Sound Mind Investing Review

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For the past several weeks, I have been working my way through reading The Sound Mind Investing Handbook by Austin Pryor.  For those following my twitter feed, you pretty much already have my notes of the parts that spoke to me while reading and the ideas that I thought were especially important.  If you have not seen my twitter feed, I’d like to use this post to summarize what the book was about and explain why I think it is a great resource for anyone who is serious about aligning his or her finances with Christian principles.

First, the handbook goes step-by-step through how to be good stewards with the money God has given us to manage here on Earth.  Austin breaks the book into six sections:

Section 1—Getting Debt-Free—Austin, lays out the reasons why we need to get out of debt, gives some suggestions on how to do it, and does it all based on God’s money principles.

Section 2—Saving for Future Needs—Austin talks about the importance of saving for emergencies, on-going expenses, college, and retirement and why we must pay ourselves first.

Section 3—Investing Your Surplus—I was surprised that we didn’t get to this until chapter 9, but Austin does a great job laying out why getting out of debt and building savings needs to be handled first before you invest in anything else.  This section is mainly focused to various types of mutual funds and how to pick the right ones for you.

Section 4—Diversifying for Safety—God is very clear about dividing our portions and this section talks about the various options within mutual funds, bonds, the stock market, etc.

Section 5—Retirement Countdown—In section 5, Austin talks about the differences between various retirement instruments and plans.  Austin helps you understand what the Bible says about retirement and planning for the future to help you make decisions for yourself as you approach retirement (no matter how long that is away).

Section 6—Investing that Glorifies God—In the final section of the book, Austin gives her personal testimony and lays out 6 ways to know if your investments are glorifying God.  This was a powerful section in the book that really makes you think about your life and what God has planned for you.  If you don’t read the rest of the book, at least read this section.

I think this would be a great resource for any Christian who really wants to know how to be a good steward of God’s money.  Whether or not you are struggling financially, this book will have something in it to help you connect closer to God’s vision for your life and financial resources. Sound Mind Investing has a website you can visit here.


If you are interested in purchasing the book use my affiliate link and I can get some credit for your purchase.  Thanks!