Christian Finance Blog
Spiritually Prosperous, Financially Rich!

Tax day is right around the corner. For many of you procrastinators, you still have to file your taxes. Well, here’s a giveaway for you. I’m giving away two TurboTax Premier codes for TurboTax.com good for one free federal + state preparation and e-file for the 2009 tax season.

How do I win?

• Write any comment below, along with a valid email address.
• Do it before 8:59 pm PST (11:59 pm EST) on Sunday, April 11, 2010.
• All winners will be selected randomly and announced on April 12, 2010.
• Enter only once; duplicate entries or IP addresses will be disqualified.
• I cannot guarantee safe delivery of items. In the rare case that mail/email is lost, stolen, etc. I cannot be held responsible.
• All local laws, rules, and regulations apply.
• Sign up for the Christian Finance Blog RSS feed to keep up to date on the winner and any upcoming giveaways!

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Today’s the 3rd birthday for Christian Finance Blog! It’s hard to believe it’s been three years already since I started this blog on February 11, 2007. I know I haven’t updated as much as I’d like to lately, but the blog is still not dead. I haven’t had much time to write at all lately, but I definitely have some writing to do.

Thanks for all of you that have stuck with the blog for all these years! I can’t thank you enough. You’re the reason I started this blog! Christian Finance Blog is still alive and kickin’!

Last week, I reviewed the excellent gift card buying/selling service Plastic Jungle. This week, we have an exclusive interview with CEO Gary Briggs.

Here was my question and answer session with Plastic Jungle’s CEO:

1. Gary, the Plastic Jungle concept is a great idea. What do you have in store for the company in the future?

Thanks, Henry. The concept for Plastic Jungle was developed by our Founder, Tina Henson, and it’s really pretty simple: Consumers have a lot of money trapped on gift cards they don’t intend to spend. Wouldn’t it be useful to have a place where a consumer can get cash for them and other consumers can then buy them at a discount — with all transactions guaranteed.

When you consider how much money is currently trapped and unspent on gift cards (estimates range from $30 billion to $40 billion, not including merchandise credits) we think that just simply getting more people to realize that they can get cash and save money through Plastic Jungle will create a bright future for us. What’s even more interesting is that retailers like the idea, too. They are recognizing that it’s much better to get that gift card you have sitting in your sock drawer moving again. It creates loyalty and what’s called “overspend,” as consumers typically spend much more than the value of a gift card when they shop. As a result, we’re very excited about the future for Plastic Jungle.

2. What’s your favorite part of Plastic Jungle?

On the consumer side, I really like that we get cash into people’s pockets in two ways: Get cash for your unused gift cards when you sell them to Plastic Jungle; save money when you shop with a gift card bought from Plastic Jungle. I think we’re building something that’s pretty unique in that it has these two significant benefits. For retailers, I’m enjoying that we are bringing a new solution to them and their response has been very exciting. Finally, I like being part of a strong, eager team of people here. For example, we have been getting a lot of new consumers in the days after Christmas and have quite a full mailbag everyday. So, we all just jump in — order in some pizza — and get at fulfilling consumer orders. It’s very fun. Have I mentioned that I like pizza?!

3. Having previously worked for eBay and PayPal, how is working at Plastic Jungle different? The same?

Of most note is simply that Plastic Jungle is a much younger company than when I joined eBay. I started at eBay in early 2002 and by then the company had over 1,000 employees with about 250 at headquarters where I worked. When I left in early 2008 the company had 14,000 employees. So size is certainly the biggest difference. What’s the same is that we’re building a marketplace at Plastic Jungle that has many of the same dynamics as the eBay market. That’s very fun to be part of and to help build. In addition, we have a lot of the same product focus as PayPal, which is something I greatly admire about the PayPal culture.

4. Why would you encourage people to use Plastic Jungle?

The top reason I would say to a potential user is that Plastic Jungle is just very easy to use. We pay for shipping and all transactions are guaranteed. So, to sell us a card, you fill out one page on the site, print out the shipping label we pay for and provide, tape the label on an envelope and then drop the card in the envelope on your way to the mailbox. In buying from Plastic Jungle you can save a lot of money when you shop by buying a discounted gift card. That’s about as straightforward as shopping gets!

Thanks Gary for taking the time to answer my questions and God bless you in all you do!

Hope you check out Plastic Jungle and try it out! I sure did and I’ll definitely use it in the future.

(Photo by: Daniel Morel)

As many of you may know already, Haiti was hit with a devastating 7.3 earthquake on Tuesday killing an estimated 100,000 people or more and demolishing nearly everything in sight. The world has responded with aid including $100 million from the United States. But there is still more to be done.

100% of donations for the next two weeks here at Christian Finance Blog will go directly to Haiti earthquake relief (to the Red Cross). You can also donate $10 directly to the Red Cross by texting ‘HAITI’ to ’90999. You will be charged on your cell phone bill.

But don’t just donate…pray. Prayer changes the atmosphere and prayer works miracles.

So it’s now the start of a new year and a new decade. The holidays are over, and the reality of 2010 is starting to sink in. So what to do with all those useless gift cards? Sure, you could just spend, spend, spend, but aren’t you tired of spending. Wouldn’t you rather have some cash?

You can do just that with Plastic Jungle. Sell your unwanted and unused gift cards that are just laying around for up to 90% of the balance or up to 95% if you take an Amazon.com gift card ($25 minimum). Or you can buy gift cards at up to a 35% discount. Free shipping whether you buy or sell. With over 1400 retailers you should be able to find your retailer and sell that gift card you’re never going to use.

So I decided to try it out. This is actually my second time using the service, but the first time reviewing it. I had a $100 Chilli’s gift card which I am never going to use, so I decided to sell it.

The process is simple. Just click on “sell cards” and start typing your merchant. It will come up with a list of matching names. Then enter the card balance and click “See Offers”.

You will then see Plastic Jungle’s cash offer and Amazon.com gift card offer. You get more money with Amazon, but if you’d rather use the cash to pay down debt or something else like save it, take the cash offer. You’re going to get less with the cash offer. These numbers also change depending on supply and demand.

Then type in your card number and PIN (if applicable) and click “Continue”.

On this screen, you can add another gift card or even choose to donate part of the money to charity. A nice idea if you weren’t going to use the gift cards anyway and would like to do some giving. Next click “Continue”.

Here you can print out a prepaid envelope label and the receipt. They’ll also send the receipt to your email. Include the receipt along with your gift card(s) in the envelope and just drop it in the mail. As soon as Plastic Jungle receives your shipment and verifies the balance on the card(s), they’ll send you either a check or an Amazon.com gift card (depending on what you chose). And that’s it! Extra cash for the new year!

Now if you have gift cards that you would’ve used anyway, go ahead and use them. You’ll lose money by selling them for cash. But if they’re just gathering dust in your wallet, why not sell them for some extra green and use Plastic Jungle? They are the largest gift card card exchange site on the Internet.

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Today the entire world is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ! Non-Christians and Christians alike are singing about Him this Christmas season. Don’t forget the real reason for the season. And why don’t you tell Jesus “Happy Birthday” today? And maybe even give Him a gift? He gave Himself as a gift to all humanity. Can’t we return the favor by giving our lives to Him? God bless!

From now until January 31, 2010, TurboTax is answering your tax questions! Just go to freetaxquestion.com from 8am to 5pm Pacific time to request your tax advice. All you do is submit a personal, federal tax-related question online and a tax expert will call you back at the time you request.

You can also ask questions on their “Live Community” message boards. What a great way to get a jump on your taxes or to plan any tax-saving moves before the end of the year!

After all the great food, family, and fun today, remember to think about thankfulness. Being thankful is being content with who God made you to be and what God has given you. I’m thankful for my life, for I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Him. I’m thankful to be able to worship a God like ours in a country like ours. I’m thankful for the people in my life who have been there from the beginning. What are you thankful for?

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Our lives are defined by what we give. Winston Churchill says it best. What are we giving today? How are we impacting someone’s life through our giving. We can change someone’s world just by giving. And it doesn’t always have to be money. Give a smile, a compliment, buy a lunch, give your time. There are so many ways to give.

7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

From the Life Application Bible:

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need, and to let others in God’s family help you.

Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God’s concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, he will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passivity. Don’t submit to circumstances but to the Lord, who controls circumstances.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I’ve been on vacation overseas for the past couple weeks. I’ll get on new updates shortly. Thanks for being a reader!

23 Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty.

Proverbs 14:23 (NLT)

Don’t just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Do what you say you’ll do. That’s called integrity. Someone who does what they say they’ll do. Just talking and not following up with your words is not right.

Work brings profit. As Dave Ramsey says, “work is a sure-fire money-making scheme.” Don’t just talk about working. Go out there and do it!

10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NLT)

Give everything you’ve got in everything you do. Don’t do things half-heartedly. If you’re going to do it, go all out. That’s what it’s saying in this verse. You might as well do it big, because you might regret it later.

“Money often costs too much.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

That is deep. What is money costing you? Your time? Your health? The time with your family? The saying goes, “Time is money.” But what are you sacrificing to gain earthly riches? Because it’s not about that. We have a higher goal. We have a higher motivation. A higher call. As Christians, we have an eternal perspective. Riches in heaven are worth far more than earthly riches that fade away and that we can’t take with us.