Or, to put it more succinctly: a dollar saved is two dollars earned.

You get to keep all the money you save.
You don’t get to keep all the money you earn.

If you save one dollar, you can keep one dollar.
But if you want to keep one dollar of what you earn, you have to earn (at a low 25% tax rate) $1.34.

A fuller, more precise explanation can be found here.

Save your money.

• Coupon Mountain offers “free coupon codes, bargains and sales from more than 2,000 online stores.” No registration required.
• Coupons.com allows users to browse current grocery coupons and then print them at home. I don’t like that you have to download special software to print the coupons, though — that seems unnecessary.
• DealCatcher “is updated daily and features coupons and deals for online merchants as well as printable coupons for local stores.”
• Currentcodes.com “has a full-time staff of trained individuals whose only job is to find new coupon codes and discount codes and verify the accuracy of the existing database.”
• And, of course, FatWallet is the mother of all money-saving sites. You can find online coupons and compare prices. But the heart of this site is the discussion forum. I’ve spent hours reading various threads here, learning great ways to save money. Highly recommended.

Read the whole post.

They can give you the high rate because they don’t spend money on brick and mortar locations–everything’s online. Your Orange Savings account is linked to your existing checking account , and you can transfer money in and out easily at their secure website. Watch their sweet demo.

ING also has an Electric Orange online checking account that earns an impressive interest rate (demo here).

Since I am an existing ING customer, I can give you a referral, which will earn you a free $25 for opening either an Orange Savings account or an Electric Orange checking account with an initial deposit of $250 or more. That’s ten percent earned right off the bat! Not bad! (And you’ll be supporting SSG.com, too, because ING will give me $10 per referral.)

To get a referral, leave me a comment, or send an email to mark -at- seminarysurvivalguide.com, and I’ll send you an email with the link. Be sure you mention which kind of account you want the referral for.

Mark: Seminary students are usually pretty poor. Is it important that they save money?

Lonnie: Yes. Students should tithe and save right from the beginning. Those should be your first two budget items. I understand that they don’t have much money and it seems harder, but actually it’s often harder for people to do so when they start getting more money. These students should establish good habits early.

The general guideline is to save 10-15 percent of your income. The reason this is so important when you’re starting out is that everyone needs an emergency fund. Things will happen that require money. Someone will die and you’ll have to take an unexpected trip. You’ll get in a car accident and need money for repairs. Anything could happen.

If you don’t have an emergency fund, then you’ll turn to credit cards as your only other source of cash, and have to pay 21% interest. All you wind up doing is digging yourself into a hole.

So yes, seminary students should save money. Even if you start small, you should put some money away every time you get paid.

I recommend you put it in a savings vehicle that is liquid and accessible, but not that accessible. You should get a savings account that will draw some interest, not a cheap bank half-percent interest passbook account. Put it somewhere your money will actually grow. Remember that the parable of the talents was about money. There is an expectation that our money should
grow and not just sit.

Don’t put your emergency fund in a CD, because even though the rates can be good, you can’t get your money on demand without paying a penalty. I like ING’s Orange Savings Account a lot. It links to your checking account and pays 4%+ interest, which is pretty good. (ING has an electronic checking account that earns high interest, too.)

Tomorrow: How to get a high interest savings or checking account with ING, along with some free money.

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.

But you’re in seminary and you’re poor. You don’t have cash to spend to manage your cash. Well, as it turns out, you don’t have to run out and buy the latest version of Quicken or MS Money. There are free alternatives!

• Pre-created Google/Excel Spreadsheets
• Gnu Cash
• Wesabe
• and more.

For the full list, pop over to Zen Habits.

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 this weekend.

However, it is critically important for seminary students to be wise managers of their money. “Yeah, right,” you say. “What money?”

Exactly. Poverty and seminary go hand in hand. It’s part of the glory of seminary–beater cars, cheap food, cheap dates, used books, Wal-Mart, WIC… I know you don’t have a lot of money. Doesn’t matter. You need to manage well what you have.

Also, you need a financial education. This is critically important. There are tons of ways you can get one. This week, I’ll share a few links to get you started. Coming soon: an interview with Lonnie, my longtime friend who is a financial planner.

For today: Get Rich Slowly is a great blog on personal finance. They share their Eight Ways to Take Control of Your Finances in 2008. Lots of good, basic introductory info here.