Why God Gave you Money

"Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit cares for eight gravely ill newborns at once," the young nurse told me. Publish Post "And what happens when a ninth arrives?" I asked. "A baby who will die if you don't make room for her in your unit?" "We talk about the eight already there, and choose which gets moved out of the NICU. But if any of us are uncomfortable with the decision, we don't change anything until we have a consensus." "But how do you choose?" "Well, sometimes there's a very cute baby, or one we've all been rooting for." "Don't you have clear and strict guidelines?" "We won't ever make a decision that leaves one of the doctors or nurses feeling uncomfortable."

I stepped away from that conversation heartsick. Where clear guidelines are lacking, good feelings displace good judgments. Two lives may be lost when one could have been saved. I think of that conversation when I receive desperate appeals from charities crippled by this recession. How can I decide which ones to help, and which to leave out in the cold?

What about you? When it comes to giving, do you have clear guidelines? Or are you as lost as I am, and as that nurse was years ago? Can a medical center that pours 90% of its contributions into fancy fundraising pry fifty dollars loose from you . . . . . . leaving nothing for that less-sophisticated hospital that would use every dollar to buy a layette for desperately ill newborns? * And what about those larger questions? With so many people needy today, should you be giving more? Or is now the time to give less? After years of struggling halfheartedly with these very questions, Catholic entrepreneur Frank Hanna resolved finally to figure out for himself -- once and for all -- just what we're supposed to be doing with the money we have. Expecting to have to solve this problem himself, Hanna quickly found that over the centuries, hosts of wise folks and wealthy people have dealt with this question already. Long ago, these good men and women worked out sound answers to the problem of money -- answers rooted in ordinary virtue, common sense, and the pragmatism that allows societies to flourish -- answers that are as applicable today as they were in the time of Socrates, Jesus, Aquinas, and Shakespeare. From this rich tradition, from his own experience, and from his friendships with men and women from Main Street to Wall Street (and even at the highest levels of the Vatican) Hanna has now drawn forth a lean, no-nonsense explanation of the meaning of your money, and a wise guide for dealing with it constructively. Armed with what Hanna has discovered, you'll finally come to understand why you, in particular, have the money you have. You'll learn how to shield yourself and your loved ones from the dangers inherent in it (and even to make your money a school of virtue!) And Hanna will provide you with time-tested criteria and simple rules-of-thumb you can use to determine how much money is enough for you in your own unique circumstances, both now and in the future. Plus: Hanna will show you how to determine how much you should be giving to worthy causes now and how much you need to keep for your own needs and the needs of your loved ones. Soon, you'll be able to respond as carefully and as confidently to your wealth (great or small), to its demands, and to your charitable impulses and obligations as you do to other challenges in your life. No longer will your giving and spending decisions be as heartfelt but as capricious as those in that Neonatal Intensive Care Unit so many years ago. Clear guidelines and good judgment will ensure that your saving, spending, and giving will bring the greatest possible benefit not merely to one, two, three and more lives . . . . . . but to souls as well: your own soul, and the souls of those you love. "This is a wonderful book!" Charles J. Chaput Archbishop of Denver 256 pages hardback List price: $21.95 SALE PRICE: $14.00 What Your Money Means (and How to Use It Well) by Frank Hanna OTHER BOOKS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

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