THIRSTY, BUT WON'T DRINK

So TEXAS is @ the bottom of the financial literallcy totem pole....yet folks R going broke 4 Christmass & buying $300-$6000 concert tickets to see Jay-Z and Kanye.

I was reminded again the other day that we don't have a money issue in America as much as we have a SPENDING ISSUE.

People are struggling these days, but much richer than many in contemporary times and even in the history of the world.  Our issue is that we want more and we want it NOW.  And its killing us.

If a person is thirsty and at the point of catastrophe, what would you do?  Give them a drink right? Water is best to solve dehydration.  So what do you do when they refuse to drink the water you have given them? 

We are in want because we want the wrong things.
If we thirst after righteousness I guarantee that we would see less struggle in our financial outlook and behavior. 

How sad that many struggle financially but are too prideful to take the drink God has placed before them.  SIP, DRINK, GULP.

PLAYING IT SAFE.

In an earlier time, when people had to grow things to sustain their livelyhood.  There lived two neighbors who owned farms side by side.

One farmer, while working diligently during the sowing time, decided to inquire of his neighbor as to how he was dealing with that year's hardships.  The bugs seemed bigger, the water fewer, and the critters more prolific.  He sought advice to help with his long fought battle on his field.

When he got to the other farmer's house he was just relaxing on the porch rocking in his rocking chair and sipping coffee.

"How's it going Joe." the farmer asked his friend.

"Its rough out in this world Bill" He answered.

"Tell me about it!  How do you remain so calm?  How are you dealing with this harsh season?"

"Deal with it? Bill I am doing exactly what you see me doing now."

"But what of the harvest Joe, you've got to make a living."

"Well you see Bill, I wanted to plant taters, but the critters keep crittering. I wanted to plant watercrest, but there ain't hardly no water.  I wanted to plant some corn, but the bugs are as big as grapes.  So I decided to just hold tight this season and not waste my time."

Bill could believe his ears, for he knew that you reap what you sow. "Well Joe...that's just plum stupid." And he drove home praying for wisdom, and for Joe because he knew winter would soon come.

Life can go good or bad, but in all things, God has our backs and expects us to be good stewards at all times.  TALENTS ANY ONE?

LIFE IS FULL OF UNCERTAINTY, BUT BE ASSURED THAT GOD WILL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS.

HE JUST ASKS THAT WE KEEP SOWING IN FAITH.

In diligence, one guy accidentally created silly putty and made millions on purpose.  I wonder how many ideas do we let lip by?

Slave in a Free Land

We live in a free country, yet many are still slaves. 

Not wanting to ignore the moraless slavery of many to passions and lust, I'd rather focus on the not so secret financial slavery.

Are you a slave?  Is your pocketbook a slave? MOST LIKELY...YES.

I am currently a slave, I've come to realize this and have a plan to get out.  What about you? Have you opened your eyes?  Do you know how to tell if you are a slave?  Its a simple self examination and everyone has seen, heard, or read about the key characteristic already.

ITS DEBT.

If you have it, you are a slave.

Isaiah 24:2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so

with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with

the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with

the debtor.

24:3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly plundered:

for the LORD has spoken this word.
                 
(KJ2000 - sent from CadreBible)

When being borrower is an analogy for a historical, factual judgement of a people, perhaps you ought to remedy the situation.

Business and personal should be bundled

I remember seeking to do business with a good friend a few years ago, and you know what he told me?  I don't do business with friends.  Then he proceeded to share and incident with me that happened between he and another friend of mine.  It just all seemed like there were too many assumptions and emotions got the best of the situation.  They were both good people and I just couldn't understand why that deal didn't go through.  They were still friends afterwards too.  The result of that view of business is this...now my friend is gone to be with the Lord, and if he and his wife had done business with me, his wife and their young child would be in a better situation financially. 
One of the biggest misconception-trains-of-thought told in the business world is never mix business and friendships.  Never get too close to the people you supervise, and don't do business with family.  As one of the greatest business men in America, Art Williams once said in response to those ideas...
(In paraphrase) he said; another key in business is you've got to learn to treat people good.  In Universities they teach you not to get to know your employees, their spouse, nor their kids because you might have to fire them someday.  His response...BULL.  He went on to say how building a meaningful personal relationship is the best way to establish a beneficial working relationship.
ITS BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL
I HATE that saying, the last time I heard it was on "Takers." The idea of "doing business" is that you offer some product or service of value to others.  Once the transaction occurs, you both leave with an improved situation.  The reasons why people separate business and personal relationships is because they either; do underhanded things in business, and don't want to do them to their friends or family, or they have been burned by someone who didn't live by such a moral code.  This sort of thing gets me upset.
So let's get to the point, those you do business with should be people who care about you and your loved ones.  If you think about it...you most likely already do business with such people.  When it comes to caring for you family, this is best handled through how well you deal with your financial matters.  So in financial matters, you really need the service of someone who cares about what God feels about their service to others, and walks in right character and understanding.  This individual will most certainly look out for you and your family, and be a valuable friend for years to come.  This is the type of business person I strive to be hourly.
So....do you have a meaningful personal relationship with a financial professional? You should.

Enjoy some Art Williams wisdom.

What you dont know won't kill you...

I remember hearing quite a few people who have expressed that they just weren't good with money.  The sad thing is,they say this as if its just not going to change.  The problem with such thinking is that its ghetto.  By ghetto I mean that it is characteristic of Low income individuals (regardless of race) to live with the mind set that they themselves, as well as their situation will not change.

It is should seem strange that we often let situations throw us around.  Sure there are things we can't control, but surprisingly there are many things we can.  The law of reaping and sowing tells us that what we do has consequence, which leads me to the thought:

Let's do better @ waiting. Not sitting idle, nor wasting time, but preparing for the promises to come. We need spiritual patience & stamina.

Patience not to give up because things are difficult, or because we mess up, or it takes longer than expected.  Things come to the dilligent, to LIFE or DEATH.  So keep pressing on!  Do the research, work out the kinks....keep getting better and once you begin to do the right things consistently long enough, blesssings will flow.

COMPOUND INTEREST IN YOUR FAVOR

They say that one of the most powerful things to leverage in finances is COMPOUND INTEREST.  It should be your greatest ally when working your financial plan, and there is also a spiritual element you best not overlook.

GOD CREATED COMPOUND INTEREST

Think about it, the math involved was fabricated into the very world we live in.  Two vessels of DNA become one cell that multiplies exponentially into a person after conception.  A small seed becomes a plant, tree, or vine which can produce more seeds and more plants.  Two humans populated the world. 

When reaping and sowing in life, compound interest is also present.  The growth of the Church is evendent in this, as sowing the word can produce up to 100 fold returns.

Sometime we forget this and wonder why does it seem bad things happen to good people, but the wicked seem to prosper.Romans 8:18 states that even though you suffer now for doing godly things, what you will receive in the end will be substancially greater.  Why? COMPOUND INTEREST.

We live in a "get it now" world where people have placed compound interest AGAINST themselves.  Letting debt grow and compound and weight them down.  Look at the economy or the citizens and also the government.
 
Even spiritually we set up situations that place COMPOUND INTEREST against us.  Doing selfish deeds, holding others back, making things rough for people we come into contact with.  Procrastination is just a way of COMPOUNDING failure at a later date. 

Funny how we always seem to use what God meant for good as a means to add to our own struggles.

It is in our best INTEREST to allow the GOLDEN RULE to work in our favor as well as using COMPOUND INTEREST to save and build tangible money as opposed to pretending to have stuff when all you are really doing is COMPOUNDING PROBLEMS.

MONEY LOST

Most don't plan to fail, they fail to plan

Many are presently feeling lost when it comes to their money situation.  When the economy was going well no one really worried that they were lost financially, many didn't even realize it.  Mostly because they assumed that the money would always increase in the future.  I know I did.  I made some decisions almost three years ago based on the assumption that my income would increase.  In the current flow of events my base income dropped dramatically, and I was open to new possibilities.

The beauty of recession is that it makes you look at things for what they are, temporary.  As we I type this congress is working on budget cuts that are shedding light on the fact that nothing is rock solid and completely safe.  Even wealth.

Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich;restrain yourself! 

Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; 

wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder. 

Money has it's up and downs, and like the black player, many of us are in trouble....

 The biggest revelation is that too many have been walking financially blind simply because they never put together a plan for how to handle their money.  Why?  Well too many think they know all they need to know, and want to do it themselves.  Pride tells them that they can deal with their own money without help or that they already have it handled.  But if you look at the statistics you can see that many families have been doing the wrong thing(s) for years.

People don't plan to fail, 

they just fail to plan.  

My advice to you is that regardless of what you think you know, find someone who knows more than you do about finances and ask for directions.

DOING BETTER WITH YOUR MONEY IN 2011

I do OK with money, well that is what I have been led to believe.  People I know always seem to assume that I have more money that I actually do.  I don't know why that is but it guess its not a bad thing.  I am not one known to budget...officially.  I am used to what I would call mental budgeting, that is where I set aside tithes and bills and then the rest was spent on needs and wants. 
Usually on whims.  However there are many flaws in that financial game plan, and as with all bad things, changes are required.

As we are moving into the new year, many have quoted the scripture that says "I know the plans I have for you...." as well as other promises of good fortune.  Think about this, a good friend of mine died around this season last year and I know many who mourn during the holiday season due to loss.  Not only is there loss of separation, but usually this also means that a substantial portion of income is loss.  America is one of the few places on earth where there are ways to replace income due to death, it's called life insurance.  The sad thing is that not all life insurance is good for everyone and many are often being misled by companies out to get money, not looking out for the best interest of others.

This blatant disregard for the average person's well being is one of the reasons that feel we are dealing with such financial woes in the US.  Does this the negate the promises of good fortune in the bible?  NO!  At the end of the day we are to seek God in what He HAS FOR US, not how much he can give us.  There is a lane we are to run in and it is not concern of ours as to how much better someone else's lane looks.  We just need to trust GOD.  Truth be told if you can CHOOSE what you want to eat and have to DECIDE what you wear, then you are beyond blessed. 




Don't underestimate your current state of blessing.

Understand that not all is going to go as we would like it go this year, and there will be suffering to be had because of our hard hardheadedness.  Be of good cheer, because suffering brings patience and wisdom and character...and prayerfully some leaning.  There is so much I still need to change in my life this year and there are things you need to as well.  It is interesting how troubled times open our eyes to our needs to change.  I guarantee you that if you are reading this you are probably one of the 99.5% of people who need to make some changes in their money habits.  As a good friend of my fathers told me last year,

"don't put good money out for bad!" - J. W. Williams 

That is the beauty of life, that while we are on this side of the land, we can change.