more about Minding the Business

I'm grateful for all the positive response to the new sermon series and can't wait for next weekend....but I already know I can't cover it all, so here's some thoughts that I won't have time to discuss in the sermon, but that you might find helpful for your financial health, starting with a pithy quote from Benjamin Franklin:

“But ah! Think what you do when you run into debt; you give to another power over your liberty. If you cannot pay on time, you will be ashamed to see your creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor, pitiful sneaking excuses, and by degrees, come to lose your veracity, and sink into base, down-right lying…” --Poor Richard’s Almanac’, Ben Franklin, 1732

• Debt presumes on the future. We presume there will be no pay cuts, no loss of job, and no unexpected expenses. That’s an improbable assumption (Prov 27:1).
• Debt lowers future standards of living. Money borrowed today must be repaid over time along with the interest, meaning everything actually cost us more when we pay “tomorrow”
• Debt focuses on façade decisions rather than real-life decisions. Debt encourages decisions based on the monthly payment, rather than the actual total cost
• Debt leaves people at the mercy of the power of compound interest. If you pay the minimum payment on a $1,000 debt at 19.8% and never charge anything else, it will take 8 yrs to pay back $1,000 and you’ll pay $2,023 for the ‘privilege’ of charging that original $1,000. Think what that did to the original purchase price!
• Debt could delay God’s plan. God said He would provide; credit cards allow needs to be met now, instant gratification., rather than waiting on God’s plan.
• Debt clouds the line that separates wants, desires, and needs. Needs are necessary purchases; wants involve choices about quality. Debt allows desires to become wants and wants to become needs.
• Debt encourages impulse buying and overspending. We spend 25-30% more when we charge than when we pay w/check or cash.
• Debt stifles resourcefulness. Mending clothing, resoling shoes, and changing oil—in order to save money is no longer relevant.
• Debt eliminates family financial planning because the course for our financial future already been set: we must pay the debt that has accumulated.
• Debt teaches our children that the world’s method of managing money is normal. This gives them a casual regard for credit cards, obtaining loans, and keeping their vows to pay bills. Now kids can graduate college by borrowing for their education and living to their credit card limits. They never consider paying cash for car; etc; instead, they begin life as an adult with so much debt!

I'll have more to say about all of this and more this weekend when we learn to "Act Your Wage".