As promised after this last week’s message, here is a guaranteed plan for getting out of debt.

1. List all your debts.

List all of your debts and arrange them in order of how quickly you can pay each one off from fastest to slowest. For example, if you have a medical bill in the amount of $1000 with no interest and a minimum monthly payment of $100 and a credit card with a balance of $3000 with interest rate of 20% and a minimum monthly payment of $100, you can eliminate the medical bill more quickly than you can the credit card. Yes, this goes against the wisdom of those like Dave Ramsey who advise to take the debt with the highest interest and pay it off first. Their advice is that the interest rate is rapidly increasing your debt and you should pay those off first. However, I believe it is more of a cash flow problem. You need to free up cash flow as soon as possible to eliminate debt so pay off the debt that you can eliminate the quickest.

2. Eliminate the debt you can pay off the quickest.

Pay the minimum monthly payment on all your debt except for the one you can eliminate the quickest. Divert any extra cash flow you can to pay that debt off as quickly as possible. Look into ways to make extra money. List things for sell online. You don’t really need your kitchen table! Sell it. You can replace it when you are debt free and can pay cash for it! Think of any way you can earn some extra cash to accelerate your first debt payoff. And make sure you are putting the extra cash onto your debt payment not going out to eat on it.

3. Snowball your debt payment.

Once you eliminate the first debt, celebrate! And then take the payment you were making on the debt you just eliminated and add it to the next debt. Continue to make the minimum monthly payment on all of your other debts. For example, let’s say you just eliminated a $1000 medical bill and were paying $150/month on the medical bill. Your next debt is a credit card with a minimum monthly payment of $100. You are now paying $250 a month on the credit card payment. You have snowballed your debt payoff. And you do that until you eliminate all of the debt you are hoping to eliminate.

4. Do not accumulate any new debt.

Most importantly…do not continue to accumulate debt while you are eliminating debt. That’s like digging a hole and someone throwing the dirt you are shoveling out back into the hole. Make a commitment to live below your means and not take on any new debt.

 

This plan is 100% guaranteed. I know, because I did it. And you can too!

Do you enjoy playing board games? Or how about card games? Our family has always enjoyed clearing the table and putting a good game in front of us. It’s been a go to of ours from the beginning. I remember the first board game we ever played with the boys when they were little but old enough to begin playing – Chutes and Ladders. That’s a terrible game! I used to get so upset when my five year old would win the game. I’m a competitive person and there is no rhyme or reason with Chutes and Ladders. It’s all about the luck of the spin. What kind of game is that?

So, we gradually made it to games where there is more skill and strategy involved. Games like Sorry, Battleship, and Monopoly. And card games like Skip-Bo, Phase 10, and Uno. I mean, even Go Fish is more competitive than Chutes and Ladders! I used to love winning at Monopoly by buying up all the properties, placing hotels on them, and smirking when the boys landed on them. And who doesn’t love being able to yell out, “Uno!” and lay down that last remaining card.

When you think about it, there are really two types of games. There are those, like Monopoly, where the one who finishes with the most is the winner. And then there are those, like Uno, where the one who finishes with an empty hand, is the winner. Life is a lot like that too. Not the game of Life, but real life.

We tend to live life more like a game of Monopoly. It’s all about accumulating as much as we can. But the truth is, real life is more like a game of Uno. It’s not the one who finishes with the most toys wins but rather the one who finishes with an empty hand is the true victor. The one who dies with the most toys is, well, still dead. And you can’t take all of those toys with you!

The One I want to follow said it this way, “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (Luke 12:15 – The Message).

How about you? Monopoly or Uno?

 

 

 

Amy and I were at a conference a few weeks back and there was a point in the afternoon where we had a break and decided to do some shopping. The mall was a drive away from the hotel so we caught an Uber. Our driver’s profile told us he was originally from Haiti. Amy and I have had the opportunity to go to Haiti and we love the country and the people there. So, we struck up a conversation with him about our visit and our fancy for his homeland.

His opening response to our queries was, “Please don’t judge my people by our government.” I didn’t say it out loud but in my head I retorted, “Deal! You’re preaching to the choir on that one!” But then he said something very interesting. “Haiti is a beautiful country, but we have not done a good job taking care of our resources.” Now, that will preach to every one of us.

You see, God owns everything (Psalm 24:1, 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). He gives to us out of his riches and according to our ability (Deuteronomy 8:18, Ecclesiastes 6:2, Matthew 25:15). And we simply manage what he has blessed us with (Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Corinthians 4:2,1 Peter 4:10) . The question is: Are we doing a good job taking care of the resources that have been entrusted to us? (Luke 16:10).

To facilitate answering this question, I encourage you to do three things:

1. Take an inventory of everything God has blessed you with. A mental inventory is good but a written one even better. It will take days, but write down everything God has blessed you with. From your house and cars to your forks and spoons. From your spouse and children to your beloved dog and cat. From your job and office to your pencils and erasers. It’s all God’s!
2. Give thanks over your inventory. It’s easy to get caught focusing on what’s missing from the list rather than what is included in the inventory. It’s easy to begin to desire someone else’s inventory rather than our own. Giving thanks over what is on the list helps re-orient our perspective.
3. Ask yourself with each item on your inventory: “Am I doing a good job taking care of this resource that God has entrusted to me?” If yes, place a checkmark by the item. If no, ask God how you can better manage that blessing and grow into a better steward of it.

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much” (Matthew 25:21).

 

 

 

 

A recent Harris Poll indicated that 77% of Americans reported feeling stressed about money at some point during the past month. And 22% of Americans revealed they experienced extreme stress about money during the past month. Are you in that percentage?

Take this simple inventory. Are you…

_____ Living your life paycheck to paycheck

_____ Consistently having more month than money

_____ Frequently doubting you will have enough to pay all the bills

_____ Losing sleep because of excessive worry about money

_____ Mapping out your commutes trying to limit the gas you use

_____ Questioning whether you will ever be able to eliminate your debt

_____ Having repeated arguments with your spouse about money

_____ Wondering if the unknown number is a robo call or a credit collector

_____ Obtaining a new credit card to transfer your balance to a lower interest rate

_____ Always thinking “Can I afford this?” instead of “Should I buy this?”

_____ Wanting to give when you see a need but thinking you can’t afford to

_____ Repetitively pondering how you can make more money

If you can say yes to even one of these things, odds are you are suffering some sort of financial stress.

How would it feel to live without financial pressure? How would it feel to get out of debt, have more money than month, stop fighting about money, reach your financial goals, be able to give freely to bless others and sleep peacefully at night? It is possible!

Pause for a moment and imaging a life free of financial stress.

Do you want that life? I certainly do! And I invite you to join us at Aldersgate Church as we begin a journey of overcoming financial stress.

• Join us in person or via livestream as we begin a brand new sermon series titled Making Change https://aldersgate.online/watch. Whether you are digging out of debt or saving for the future, overcoming financial stress begins my making change!
• Show up for the Financial Peace University class that begins TONIGHT, Wednesday, February 6^th. You can get more information here: https://aldersgatechurch.churchcenter.com/groups/small-groups/financial-peace-university

God has a plan for overcoming all financial stress!