Welcome!

We're glad you're here.

Meet the Crumb Savers

Hi! We’re Al and Deb and we live in the beautiful Chattanooga area of Tennessee. This blog was started in part as a way to jot down things we would want to teach our kids someday, and we thought why not invite you (and the rest of the internet!) to listen in. We were both blessed to have been brought up by wonderful Christian parents who showed us the importance of hard work, determination, and generosity. (Along with their old-school, thrifty Asian sensibilities.)  We’re parents too now with one daughter and another one on the way in Spring 2021! What we share here represents a lot of the values that we have gleaned throughout the years.

Deb’s a full-time stay-at-home mom now, and Al works for a small nonprofit organization. In fact, throughout both of our adult lives, we have only worked for nonprofits and church-related ministries. So even though we’ve never earned large incomes, we’ve still managed to…

Crumb Saver Family
Bread crumbs on cutting board

The Story of the Crumbs

Shortly after we got married, Deb started baking bread to save money. Early on, her in-progress bread recipe resulted in a lot of crumbs being left on the cutting board. Rather than throwing it all away like we instinctively would’ve done, she began to save the crumbs in a container in the freezer. With the regular production of bread coming out of our oven, it wasn’t long before the crumbs added up to be enough to make breaded onion rings, lentil meatloaf, and lots of other things. That small, consistent, effortless, and seemingly insignificant habit turned into something of actual value through the course of time. She’s since perfected her bread recipe, but nevertheless this experience highlights the spirit of our approach to money.

The idea of saving the crumbs is more than miserly penny-pinching or living in austere self-deprivation just for the sake of being stingy. It is being intentional, efficient, and creative with our resources in order to accomplish something greater in the future. We save more so we can live more and give more!

But the idea of saving the crumbs has an even deeper meaning for us.

In John 6:5-14 in the Bible, Jesus fed 5,000 men alongside many other women and children with a few loaves and fishes. After everyone had eaten, He gave His disciples the instructions to “gather up the fragments.” So if Jesus saved the crumbs, we figured we should too!

Impact Beyond the Blog

Before we started this blog in 2014, we had no idea how this little website would impact our lives.

In 2015, Al was invited to give his first ever personal finance seminar to a large Seventh-day Adventist youth conference with thousands of young people from around the world. (You can listen to that series here: Beyond the Tithe) From that time on, he has had opportunity to give seminars to various church groups around the country and the world each year—from California to England to Guam and to as far as even Malaysia.

Individuals also began contacting him with their financial questions, and some pastors and counselors even started referring people to him until Al felt the distinct calling to pursue training to become a professional financial planner. Right now, he is finishing up his ChFC designation after which he plans to launch a part-time financial planning business to help people in a more formal capacity.

Our Philosophy

We hold a simple philosophy on money. These are the principles that guide how we live and what we share:

01

God is the Owner, we are the managers. We answer to Him.

Psalms 24:1, 1 Chronicles 29:14

02

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:6; Philippians 4:11

03

The ability to gain wealth is a gift from God, and He expects a return on His investment.

Deuteronomy 8:18; Matthew 25:27

04

Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty. Prosperity is having enough.

Proverbs 30:8-9

05

Money is a terrible master, but can be a good servant.

Matthew 6:24

06

The borrower is slave to the lender.

Proverbs 22:7

07

Manage risk carefully. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Ecclesiastes 11:2

08

Preparing for future need is wise.

Proverbs 6:6-8; 21:20

09

Be resourceful and not wasteful by gathering up the fragments.

John 6:12

10

Generosity is a muscle that requires exercise.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

We believe we can master our money without it mastering us, and that rather than a terrible burden, it can be a tremendous blessing.

Join Us on This Financial Journey!

What if there’s a way to spend less, save more, and give more without losing out on the happiness and joy in life? What if I told you that the path to financial freedom and bountiful generosity is the same one that leads toward a life of less anxiety and greater peace? It IS possible to gain the things that truly matter in life and to live a satisfying and contented life. By learning to master your money and having the proper outlook on life, you too can have more time with your family, pursue a calling even if it doesn’t pay much, volunteer for worthy causes, become a missionary, start a business, pick up a hobby, learn a new skill, give more to charity, and so much more.

We believe all this and more can be had through an intentional lifestyle of saving the crumbs. We invite you to join us on this financial journey!

 

Check out some of our most popular articles: