Financial
Help For
The Indebted...
Increasingly
in our Western society as the standard of living increases
more people are succumbing to impatience and plunging themselves
into debt. Debt pays for the holidays they must have. Debt
pays for the restaurant meal they deserved. Debt pays for the
kids' tuition fees. And before they know it, the budgetry equation
looks like:
Income
(100%)
less-
Expenditure
(120%)
equals=
Increasing
debt.
The
amount of money involved is irrelevant. What's relevant is lifestyle.
Interestingly this typical Middle Class budgetry lifestyle
is sharply contrasted by the lifestyle of the truly financially
competent. Their equation looks like:
Income
(100%)
less-
Expenditure
(70%)
equals=
Increasing
wealth.
Therefore,
how do we help people living a typical Middle Class lifestyle?
The first thing that's needed is a change of thinking which
eventually leads to a change of lifestyle. Among the first
things that have to change in the thinking is what is really
valuable. All too often value is only measured in material
things. Value must be seen in certain non-tangible, non-absolute,
factors. Our spiritual depth with God; the things we allow
into our minds; the words we allow out of our mouths; the use
of our time, and perhaps the most undervalued factor: our
plan.
When
we combine these aspects of recovery from a lifestyle of debt
into a lifestyle of competence we come up with an equation
that looks like-
Time
with God in His Word +
Meditation
on what God's Word says about blessing +
Declaration
of God's Word to ourselves and others +
A
long term view rather than a search for a short-cut =
A
wise strategic plan for an alteration of lifestyle.
There
are enough testimonies of people who have lived Middle Class
lifestyle of spiraling debt, who have halted their indebtedness
and changed their lifestyle into one of financial competence.
It can be done.
The
second thing that should be done is an integral aspect to the
plan. Decrease expenditure from 120% of income to 70% of income.
Remember it doesn't matter how your income is. In fact, chances
are the more you earn, the more debt you'll have! What matters
most is getting the principle of "spend less than you
earn" right. What expenses can you immediately cut out?
Take away food goes. Newspapers go. Movies, video hire, cable
TV, all goes.
Kind
women get respect,
Ruthless men become rich
Proverbs 11:16
To
get out of debt takes ruthless action! While its easy to go
to McDonalds and blow $20 on dinner for the family, it's not
helping your family's long term financial welfare if that $20
should be used to reduce existing debt.
Get
Rich Quick!?
Many
Middle Class debt driven lifestylers hang onto a vain hope
that they are going to strike it rich. Maybe a Lotto win. Maybe
a pay rise. Maybe an inheritance. Maybe a spontaneous act of
benevolence by a wealthy person toward us. Maybe a huge favourable
banking error which the Bank is too embarrassed to admit to
or reverse(!). In circumstances like these, it's time to get
real. Assume that nothing is going to change on the income
side. Assume that if any of the previously mentioned windfalls
did happen that with a Middle Class lifestyle, the Middle Class
lifestyle equation is still going to be the same. This principle
is borne out in the fact that Lottery winners are usually worse
off financially within 2-5 years than they were before they
won!
How
can we help people in a lifestyle of debtedness? Preach right
values. Demonstrate financial competency. Read material that
changes lifestyle thinking. Much of Robert Kiyosaki's books
are good place to start. And most of all: offer hope, patience,
and understanding.
© 2001
Dr. Andrew Corbett
TOP
Written
by Dr. Andrew Corbett. May be freely copied provided that the
author's details are credited.
 Andrew Corbett
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