Archive for January, 2008
Take the Poll
Tony over at Said at Southern noticed our discussion here, and set up a poll on whether all your seminary classes are worthy of your best attention. I say no. What do you say? Take the poll. I’m really curious to see the results.
Category: Links, Time Management
At the start of each class
Here are the questions you need to ask and answer at the beginning of each class: 1. Will this be among the 20% of most valuable classes, to which I should devote my best energy, or will it be one of the 80% that are (comparatively) low-value? Many things go into this determination. Some classes [...]
Category: Academics, Time Management
Sucking out the marrow (and spitting out the pits)
Back to planning your study. Again, I mention that our key idea here is triage. If you have time to devote full attention to every class (and your ministry and your job and your marriage and your health), then knock yourself out. If you’re one of the rest of us who has to let something [...]
Category: Academics, Time Management
High interest savings and free money
In yesterday’s discussion of savings, Lonnie, our resident finance guru, recommended ING for those looking for places to put the money they save. I love ING. They are a fantastic company, offering a full range of sensible, customer-friendly financial services. Today I want to share more about their Orange Savings account. It earns a ridiculously [...]
Money Questions with Lonnie
My friend Lonnie worked in the corporate world for twenty seven years, and then left it behind. Now, he’s living the dream… as a youth pastor! Lonnie is also a financial planner and advisor. I recently sat down with Lonnie over Thai food to talk about seminary students and finances. I’ll be sharing portions of [...]
Category: Finances
Free Alternatives to Quicken/MS Money
So in order to plan and be responsible for your money, you need to be able to track it well, right? The easy answer is financial software. I’ve used Quicken for many years, and WOW! does it simplify the process. You can really follow where you money goes, and it doesn’t take that much effort. [...]
Cheap Date Ideas
In seminary, the financial limitations mean that we need to find ways to be romantic on the cheap. Zen Habits is a blog I enjoy. (BTW, it’s good to occasionally read outside your ideological zone) Leo posts good cheap romance ideas from time to time. Go here and get an fresh, inexpensive idea for romance [...]
Category: Finances, Links, Marriage/Family
Let’s talk about money
This week I’d like to introduce the general topic of money management for seminary students. This is a huge topic, obviously. There are tons of people, programs, books and blogs dedicated to personal finance. It’s bewildering. I wouldn’t want to compete with them, and I’m definitely not qualified to. However, it is critically important for [...]
Category: Finances
My Crummiest Classes
So if my top 20% of value came in 18 hours of classes, then surely I had a bottom 20%, too? You bet I did. Here they are: Old and New Testament (Four classes, 12 hrs) – Here the culprit was poor instructors. I had dithering graduate students for two of the four classes, and [...]
Category: Academics, Time Management
Survive Seminary in the Bathroom
The webmaster over at Going to Seminary dropped me a note to tell me that students at Western Seminary are learning about Seminary Survival Guide…. in the bathroom. That’s right. The whole story here.
