Financial counseling group offers Bible-based advice
Mahlon Hetrick has seen it all in Lee County.
Having been here since 1959, he’s seen the county’s ascension and eventual spiral into recession, bearing witness to the financial ruin of individuals and families left in its wake; debt has piled up, families have been torn apart, while plenty of others have spent unwisely.
He has a unique perspective on personal finance, one that combines common sense with Bible, which he uses has a tool to teach people how to manage their money.
“The Bible is the best book of finance ever written,” Hetrick said. “It has more to say about finance than any other subject than love.”
Hetrick founded Christian Financial Counseling 28 years ago, a not-for-profit agency that offers financial advice and reorganization for free.
Hetrick said God spoke to him through scripture, telling him his expertise was needed, and he has since helped 20,000 people in the nearly three decades he’s been at it.
He teaches people how to live within their means, to learn all the things he said are not being taught in schools and churches.
He said families are at stake, and without help some families can’t make it out of the doldrums of the recession.
“Money matters and family relationships are intertwined. If you have problems in one, you have problems in the other,” Hetrick added.
Hetrick has gone 38 weeks without pay, he said.
As all of the help he provides is free; he relies on donations to keep the operation going.
Putting the word out there, he said, is crucial to letting people know that help is available.
He helps both families and individuals with three sessions. The first two sessions focus on budgeting, while the third focuses on wills, trusts and life insurance, among other similar issues.
Couples need to come together, he said, but they have to get along while they try to work out their financial problems.
“I don’t let them sit there and argue,” he said. “I’m not a referee.”
At age 80, Hetrick said he’s going to continue with his ministry until he’s either “called home” or he’s mentally unable to handle the job.
Having worked, he said, since he was 8 years old, Hetrick said it’s important for people need to get back to an older ideology, one that says either make do, or do without.
“The wise man saves for the future, the foolish man spends what gets,” Hetrick said.
Appointments are necessary, and Hetrick is in the office only three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday, though he only sees clients on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
For more information contact Mahlon Hetrick and Christian Financial Services at 337-2122.