Dayton - Your money map: a proven 7-step guide to true financial freedom

YOUR
MONEY
MAP
A P ROVEN 7-S TEP G UIDE TO
T RUE F INANCIAL F REEDOM

H OWARD D AYTON

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

2006 by
H OWARD D AYTON

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The name Crown Money Map is a trademark of Crown Financial Ministries.
Most of chapters 14 and 17 originally appeared in Howard Dayton, Free and Clear (Chicago: Moody, 2006), 9698, 100101, 11619, 121, 133, 13746,15861, 16869. Portions of chapters 11, 12, 13, 20, 21 are taken from Howard Dayton, Free and Clear (Chicago: Moody, 2006).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible. Copyright 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Cover Design: The DesignWorks Group, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dayton, Howard Lape, 1943
Your money map: a proven 7-step guide to true financial freedom / by Howard Dayton.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8024-6869-7
1. Finance, PersonalReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Finance, PersonalBiblical teaching. I. Title.
HG179.D373 2007
332.02401 dc22

2006029582

ISBN: 0-8024-6869-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8024-6869-7

We hope you enjoy this book from Moody Publishers. Our goal is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking books and products that connect truth to your real needs and challenges. For more information on other books and products written and produced from a biblical perspective, go to www.moodypublishers.com or write to:

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Printed in the United States of America

To Bev Dayton,
my wife of more than thirty years and my closest friend.
I am incredibly grateful we made the journey
to True Financial Freedom together.

Matthew and Danielle,
who have been a relentless joy as children and now as adults.
And to Michelle and Kyle;
I am so thankful you are a part of our family.

To Chuck Bentley,
for creating the Crown Money Map
and his vision to use it to help so many people.

Finally, to The Crown Financial Ministries family.
You mean more to me than I can ever say.

I am grateful to several key people who have shaped my life: Ken Connor, Jess Correll, George Fooshee, Tim Manor, Lyston Peebles, Jim Seneff, Stan Walker, and John White. My thanks also to Dave Rae, Stan Reiff, Andres Panasiuk, and Sharon Eppsall remarkable leaders.

Finally, a special thanks to Jack Alexander, Ron Blue, Steady Cash, Tom Darden, Daryl Heald, Bill Leonard, Scott Melby, Terry Parker, Jim Shoemaker, Andy Stanleyfor your generous gifts of time, resources and guidance.

T his book will transform your life and your finances, because you will be learning what the God of the universe says about handling money. Your Money Map is for everyonesingle or married, young or old, whether you earn a lot or a little.

Regardless of your present financial situation, I urge you to read through the entire book to understand the big picture of what God wants you to know about handling money. Youll learn about seven destinations on the road to true financial freedom. Once you discover where you are on the journey, carefully read the chapters addressing your next destination. When you arrive there, review the chapters that will help you reach the following destination.

Your Money Map is designed for you to interact with. Dont just read this book. Personalize it. Underline it. Write notes in it. Make it yours as you complete your financial information. Review and update your progress. The books that have helped me the most are the ones that I interacted with, not just quickly read.

If you are married, study this book with your spouse. If you are single, do it with a friend. Better yet, become part of a small group to encourage one another to apply what you are learning.

Your Money Map includes four features to assist you on your journey to true financial freedom:

1. Discussion questions. The book is divided into six sections and at the end of each section are discussion questions. Meet with your friend or group to answer the questions, discuss what you read, and bounce ideas off each other. This will help you enormously.

2. Tools for the journey. At the end of each section, we list some outstanding books, Web sites, financial tools, and organizations that will help you on your journey to true financial freedom.

3. Roadside AssistanceOnline! At the end of most chapters you will find Roadside AssistanceOnline! which identifies some of the free online tools, forms, information, and assistance that you can access at CrownMoneyMap.org.

4. CrownMoneyMap.org. CrownMoneyMap.org is a dynamic Web site created to accompany this book. It contains special online tools, videos, and answers to frequently asked questions. On it you will be able to create your personalized journey to true financial freedom, track your progress, and store and modify informationand share it with others in the Money Map community! Join us and be encouraged.

As I wrote this book, I often prayed that you would experience the awesome sense of hope, peace, and confidence that comes from discovering Gods way of handling money. I am excited because I know great things are going to happen to you. They happened to me, and I have never been the same.

So lets get started together.