Debt

(My friend is in blue; I am in black.)

      My wife and I are both working and saving cause it is time to break this large debt evil crap. We are ready to be a lot more unburdened and we have really learned our lessons with credit cards, loans, acting like we're middle/upper class, etc etc etc. i wasn't in debt until i started this job... i sunk my self about four years ago.. hopefully it will be over at the end of the summer... this is something i am trying to pray about (sorta a stupid thing to pray about)

      I think it's a perfect thing to pray about. God wants into where we live. He wants to be a player in the things that are important to us. Otherwise, we really don't know him and he's just the Sunday guy.
      Here's a prayer for you -- Lord, please honor my friend's desire to get out of debt and make a way for him to do this so that he can be free to spend his resources on what you want. (God can read too, you know).

      Yes, debt is something to avoid. The Bible talks more about money than about anything else. Isn't that weird?

very interesting... sorta makes sense considering the way things are today

      It says don't borrow. Julie and I live in a nice house that we own, we eat out all the time, and we have no debt. I should save more, but we may get the chance to later. And we are just teachers. And we give 10%+ to God. That's the place to start. Tithing (giving God 10%) seems crazy, but it's amazing. I challenge you to try it (put your money where your mouth is) and see if you don't see financial miracles. There's no natural way that giving away 10% of your income can help you financially. But it does. That's why it's a miracle. It proves to God that you trust him where the rubber meets the road. What people spend their money on is what they worship. That's why the Bible spends so much time talking about money. It is the real test for what people are into and what they really belive.       Also what you spend your time on is a test. It shows what you're into. The Bible talks about giving time to God, too. You're supposed to take one day off a week and rest; no work. We take Saturday.

very interesting... admittedly, this is a hard one to swallow for me... but very intersting indeed

      It is amazing how many people are in debt. It freaks almost everybody out that we are not. The money thing is something I've never had a problem with. Of course I still drive Pokey, the car I inherited from my brother, the 1984 Toyota. And I'll drive it until it breaks for good. Big deal. I never have to repair it. It never breaks down. I don't want a new car.
      I took a cool course on money from a Christian perspective about three years ago. It was really intense. Basically, they say to get out of debt the first thing to do (besides tithe) is work it to where you can stop borrowing. Until you do that, it's just two steps forward and three steps back. Then you make a budget and stick with it. Spend a month tracking everything you spend before you make the budget. Then use those records to establish the budget. Then revise the budget to work the kinks out month after month.
      While you're doing this, they say consolidate your debt. In other words, prioritize it and start paying off the highest interest rates first, and then down to the lowest ones. If you owe someone like your parents at no interest, contact them and tell them of your plan to pay the rest of your debts off first. Usually they will understand. If not, agree to pay them a small regular sum monthly. Even if it is just a small amount, it will assure them that you are serious about paying them back, and it will put their minds at ease.
      Once you're out of debt, the next goal is to put a month's regular salary into savings. Then you use that as emergency money. Then the next goal is to start saving for your next car. You start making payments to a savings account as if you were making car payments. Then, when it's time to get a new car, you pay for it in cash from the car savings account. That way you've gained interest on your money, and you don't have to pay interest on a car loan.
      They say it's OK to take out a loan for a house, because if you live in the same place for more than two years, buying a house is cheaper than renting, because you get your money back. So a house loan is really treated more like a wise investment and less like a loan, because you would have had to pay rent anyway.
      There. Free advice. Amazing. The motto is, "If you do the possible, God will do the impossible." The realization is that victory comes not from being debt free (sometimes that's beyond your control), but the victory is that you made a plan towards being debt free, and you stuck with it. And if you die still in debt, God meets you in heaven and says, "Way to stick to your plan, you won." So if you do the possible, he does the rest. If you don't do the possible, he has less room to work. Sometimes he just immediately delivers people. Other times, he just lets people struggle it out.
      Anyway, that's my two cents (in a brief five paragraphs)

 

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