In previous postings I told you of how I led my family into the slavery of debt. When we were slaves to our credit card debt, we had to make a decision. If we did not go on the “cash only” basis we would never turn our ship around. You say, “But today we are in a cashless society!” Stop making excuses. Quit increasing your debt. Stop living the American dream. What is the American Dream? The American Dream is buying things I really don’t need with money I really don’t have to impress people I really don’t like!
Stop it! Quit using your credit cards. Do you realize that when you go to the store for something specific, studies show that if you use a credit card you will spend up to 18% more than if you used cash. It’s just too easy. When you can only use the cash in your pocket you will buy less than if you use your credit card. That is a fact. In other words, if you use your credit card over the course of the year to buy a total of $10,000 worth of things you need, you will end up spending nearly $2,000 more than you planned and that is without considering any interest you might end up paying. Stop it! Now, I have credit cards. However, I only use my credit cards if I can pay off the balance when the bill comes in. Unless of course it is an emergency, if I cannot pay it off when the bill comes in, I don’t buy it. I didn’t always used to that. Now I do.
And with this principle comes another point. Don’t fall for the “60 days, 90 days, 12 months or even 24 months same as cash traps.” Bottom line is this. If you don’t have the money now to pay for it, you most likely won’t have it 60 days from now, 90 days from now, 12 months from now, or whenever. Don’t buy it if you can’t afford it. You say, “But it won’t be as cheap later!” There you go again with more excuses. Remember, excuses will keep you a slave to your debt. Buying it now on credit will almost always cost you more than waiting until you have the money to buy it. The problem is that we live in an “I want it now and I can’t wait society.” Even if I can’t afford it, I want it now. We are the only society in the world that stands in front of their microwaves and hollers, “Hurry Up!” Laura and I had to come to a conclusion and that was that there are many things we would like to have that we simply can’t have right now and may not ever be able to possess and that’s OK.
Now once you commit to those two beginning principles and the discipline it takes to accomplish them with no more excuses, you will need to go on to the next step and that is to develop a plan to pay down your debt. There are many people out there who can help you to know how to do that in a smart and godly way. But your plan has no chance if you don’t put these first two principles into place. First, you have to put God first in your finances and second, you must quit acquiring debt. Yes, we are all facing some sort of financial obstacle at this time, but every obstacle includes an opportunity.
So now you must decide? This economic downturn in our country has produced many obstacles but with it comes the opportunity to wake up and begin to change habits and manage our money in a Biblical way. So, what will it be? DISCIPLINE or EXCUSES?
Stop it! Quit using your credit cards. Do you realize that when you go to the store for something specific, studies show that if you use a credit card you will spend up to 18% more than if you used cash. It’s just too easy. When you can only use the cash in your pocket you will buy less than if you use your credit card. That is a fact. In other words, if you use your credit card over the course of the year to buy a total of $10,000 worth of things you need, you will end up spending nearly $2,000 more than you planned and that is without considering any interest you might end up paying. Stop it! Now, I have credit cards. However, I only use my credit cards if I can pay off the balance when the bill comes in. Unless of course it is an emergency, if I cannot pay it off when the bill comes in, I don’t buy it. I didn’t always used to that. Now I do.
And with this principle comes another point. Don’t fall for the “60 days, 90 days, 12 months or even 24 months same as cash traps.” Bottom line is this. If you don’t have the money now to pay for it, you most likely won’t have it 60 days from now, 90 days from now, 12 months from now, or whenever. Don’t buy it if you can’t afford it. You say, “But it won’t be as cheap later!” There you go again with more excuses. Remember, excuses will keep you a slave to your debt. Buying it now on credit will almost always cost you more than waiting until you have the money to buy it. The problem is that we live in an “I want it now and I can’t wait society.” Even if I can’t afford it, I want it now. We are the only society in the world that stands in front of their microwaves and hollers, “Hurry Up!” Laura and I had to come to a conclusion and that was that there are many things we would like to have that we simply can’t have right now and may not ever be able to possess and that’s OK.
Now once you commit to those two beginning principles and the discipline it takes to accomplish them with no more excuses, you will need to go on to the next step and that is to develop a plan to pay down your debt. There are many people out there who can help you to know how to do that in a smart and godly way. But your plan has no chance if you don’t put these first two principles into place. First, you have to put God first in your finances and second, you must quit acquiring debt. Yes, we are all facing some sort of financial obstacle at this time, but every obstacle includes an opportunity.
So now you must decide? This economic downturn in our country has produced many obstacles but with it comes the opportunity to wake up and begin to change habits and manage our money in a Biblical way. So, what will it be? DISCIPLINE or EXCUSES?
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