Sunday, January 03, 2010

Come Back Tomorrow, And Then I'll Help You



As with just about every person living in the US today, Jenny and I have some serious debt problems. I had them before I got married for that matter.

Spending more than I make, student loan debt, credit cards, the whole deal.

We've spent the past year or two really working these things down. We paid off our car a year early, we've worked through some cards, consolidated others, and are down a significant percentage from what we were earlier.

We've really cut down on expenses, the going out to eat, frivolous (or in some cases, not so) purchases and have been really adamant about taking the "extra" money from our budget and applying it to paying down our debts.

This strategy comes into debate sometimes, because we're not exactly sure if we should. Due to this strategy of getting out of debt as fast as possible, we don't donate much money.
  • To church
  • To charity
  • To causes
  • To just about anything
We've discussed it and have told ourselves that once we get out of debt (or more controlled debt at least) that we'll turn that around. That we'll give our money to church and to charity instead of to our creditors...when we stop owing them. It seems like a responsible thing to do--to us at least.

But then some things challenge our decision. Like some Bible verses that you come across while doing a scheduled read-through of Proverbs:

If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you."
-Proverbs 3:28
This is essentially what we're doing.
But we're not.

We're saying that we need to take care of OUR problems now, and we'll deal with THEIR problems later.

Some other day.

A distant futuristic 'tomorrow.'

Some time that we haven't assigned, that when this 'tomorrow' arrives--will we recognize it?

Is this a responsible way of handling troubled finances? Of digging ourselves out of a mess that we put ourselves into?

Or in an attempt to put ourselves on 'steadier' financial footing, are we really being irresponsible and unfaithful with the amounts that we do have access to NOW. Today. Not tomorrow.

In the long run, would we be able to do more by what we're doing? Or is an alternate strategy better?

What would you do about this?

Comments (4)

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Props to you for being transparent with your money stuff. That's huge. Also, congrats on paying some of that stuff down.

When it comes to finances, there are several things my wife and I do:

We try to follow "Give, Save, Live on the rest." This is all based on percentages and monthly/yearly budgeting.

Don't spend what you don't have.. If the money isn't in the bank, we don't spend it. This means we may not go to movies (NetFlix ftw), or go out to eat all the time (it's not Delivery, it's DiGiorno), or we just don't buy the pairs of shoes this month. Of course, some months are better than others so sometimes we can do that stuff. But if it's not in the budget and in the bank, it's not done.

Focus on emergency fund, savings, and retirement. There are also three things we stay focused on - keeping an emergency fund in case something breaks (air conditioner, car transmission, etc), savings (in case the career tanks and we gotta find a new job), and retirement (pretty easy: percentage of paycheck into Roth 401k). These are a long time, but it's worth it. And yes, helping others less fortunate is important but if we don't have money to take care of ourselves, how are we honestly supposed to help others?

You may be interested in The Balanced series that was done at North Point last year. It talks about some of this stuff.

When it comes to finances, I also try to remember:
"The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave." Proverbs 22:7. With the exception of a mortgage, I try very, very hard never to borrow money.
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
Thanks for the props & congrats.

I may check that series out. I've heard a "not too small" amount of series on finances and everything, as it's a popular topic. But that doesn't mean I'm not still looking for more resources on it. Thanks man.

Also, your comment is a blog post. ha ha
I don't have any debt, and I had it easier than most when it came to that (when I was done with college, I had $15,000 in student loans, but my parents graciously let me move in with them & I paid it off in a year). Currently, I am doing a year of service to America (AmeriCorps*VISTA) and have gone hardcore on my budget. I'm all about that Dave Ramsey & his Financial Peace University. I use my own version, but have a cash only spending system. I allocate my funds like mad (still allowing for a regular title and my sponsor kid), pull out cash each month, and when it's gone, it's gone. It took a bit to get used to, but I'm getting used to waiting and saving.

Delayed gratification is the way to go. Necessity only. Another way to get into it "easier," is to try a spending fast. Or a specific type of spending fast--I did a clothing fast for 6 months awhile back in order to help me understand I did not need as many clothes as I was purchasing.
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
I like that suggestion of the specific type of spending fast. That's an intriguing idea.

Thanks for the thoughts, Katie :)

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