Notes of the Living Debt

Today's talk was on dealing with the Attack of the Uncontrollable Wallet:

1. Pay Attention (keep records)
   
• "Riches can disappear fast..." Proverbs 27:23 - As it turns out, the Bible is true.
• "You can't win a battle when you don't know what's going on"
  
• Know
  
• what you own
• what you owe
• what you earn
• where it goes
2. Tell My Money Where to Go (budget)
   
• Money talks: it says, "Goodbye."
• A spending plan is you deciding where your money's going to go
• Financial Freedom is not about earning more and more money, it's about learning how to control what you spend
• Joe Sangl is passionate about setting people free
• "Winning the lottery is not a good financial plan."
3. Plan of Future Surprises (save)
   
• Debt is saying, "I can't afford this now, but I'm sure I'll be able to afford it later."
• Debt is taking the future's resources and pulling them into today, it is borrowing against the future.
• "The wise man saves for the future." Proverbs 21:20a
• Last year
• the average Japanese family saved 25%
• the average European family saved 18%
• the average American family saved -1% (spent 1% more than they earned).
4. Put God First (tithe)
   
• Tithing is putting God first with your money.
• In any area of life where you want God to move, you must put Him first
• His ultimate goal is to set you free: one area of freedom is financial.
• Everything belongs to God; let him take care of it.
• Plan should be 10-10-80
  
• 10% Give to God
• 10% Save for the future
  
• 80% Live on the rest
5. Enjoy What I Have (contentment)
• Need to appreciate what God has given me
• Our work doesn't equal a living; Our work + God's blessing = a living.
• If you borrow from Visa, you have to do what Visa says.
• "I wish someone like that would follow me around and keep me in line. He's like a huge Jabba-the-Hutt version of Jimmy the Cricket!" (sic)
  
• "Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy?" - Isaiah 55:2b
  
• If you'll walk with God and do what he says, he'll take care of you and bring you out of financial struggles.