those initial principals down into six understandable steps that are backed up by stories from the Bible, personal experience and helpful worksheets.

In the final word from the authors, they point out that the answers to any financial challenge are not found only on Wall Street through a financially complex investment product. They’re based on God’s truth. That truth as revealed in the Bible is always relevant, always right, and will never change.

Final Thoughts

This book helped me so much in my thinking toward finances and my future. It really made me recognize where I am lacking in knowledge and in discipline. But it also made me realize how attainable many of my hopes and dreams are. One of the things that I love most about Surviving Financial Meltdown
is the encouragement to dream and set goals from our desires. It gave me hope that, though it is a process, things can change, progress can be made and we really can leave a legacy of financial victory to our children’s children.