Product Description

Many excellent books teach God's principles of finance. Perhaps one or more of them has helped you lay a strong biblical foundation for carrying out your money management responsibilities. But as you try to apply those principles to making real-life investing decisions, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the jargon and the sheer number of investment possibilities.

Investment advisor Austin Pryor has carefully created the "next step" guide that helps you put Godly principles of finance into motion. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced investor, you'll benefit from stepping across this bridge between "theory" and "action". Each user-friendly lesson is written in everday English and filled with helpful visual aids. In this revised and updated edition of The Sound Mind Investing Handbook, you'll learn

- What investing is and why it's actually quite simple
- Six characteristics of investing that glorifies God
- What important steps to take to prepare yourself financially before invest
- What mutual funds are and why they make investing easier than ever before
- How to use your personal investing "temperament" and present "season of life" to make decisions and limit your risk
- How to implement an investment strategy that's guaranteed to help you keep pace with the markets
- Tax-wise ways to invest for college, including the state-sponsored 529 savings plans
- The pros and cons of investing internationally
- The rules governing IRAs and 401(k)s and which should have the priority
- How to make the calculations needed to make sure your retirement countdown is on schedule
- College professors have even used this book in their finance classes because of its easy to understand format. So, whether you invest a little or a lot, these biblical principles apply to you. In short, he's made learning about investing as painless as it's going to get.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #581221 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
I have had the privilege of knowing Austin Pryor since the beginning of my Christian life. There are few that I have as much respect for and confidence in than Austin. His counsel in the investment area has proven to be extraordinarily wise and discerning over a long time period. I can recommend this book without hesitation as a 'must read' for anyone interested in investing in very uncertain economic times. I consider it a privilege to be able to make this recommendation.-Ron Blue - Founding Partner of Ronald Blue & Co.

If you're looking for an attractive easy-to-follow investment guide written in plain English, look no further. Austin Pryor writes without vested interests in any specific plan or fund. This means greater candor and objectivity. I'm frankly skeptical of a lot of stuff coming out of the financial realm with its short-term 'for this life only' perspective. Austin is a man with a larger and better perspective. May every reader seek to make wise investments of money and time in God's kingdom, investments that will pay off not only in this life, but in the eternal life to come!-Randy Alcorn - Director of Eternal Perspective Ministries / Author of Money, Possessions & Eternity

When I wrote The Glorious Journey I had to include a quote by Austin Pryor in my book. Here is a man of great insight who has the ability to make difficult subjects easy to comprehend. It is obvious that Sound Mind Investing combines Biblical wisdom with very practical and understandable application. Anyone would profit from reading this book.-Dr. Charles F. Stanley - Senior Pastor / First Baptist Church of Atlanta

I have known Austin Pryor for over 30 years now, and I regard him as a good friend. I have found his counsel to be both biblical and practical. I know of no other individual with whom I would consult with more confidence on the subject of mutual fund investing than Austin. If you will spend the time to read carefully the counsel Austin provides, you will find it both time and money well spent.-Larry Burkett (1939-2003) - Co-Founder / Crown Financial Ministries

In the same way that I am no economist, I'm not exactly an investment wizard either. That's why I am a huge fan of Austin Pryor, author of The Sound Mind Investing Handbook and his monthly newsletter. Everything I know about investing I learned from Austin Pryor.-Mary Hunt - Founder and Editor / Debt-Proof Living

I am grateful for Sound Mind Investing. Many of us have failed to be the stewards we ought, and most of us are too busy to give quality attention to these matters. That is why this book is so significant. May God bless it for the welfare of the saints.-Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) - Senior Pastor / Bellevue Baptist Church

Sound Mind Investing is the "Consumer Reports" for the Christian investor. They accept no ads, so it's unbiased. They simplify the complex, so it's easy-to-understand. They review thousands of mutual funds and financial products, so it's comprehensive. Their long-term investment track record is impressive. And best of all, it's biblically-based, equipping readers to "have more so they can give more." Sound Mind Investing is helping Christians build eternal portfolios.-Howard Dayton - Co-Founder / Crown Financial Ministries

Austin Pryor's book, Sound Mind Investing, is a masterpiece on the subject of Christian economics. It is clearly a comprehensive hand-book for any person seeking professional guidance in investments. As a minister, of course, I am especially appreciative of the godly orientation manifest throughout this important work, and of the powerful testimony presented in Section Six, 'Investing That Glorifies God.-D. James Kennedy, Ph.D. (1930-2007) - Senior Minister / Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church -------- Pastors, teachers, and authors agree on Austin Pryor's Sound Mind Investing Handbook

About the Author
Austin Pryor is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky where he received a B.S. degree in Banking and Finance in 1967.

Pryor founded his own investment management firm, Forum Investment Counselors, in 1978 where he saw his average client account more than triple in value during its first five years of operations.

In October 1989, Austin Pryor was having lunch with long-time friend Larry Burkett and his ministry associate in charge of counseling activities, Steve Humphrey. As they discussed the financial challenges facing the average Christian family, they commented that a newsletter was needed. Larry thought of it as "a kind of Consumer's Report for Christians in the area of finances."

Austin's initial response? "You're right. Too bad nobody's doing anything like that!"

In 1990, Pryor launched Sound Mind Investing, a monthly financial newsletter targeted to today s Christian family. The publication has garnered over 42,000 subscribers since its inception in 1990 having grown to become America's best-selling financial newsletter written from a biblical perspective. The publication s website membership has grown to over 14,000 users since it launched in 2000 and is America s best-selling Christian financial newsletter

Pryor s book The Sound Mind Investing Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Managing Your Money from a Biblical Perspective was a finalist for the Gold Medallion Book Award in Christian publishing and enjoys the endorsements of numerous respected Christian teachers, including Larry Burkett, Ron Blue, Dr. Bill Bright, Dr. Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers, and D. James Kennedy.

Austin C. Pryor, Jr. is an American financial writer, speaker, and radio personality whose work focuses on investment counseling from an evangelical Christian point of view.

Pryor s written articles have appeared in Moody Magazine and the publications of such Christian organizations as Focus on the Family and the Christian Business Men s Committee. His work currently appears on the Crosswalk, Christian Broadcasting Network, and Crown Financial Ministries websites. Pryor has been a frequent guest on Crown Financial Ministry's Money Matters program for since 1992.

Additionally, Pryor has been the featured speaker at various mayor and governor prayer breakfasts, and many functions of the Christian Business Men s Committee and Christian Women s Clubs. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of Pro Athletes Outreach, a Christian training ministry to pro athletes of all sports, and The Christian Embassy, an outreach ministry to government and diplomatic officials and their families in Washington, D.C.

Pryor has been married to his wife, Susie, for 43 years; they have three grown children and nine grandchildren. Pryor and his wife reside in Louisville, Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Can it be put more simply?
At age 26, I arrived at a critical point in my marriage: I had to make a plan. The plan would include things like buying a house, investing for the long run, savings in a monthly budget, and inclusion of stock market strategies that have proven successful. It was this last on the list that left me searching for months. Everyone has their opinion, but their opinions are almost like dreams. They THINK it will work, but they still wait for the payoff. Point #1: in this book is a mutual fund investment strategy that keeps you ahead of the market, with reasonable, not out-of-this-world results--the kind of results needed in a strong long-term plan. Not one of those things that promises a million in a year (unless of course you have more than $10,000,000 to invest!).

Point #2: Austin's delivery of a what-you-need-to-know approach left me educated, enthusiastic, and unafraid to enter the stock market. I became knowledgable of bonds, something I had no clue about. I began to grip the incredible power of time and compounding interest. As a young person, being kept in the dark about this sort of thing knocks hundreds of thousands of dollars off the end of my retirement-savings years.

My wife is completely uninclined to watch the market, though I find crunching numbers fascinating. What to do to help her see through the numbers? Point #3: Sound Mind Investing describes stories which include numbers, but illustrate the meanings behind the numbers, and motivate you to take action.

Why five stars? So many stock-related books leave you with an unfinished feeling. Not this one. It's complete. Five stars. So many books end up trying to sell you something. Not this one (except for their excellent website at an EXTREMELY low monthly subscription cost). Five stars. And some books are so disorganized.

This one reads like a map. Find where you are, go from there. And most importantly, find yourself GETTING TO YOUR GOALS!!!

Most definitely five stars.

Solid information combined with a Christian world view
The Sound Mind Investing Handbook provides basic explanations about well-known investments such as IRAs, 401Ks, Mutual and Money Market Funds,and stocks. Then it builds on the basics to help the reader determine the best investments for his/her income level, age, goals, and so on. This type of information is available in lots of books, but the beauty of this book for Christians is that the authors teach you how to make these important decisions based on the principals the Bible gives us for managing all that which God blesses us with. The reader learns how to be a good steward, to provide for family, education, emergency, retirement as well as generously giving back to the Lord to help further the kingdom. This is a solid book that is a great start for anyone who wants to shore-up their understanding of the basics, then move beyond that without compromising good stewardship.

Finances: Simply Supported by Scripture
Austin has created an easy to read handbook on handling finances in a God honoring fashion. Each recommendation is fully supported by an abundance of scripture. As your read it, you will grow in your understanding of what God thinks about money.

The methods taught are simple, practical , easy to understand and easy to implement. He outlines and details four levels of financial growth and then guides you in step-by-step fashion through each of the levels.

I have never read a book on financial growth that I just couldn't wait to get back to until I got all of the way through it, until NOW! The finest resource on financial planning I have ever read.