Still from "Your Life Your Money"
It's getting on toward spring, which means Unitarian Universalist congregations all over the country are embarking on their annual stewardship campaigns, asking their members to commit their time, talent, and money to sustain the community and its programs in the coming year.
For those young adults who are active in a congregation but have limited financial resources, this can be a tense time: every March, some of us realize---once again---that our finances are not quite in order and that---once again---it might not be possible for us to be as generous with our cash as we would like to be able to.
It can also, however, something of a gift: stewardship can provide us with the opportunity to reexamine our financial health (do we have enough money to live the way we want to?) and reevaluate our priorities (are we spending---and saving---our money the way we want to?). If you're so inclined, the web provides a number of resources to help you understand more about stewardship and gain control of your money. A sampling of those resources can be found here:
ON UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM AND STEWARDSHIP
"The Joy of Giving" curriculum, put out by the Unitarian Universalist Association, is designed to help children, youth, and adults explore the concept of stewardship.
For those attempting to figure out how much they should contribute to their church, these guidelines for giving might be useful.
ON YOUNG ADULTS AND FINANCE
Poorer Than You (tagline: "Money issues for college students and 20-somethings, without being boring") aims to demystify personal finance for young adults.
In her "Generation Debt" columns, young adult journalist and blogger Anya Kamenetz writes about how people under 35 can thrive in the current economy. (Her book of the same name is also available here.)
Your Life Your Money, a film designed to empower young adults to make better financial decisions, can inspire those interested in improving their financial literacy and money-management skills.
Young adults: what does stewardship time mean for you? Do you think you could use some help getting your financial affairs in order?
