the other day i witnessed a conversation i found quite alarming. a younger, post-college aged guy was talking with a guy who had to be into his 60's. here is how the conversation went:
the younger guy comments about the fact that he hadn't seen any of the little league world series because he doesn't have cable. the older guy found this quite unbelievable. but the younger informed him that he is poor and he needs to save money in any way he can. to which the older guy responded by telling the younger guy that having cable didn't cost that much. he told him he had a package deal...he got cable, internet, and phone all in one.
and then came the kicker. the older guy told the younger that this package deal only cost $130/month. to which the younger guy said, "exactly, that's a lot of money".
of course, the older guy seemed to disagree.
and as if that is not bad enough, the older guy went on to ask the younger guy why he didn't have any student loans...insinuating that if he had loan money he could easily pay for cable. and to top it off, a while back i was at our local food shelter and i saw this same older guy there getting free food.
it was a conversation that made me at the same time, furious and in disbelief.
if i had time and space, i could go on with at least 5 other stories i have encountered recently of people suffering difficult situations and circumstances as a result of poor financial decisions. the bottom line is, there are not many things that are more damaging and paralyzing than poor financial decisions. and i am convinced that, in most cases, people simply don't know. they are doing what they have seen done.
my wife and i have enjoyed the great blessing of being debt-free for the entirety of our marriage (over 5 years). it is something that cannot be described in words! we have been debt-free and have been able to continue to make wise and informed financial decisions largely because of the wisdom and teaching of dave ramsey.
he and his business have a ton of amazing resources. click here to check out everything they have to offer.
if you are looking for a good place to get started with ramsey's principles and ideas, this book, The Total Money Makeover is a great choice. i challenge you to pick up a copy...you will be challenged and changed...and it will be well worth the money spent!
3 comments:
I totally see this. Sadly, it's all about maintaining an exterior illusion of wealth (having cable, driving a nice car, having a smartphone, etc.). How sad that we neglect what it's our checking account so that other people will think differently about us.
I just finished and highly recommend "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn on this subject. He presents 5 simple principles that go against the grain of the world so hard.
1.God owns everything, Im his money manager
2.My heart always goes where I put God's money
3.Heaven, not Earth, is my home.
4.I should not live for the dot, but the line (earth=dot, heaven=ongoing line)
5.Giving is the only antidote to materialism
6.God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.
Great post Brad
actually, theres 6 there. what a bonus
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