Marriage, Finances, & Mary Mary! Inspiration & Music Conference Recap Part 2 #PraiseIMC2013

On Monday I started telling you about my experience at the Inspiration & Music Conference this past weekend. Today, I'm going to finish with my recap.
After checking in at the conference my brother and I checked out the vendors and headed to our respective workshops. I headed to the Single & Saved workshop that I started telling you about. Here is a little more food for thought for us singles.

When considering a relationship with someone look for someone who brings things (joy, peace, support) to you not take things away from you.. "We all have baggage, find someone to help you unpack" said panelist Dr. Laverne Adams.
Christians, there is more to being equally yoked than both people believing in Jesus.
Your ego tells you to find someone like you. Someone, "on your level". What you need is to find someone to compliment you. Find someone who is strong in the areas where you are weak.

While I was in the Single & Saved workshop my brother attended Marriage Beyond the Vows. Below are his top takeaways from the workshop.

Do not attempt to balance your marriage with other priorities. Balance implies there is something else of equal importance.
Husbands and wives should be in a joyful competition to outdo each other doing for each other. Race to be the first to do something nice, give a kind word, or get to a household chore. Be more concerned about what you can give than what you need.
Check out my brother on video talking about the Marriage Beyond the Vows workshop.

After lunch we headed over to Faith & Finances workshop. Here are the highlights

Don't be Lot's Wife, Look Ahead!!! We have all made financial and other decisions that were not the best. Don't dwell on your past mistakes. Look forward.
Know your rights when it comes to Bankruptcy. There are different types of bankruptcies for different situations. Bankruptcy can protect 100% of retirement income. Contact a bankruptcy lawyer before you go into your retirement income to pay your debts.
If you enter a settlement agreement with a creditor and get your some of your debts forgiven, be prepared to pay tax on the amount forgiven. According to the IRS forgiveness of debt = income that you have to pay tax on.
Avoid going into debt in the first place. "Wait for it, save for it, pay for it" says speaker Georgette Miller. Use Cash. It was pointed out that there was a time in the United States when Blacks could not borrow money. Now many of us believe we cannot live without debt. This point really hit home with me.
While we don't like to think about it death is a part of life. Prepare for it with a will and life insurance. Go through your budget looking for things that don't add value to your life. Cut these things to free up money for life insurance.
Term life insurance is good for a certain period of time, a certain number of years. For example the number of years when you will have a mortgage or have childcare to pay for.
Permanent life insurance does not have a cut off time and can be used to offset retirement income.
Get insurance early in life before anything happens later that could deem you uninsurable.
To determine how much life insurance you need think about what expenses your loved ones will have to cover.

funeral expenses
Loss of income
Childcare cost
Mortgage expenses
etc...

The highlight of the day for me was the final workshop, a session with Tina and Erica of the gospel group Mary Mary. They looked just as beautiful in person as on their reality show. They acted the same way too, teasing each other as they answered audience questions. Several people gave testimony on how Mary Mary's music had inspired and helped them to overcome obstacles. It is amazing to see how others can be touched by our actions. People asked several questions about how to get into the music industry, become song writers, performers, etc. The advice Tina and Erica gave can be taken for any goal. Strive for excellence, be likable and be professional.
Tina also gave advice that definitely applies to those of us who are Chasing Joy. Tina said practice being happy. Practice being optimistic. Focus on things that are praise worthy. Misery takes work! I don't know about you but I'd rather work on Joy than on misery.
There was so much info to soak up at the conference. Which of the above tips can you apply to your life?