1. Spend less than you earnLike physical fitness, vital to financial health is "strengthening the core" and following these simple and intuitive principles.
2. Make the money you have work for you
3. Be prepared for the unexpected
Creighton, if you're reading this I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the article.
1 comment:
Thanks for the link. I like the idea of the "Mint" free financial program and how it interfaces with one's bank account. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to do so.
The financial advice is also interesting. There are many ways to look at strategies. For example, some say to pay off the highest interest credit cards first, while others say that a person should pay off the smallest balance (regardless of rate) in order to provide psychological motivation to continue with the debt reduction plan. I like hearing the logic behind the various plans because each fit a certain personality style. There's a lot of factors in saving and spending when dealing with people and their emotions.
I like the idea of living beneath ones means. I think that a person who saves and then invests wisely in their career, church, family, residence, etc based on God's direction through prayer is on a solid foundation.
I've been praying about what is going to happen to people in the coming year and for wisdom. I'm concerned that in addition to the unemployment situation there will also be a lot of people working for less money and benefits. The unemployment rate won't reach levels seen in the 1930s (30% unemployment), but the financial pain will be severe with people accepting jobs that pay MUCH less than their old jobs. We will look back at the years before the current crisis and be amazed at how much wealth people had, even if it was only on paper.
In the next few years we will see how life can go on without as much wealth and still be fulfilling. It's prudent to treat money as a resource, but we have to divorce ourselves from greed and lust for cash and possessions.
We're facing a make it or break it time in the global economy. Critical decisions will be made in the next weeks and months by world leaders. Ultimately they will be made by the Fed's stance on expansion of the money supply and how the global economy reacts when the full extent of the bank's balance sheets leak out. There will be more surprises to come. This is a time for the history books, that's for sure. Thankfully God tells us not to worry and that we can trust in Him through these uncertain times.
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