Hello, and welcome
to Dollars & Sense.
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My name is Yvonne
Lewis, and I'll be the
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co-host for this program.
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Our primary host is Ryan
Mack, Financial Literacy expert.
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Ryan has been a frequent
commentator on CNN, and CNBC.
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He's an author,
speaker, and trainer.
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Ryan has been written up
in several magazines such as
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Forbes, and Black Enterprise,
and received Tom Joiner's
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hardest working
financial adviser award.
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To me the most impressive
thing about Ryan is the fact
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that he's a Christian man
of principle and integrity,
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who's committed to
helping people to realize
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their financial goals.
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On Dollars and Sense Ryan's
going to teach all of us about
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the relevance of Scripture
to our financial picture.
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Ryan, it's so good to be
hosting this program with you.
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Thank you so much!
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I'm so blessed to be here.
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I'm blessed as well.
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Do you have a Scripture for us?
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And then we're going to talk
about how financial literacy has
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empowered you to help others.
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Well, I wanted to
start off with one of my
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favorites: 1 John 3:18.
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It essentially says:
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And NIV it says: Our
love must not be a thing of
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words and fine talk.
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It must be a thing
of action and sincerity.
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Um! Don't just talk
about it, do something, right?
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I mean it's about that time.
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I mean we are at a very critical
time in our lives economically.
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We see a lot of things on
the news, and people might have
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despair, and people are
always saying what's wrong.
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But it's about that time
when we're to follow the life of
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Christ, we can
figure out what to do right.
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And the purpose of Dollars
and Sense is really just to let
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people know that this is
more than just something you
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read one day a week. Right.
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This is a tool, this is a
strategy, this is a roadmap,
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this is something that God has
given to all of us that we can
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empower ourselves
on an every day life.
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I mean there's nothing, not
a single part of your life that
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cannot be impacted
by the word of God,
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that cannot be
empowered by the word of God.
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And so, and especially
when it comes to your money.
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So we have to have a
Christlike way of managing
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the money effectively.
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See that's awesome, because
so many people think, you know,
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let's keep the
Bible over here. Yeah.
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So when you go to church on
Sabbath that's when you read.
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But, you know,
you don't have to...
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But God is not going to be that
involved with your finances.
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You have to worry about that.
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No! He wants to be involved
in every part of your life,
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and has left a manual, through
the Bible, as to how to do it.
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And that's one of the things
I love about what you do is you
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teach people how to
apply Scriptural principles to
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their financial picture.
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Right. And this...
it's a beautiful thing.
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I mean there are many authors
out there that I've actually
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been following who also
apply a Biblical perspective
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of financial literacy.
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And I had first
learned, my first author was one
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gentleman named Lee Jenkins.
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I'd never seen someone who
had actually taught financial
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literacy using the Bible before.
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And it just opened up my eyes.
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And from that I found
Crowned out of Oregon.
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And I found many
different authors, Round Blue.
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And I started to write
based on Biblical principles.
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And it had literally, it
is the most practical tool,
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and financial
handbook on the planet.
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We always talk about, you
know, various financial experts,
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and various things.
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But this is an entity that
stands the test of time. Yes!
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So no matter what happens in the
world, no matter what ups and
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downs that happen, the Bible has
tools and strategies that will
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allow us to essentially
be able to navigate anything,
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and any financial hardship
that you could ever imagine
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that you could face.
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And I've
counseled many individuals.
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I've had many individuals
that I work with, many clients,
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and when we go,
just go back to the word,
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there's something in the
Scripture that resonates with
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an individual that can help
them navigate an dictate what
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principles they can use,
what products and services they
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should be using, how to
use the various counselors.
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I mean, all those things can
be talked about from the Bible.
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I remember the first time
when I started to really operate
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and work with those who
are formally incarcerated,
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and work with those
whom are gang members.
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And it was really the Bible,
and this Scripture, 1 John 3:18,
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that really said, You know what?
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If you're seeing crime in
your community, if you're seeing
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something in your community
where you want something fixed,
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and I remember walking home.
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And it's a sad story; where I
saw a young lady who was shot.
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And this young lady was
shot, and she was a little girl,
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and they were pulling the
sheet over the top of her head.
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And what they'd found
out was that this was a
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gang related incident.
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And there were Bloods
who were in my community,
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living in Brooklyn at the time.
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And it really hit home.
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I said, What can we do?
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Because I know, and I didn't
know the person who actually
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pulled the trigger, but I knew
the root cause of it was crime.
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And I knew the root cause
of it was they didn't feel that
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there's any other way
but to do these evil things.
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And there has to be something
that's out there that can,
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that we can do to
reach out to them.
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But this Scripture spoke to me.
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It's not just
about talking about it.
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It's not just about judging
them, because the Scripture
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also talks about
judgment as well.
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It's about putting
some action behind it.
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So reading the
Scripture made us, and we had a
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group of individuals.
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We pulled the gang members
together, and we had the time
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to sit down with them.
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And I pulled the leader
of the Blood's the next day,
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and we took them
out to breakfast.
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And I helped him
form his own business.
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And ten months
later he had ten employees
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and two project managers.
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Ten months later?
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Yeah. Ten months later he, at
the time when we met he only had
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$300 in his pocket,
and he'd just got home
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from Rikers Island.
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And he said, Ryan, I don't
know what I'm supposed to do.
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I'm lost. I don't know
where I'm supposed to go.
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I said, You know what?
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You've got a renewed mind.
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And it also talks
about that in Romans.
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You've transformed your mind.
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So all these things are
Biblical principles that he was
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exemplifying to me
that he was ready to take
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it to the next level.
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Helped him form his
business, and most of those ten
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employees were other Bloods.
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And now at the root cause
of it was financial literacy.
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And if you think about this...
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Wait, Ryan, I've got to
stop you for a second. Yes.
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Because that is so deep to
me that here this young man was
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on this dark
path, one of the Bloods.
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And the thing about
the gangs is, you know,
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all of this retaliation. Yeah.
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You do this to me,
I do this back to you.
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And they're killing
each other in droves.
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And here you have this young man
who didn't know that there was
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something else
he could do. Right.
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He felt like there
must be something else.
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What else can I do?
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Not only did this help
him, but ten others like him.
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Imagine now if we
had centers like this
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in various urban communities.
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Imagine what
that could do. Right.
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It could get these kids off
the streets, give them something
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positive to do, and they'd
change their whole self-image.
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And it would change
crime, you know, recidivism.
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There's a positive correlation
between poverty and crime.
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Absolutely. And when you
look around at our communities,
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and you see individuals,
and many of them that were very
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candid; we've had
many conversations with
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many gang members, which is
why this show is so crucial.
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Many of them have said that,
Ryan, when I see someone with a
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fur coat on, I look at
that as a way to feed my child.
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Because they just don't
know another way. Uh huh.
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But we know through
Christ He gives us knowledge.
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That's right. We know through
Christ He gives us inspiration
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to find that
knowledge. That's right.
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You know through Christ He
gives us inspiration to find
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the people who can
give that knowledge.
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Come on! You're
preaching brother.
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So this is what
we are all about.
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And so me sitting down with
him, and saying that was good.
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Well, I would not have been able
to sit down with him if my own
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finances were
not together. Uh huh.
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If I was worried about my bills,
if I was worried about if I
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hadn't started my business
myself, if I was worried about,
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you know, all these things, bill
collectors, and being foreclosed
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on or whatever, financial
issues that plague all of our
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communities across the country.
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If I was worried about those
things, I would not have had
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time to sit down with him.
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So it was fiscal responsibility,
living life through Christ
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that allowed me to put my money
together, which becomes the best
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blessing to help him
put his money together. Yes.
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And so this transcends,
it transcends politics.
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It transcends economic status.
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Christ transcends
the world. That's right.
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If we embrace Him, use
the principles to just say,
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You know what? Let me just
get back to the basis of what
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Christ is talking about, and
I can use Him to empower them.
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And that's what this
show is really all about.
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I love it. I absolutely
love it, because again,
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we can't compartmentalize.
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We can't put Jesus over here
and say, We want You involved in
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this part of our lives,
but not in this part. Right.
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He needs to be
involved in every part.
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He's left us a way to do it.
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And from the word you have
extrapolated some principles
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and steps to financial freedoms.
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Absolutely. Let's talk about it.
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Well, we have what
I call the seven steps
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of financial freedom.
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And I urge those watching
to please take some time
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to write these down.
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And to please, if they want to
engage with us afterward to ask
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questions about how to implement
them, and the best ways to
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go about doing them, we
urge individuals to do so.
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In fact we have an email address
we're going to put on the screen
00:10:00.00\00:10:03.63
so that people can email, ask
questions and all that. It's:
00:10:03.67\00:10:08.17
Absolutely, and we encourage
everyone to engage with the
00:10:17.55\00:10:20.68
Dare to Dream
Network Face book page.
00:10:20.72\00:10:22.28
I will be there answering
your financial questions.
00:10:22.32\00:10:25.12
If they need any additional
advice, or guidance, or a place
00:10:25.15\00:10:28.46
with resources they can go
within their local community.
00:10:28.49\00:10:31.76
I mean we want this
to be as interactive and
00:10:31.79\00:10:33.96
engaging as is possible.
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Absolutely, absolutely.
00:10:35.63\00:10:37.20
So these seven steps are,
again, something that I created,
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because people needed to
have a road map to success,
00:10:40.40\00:10:42.80
a financial road map.
00:10:42.84\00:10:44.17
And many individuals when
they tried to tackle financial
00:10:44.24\00:10:47.51
literacy, and their own
financial problems, didn't
00:10:47.54\00:10:50.18
necessarily know where
to start, or where to begin.
00:10:50.21\00:10:52.81
Absolutely. Most people don't.
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Okay, so I want to fix some;
I want to like know more about
00:10:54.32\00:10:59.82
how to work my finances.
00:10:59.85\00:11:01.96
What do I do? Where
do I go? What do I do?
00:11:01.99\00:11:04.16
Well, these 7 steps, and I urge
everyone to write them down:
00:11:04.23\00:11:07.40
Step O: that's
before we even begin.
00:11:07.50\00:11:09.93
We have to have faith.
00:11:09.96\00:11:11.30
We have to have
the right mindset.
00:11:11.33\00:11:13.50
The word says, As a man
thinketh in his heart so is he.
00:11:13.54\00:11:16.24
If you think you are
poor, you will be poor.
00:11:16.27\00:11:18.17
But if you think you are
brilliant, if you think you are
00:11:18.21\00:11:21.28
successful, if you think
you are God's child of success
00:11:21.31\00:11:24.31
then you will be just that.
00:11:24.35\00:11:25.68
And God will be fruitful
to you, because you have
00:11:25.71\00:11:28.58
that right mindset.
00:11:28.62\00:11:29.95
So we have to have faith.
00:11:29.98\00:11:31.32
But faith that
hath not works is dead.
00:11:31.35\00:11:32.69
We'll be talking
a lot about that.
00:11:32.72\00:11:34.22
So we have to put
things in to work.
00:11:34.26\00:11:36.09
So I have the right mindset.
00:11:36.12\00:11:37.49
One of the things that I
learned growing up, when again,
00:11:37.53\00:11:40.86
we didn't have a
lot of resources,
00:11:40.90\00:11:42.20
was that about contentment.
00:11:42.23\00:11:44.73
And the right
mindset is being content.
00:11:44.77\00:11:47.07
It does not mean
I'm happy with my state,
00:11:47.10\00:11:49.37
it means I'm happy in my state.
00:11:49.40\00:11:51.41
And there's a huge difference.
00:11:51.44\00:11:53.41
Oh, that's a good point. Right.
00:11:53.44\00:11:54.91
Unpack that just
a little bit for us.
00:11:54.94\00:11:56.88
Well, the bottom line is
that when you're living in a
00:11:56.91\00:11:59.55
situation we have to be able to
discern the difference between
00:11:59.58\00:12:02.98
the facts and the truth. Right?
00:12:03.02\00:12:05.85
And many times we will pay
so much attention to the facts,
00:12:05.89\00:12:10.26
we'll forget to
look at the truth.
00:12:10.33\00:12:11.66
And I remember a dear
friend of mine who was sick.
00:12:11.69\00:12:17.17
She had terminal throat cancer.
00:12:17.23\00:12:19.23
And the facts were she
had terminal throat cancer.
00:12:19.27\00:12:22.64
The facts were that most people
who have this type of cancer
00:12:22.70\00:12:26.78
are given a
short sentence of life.
00:12:26.84\00:12:28.78
And she was given a
short sentence of life.
00:12:28.84\00:12:31.81
That is a fact. But she
chose to believe the truth,
00:12:31.85\00:12:35.18
which said, By His
stripes I am healed. Okay.
00:12:35.22\00:12:38.69
So that truth, because
she believed it so much,
00:12:38.72\00:12:42.12
began to shape
and change her facts.
00:12:42.16\00:12:44.93
And what happens, now she goes
around the country talking about
00:12:44.96\00:12:49.10
how she defeated
terminal throat cancer.
00:12:49.13\00:12:51.90
And this same principle
can be applied to our finances.
00:12:51.93\00:12:55.34
Many times we look at the facts.
00:12:55.37\00:12:57.61
Within our bank
account we have zero,
00:12:57.64\00:13:00.08
or maybe a negative balance.
00:13:00.11\00:13:01.61
That is a fact. We do not have
any money in your bank account.
00:13:01.64\00:13:05.91
But the truth is by your faith
you can work hard enough to
00:13:05.95\00:13:09.88
create a
different situation for you.
00:13:09.92\00:13:12.82
By your faith you can change
your current situation to do
00:13:12.85\00:13:16.06
anything, and
everything you want.
00:13:16.09\00:13:17.53
So contentment means don't
pay attention to the facts,
00:13:17.56\00:13:21.53
pay attention to the
truth; that you are God's child,
00:13:21.56\00:13:24.80
that you have a destiny of
greatness and success in your
00:13:24.83\00:13:28.34
life if you follow
His word and His will.
00:13:28.37\00:13:31.01
And so your current situation
does not dictate your destiny?
00:13:31.04\00:13:34.74
Absolutely not. No,
we have to look beyond.
00:13:34.78\00:13:37.95
And then if you're only looking
at your current situation,
00:13:37.98\00:13:40.68
God says to look inside
you, not outside of you.
00:13:40.72\00:13:43.85
Because if you look outside
you then you are allowing
00:13:43.89\00:13:46.35
the world to dictate
what people think of you.
00:13:46.39\00:13:49.39
But God says, I put
something inside of you that is
00:13:49.42\00:13:52.43
greater than the world.
00:13:52.46\00:13:53.80
So that's something that
is a financial principle.
00:13:53.86\00:13:56.80
Because that means that
we should not be discouraged
00:13:56.83\00:13:59.53
as we move through our financial
lives, and put together our
00:13:59.57\00:14:02.87
own financial plans.
00:14:02.90\00:14:04.24
So, and the seven steps
really just exemplifies that.
00:14:04.31\00:14:07.31
So that's Step 0. We
have to get that straight.
00:14:07.38\00:14:09.98
I can't teach a course, I can't
do a counseling session unless
00:14:10.05\00:14:13.35
people truly believe that,
because otherwise it's useless
00:14:13.42\00:14:17.39
if they don't believe that.
00:14:17.42\00:14:18.75
So Step 1 is
getting your house in order.
00:14:18.79\00:14:21.36
And when you get your house in
order there are five essential
00:14:21.39\00:14:24.66
components to
getting your house in order.
00:14:24.69\00:14:26.36
Of course, Part 1-A is tithing.
00:14:26.39\00:14:29.16
You have to have first fruits.
00:14:29.20\00:14:30.63
When we're giving our first
fruits back we have to make sure
00:14:30.67\00:14:33.07
that we give back, and show a
commitment, and show our thanks.
00:14:33.10\00:14:38.57
We don't give because we want
something, we give because God
00:14:38.61\00:14:41.11
says He has given us do much.
00:14:41.14\00:14:43.01
We just want to say, Thank You!
00:14:43.04\00:14:44.85
And we're being obedient,
and we're being a servant,
00:14:44.91\00:14:47.68
and we're
supporting our ministry.
00:14:47.72\00:14:49.92
But again, we don't give to get,
because giving at our church is
00:14:49.95\00:14:54.62
not a slot machine.
00:14:54.66\00:14:55.99
This is not Atlantic City where
you think you're going to put
00:14:56.02\00:14:57.86
a dollar in and you're
going to get a hundred out.
00:14:57.89\00:15:00.33
No, that's not it. You're giving
because of all the things that
00:15:00.36\00:15:03.47
God has already done for you,
and what He's going to do for
00:15:03.50\00:15:06.27
you, and because you just are
so thankful for that as a seed
00:15:06.30\00:15:10.14
of greatness
that you want to sow.
00:15:10.21\00:15:12.07
You know, Ryan, that is so
important because sometimes
00:15:12.11\00:15:14.51
I hear people say, Well, ah,
like, you know, like they might
00:15:14.54\00:15:19.48
say to me, Well, I'm
really struggling right now.
00:15:19.51\00:15:21.75
And my first question
is, Well, are you paying your
00:15:21.78\00:15:23.39
tithe and offering? Yes.
00:15:23.42\00:15:24.92
And they'll be like, Well,
sometimes, but I really can't
00:15:24.95\00:15:28.72
afford it because I
can't even pay my rent.
00:15:28.76\00:15:31.56
My thing is that
you can't afford not to.
00:15:31.59\00:15:34.66
You can't afford not to.
00:15:34.73\00:15:36.30
Because the Lord says, Prove
Me now, herewith sayeth the Lord
00:15:36.33\00:15:39.57
of hosts, if I will not
pour you out a blessing,
00:15:39.60\00:15:41.90
and so rich you won't
be able to receive it.
00:15:41.94\00:15:44.34
So we can't afford not to.
00:15:44.37\00:15:46.78
That's a double negative.
00:15:46.84\00:15:49.11
My dad wouldn't
be happy with that.
00:15:49.14\00:15:50.81
But we have to give God back.
00:15:52.08\00:15:55.22
We're returning to God
ten percent. And it's all His!
00:15:55.25\00:15:59.35
The thing is, as a finance
guy, I look at things logically.
00:15:59.39\00:16:02.26
There's nothing more
logical than God, right?
00:16:02.29\00:16:04.49
And, well, I guess
people could disagree with that,
00:16:04.53\00:16:07.66
a group of non-believers.
00:16:07.66\00:16:09.00
But it's just so logical to me.
00:16:09.03\00:16:10.90
When you say you're paying ten
percent, what does that mean?
00:16:10.97\00:16:13.97
That means that you are
calculating what ten percent is.
00:16:14.04\00:16:18.17
That means that
you have a budget.
00:16:18.21\00:16:19.91
That means that you have
sat down and write down all your
00:16:19.94\00:16:22.28
expenses, and your strategy.
00:16:22.31\00:16:23.78
That means you now have a
full grasp of your finances.
00:16:23.85\00:16:27.52
So now you know that you can
afford to pay this ten percent.
00:16:27.55\00:16:30.19
And then you can,
by that rationale,
00:16:30.22\00:16:33.59
you're also navigating
every other area of your life.
00:16:33.66\00:16:36.76
Because you have to know
first what ten percent even is.
00:16:36.83\00:16:39.53
So tithing helps us budget.
00:16:39.56\00:16:42.20
Tithing helps us prioritize.
00:16:42.23\00:16:44.80
Tithing helps us put things
in proper perspective of what's
00:16:44.83\00:16:49.07
truly important, and how
can we support those things that
00:16:49.10\00:16:52.27
have given us not just
life, but salvation. Uh huh!
00:16:52.31\00:16:55.08
And so this... We can't start
a financial strategy without
00:16:55.11\00:16:59.35
putting, again, 1-A is tithing.
00:16:59.38\00:17:01.78
The other four
components are step one.
00:17:01.82\00:17:04.15
Step 1-B is we
have to have a budget.
00:17:04.22\00:17:06.65
We have to, it talks about
in Luke about who builds a tower
00:17:06.69\00:17:10.46
without first counting
the cost to complete it.
00:17:10.49\00:17:12.49
If you don't, you don't start
something unless you figure out
00:17:12.53\00:17:15.13
how much it's going
to cost to complete it.
00:17:15.16\00:17:16.87
Well, it says that in the
Bible, that you figure it out.
00:17:16.90\00:17:18.77
That's called budgeting.
00:17:18.80\00:17:20.14
We have to have a thing called
insurance, making sure that we
00:17:20.17\00:17:22.80
have adequate insurance
coverage for our families.
00:17:22.84\00:17:25.17
We have to put things in
there like the estate plan,
00:17:25.21\00:17:27.38
which is another step.
00:17:27.41\00:17:28.74
Make sure we have
a proper estate plan.
00:17:28.78\00:17:30.48
And a wise man leaves
an inheritance for his
00:17:30.55\00:17:32.91
children's children.
00:17:32.95\00:17:34.32
It talks about
that in the Bible.
00:17:34.35\00:17:35.68
People would say estate? I
don't have, I mean I live in
00:17:35.72\00:17:37.59
the urban projects. Right.
00:17:37.62\00:17:40.19
Why have an estate?
00:17:40.26\00:17:41.59
Well, I mean, we'll have
segments on wills and what not,
00:17:41.62\00:17:44.66
that educate
individuals to go fully into it.
00:17:44.69\00:17:47.10
But to have an estate, I have
a good friend of mine who her
00:17:47.13\00:17:51.23
sister passed away early.
00:17:51.27\00:17:52.67
And she had not a
lot of assets at all,
00:17:52.70\00:17:55.80
but she did have
a baby fat purse.
00:17:55.84\00:17:57.64
And this baby fat purse,
her aunt and her mother wanted
00:17:57.67\00:18:07.35
that baby fat purse.
00:18:07.38\00:18:08.72
And at the end of the day
they didn't talk to one another,
00:18:08.75\00:18:12.82
because the aunt
came to the house and got
00:18:12.85\00:18:14.79
that baby fat purse.
00:18:14.82\00:18:16.16
And a year later they still were
not talking, because it was just
00:18:16.19\00:18:19.96
not left in a proper will.
00:18:20.03\00:18:21.53
So if you have clothes on
your back you have an estate.
00:18:21.56\00:18:25.23
That's right. That's
really all it is. That's right.
00:18:25.27\00:18:27.07
So we have to make sure
that we have proper planning
00:18:27.14\00:18:29.57
around those things.
00:18:29.60\00:18:30.94
And then we have to have
lastly the 5th Step of Step 1,
00:18:30.97\00:18:34.84
is making sure that we have
proper credit, and making sure
00:18:34.88\00:18:37.71
our credit scores are improved.
00:18:37.75\00:18:39.78
So that's all Step 1;
getting your house in order.
00:18:39.81\00:18:42.65
And then we move
through the rest of the 7.
00:18:42.68\00:18:44.69
Step 2 is
eliminate all high risk debt.
00:18:44.72\00:18:47.59
Step 3 is making sure we
have a company retirement plan
00:18:47.66\00:18:52.16
that we're putting into,
whether it's a 401K or 43B,
00:18:52.19\00:18:55.50
that we're investing into
to prepare for our retirement.
00:18:55.53\00:18:59.00
What's high risk debt?
00:18:59.03\00:19:00.70
High risk debt is essentially
credit cards, cash advances,
00:19:00.77\00:19:04.97
those things that have a
variable interest rate attached
00:19:05.01\00:19:09.18
to them, that if you do not pay
them you're subject to having
00:19:09.21\00:19:12.18
extremely high
interest rate, usually not
00:19:12.21\00:19:14.48
attached to an asset,
but monies owed to the IRS.
00:19:14.52\00:19:18.72
That's high risk debt.
00:19:18.75\00:19:20.09
And so that's Step 3, and Step
3 is company retirement plans,
00:19:20.32\00:19:24.36
Step 4 is your individual
retirement... Oh no, I'm sorry!
00:19:24.39\00:19:27.46
Step, excuse me, step 4 is your
emergency fund, where you need
00:19:27.50\00:19:32.37
to have, I say, 9 to 12
months of living expenses saved
00:19:32.40\00:19:36.27
together right now.
00:19:36.30\00:19:37.64
Some people will say, Ryan, 9
to 12 months, that's just too,
00:19:37.67\00:19:41.41
that's too much
for me to think about.
00:19:41.44\00:19:43.38
Well, let's just say your
emergency fund was $12,000.00,
00:19:43.45\00:19:48.25
and that's enough to get
you by for that twelve months
00:19:48.28\00:19:51.22
of living expenses.
00:19:51.25\00:19:52.59
Well, you might not be able
to save $12,000.00 one-time,
00:19:52.62\00:19:55.86
but can you
save $6,000.00 twice?
00:19:55.89\00:19:58.13
Well, that's still
a little bit pricey.
00:19:58.16\00:20:00.10
Well, what about
$3,000.00 four times?
00:20:00.13\00:20:02.30
A little bit pricey.
00:20:02.33\00:20:03.73
What about
$1,500.00 eight times?
00:20:03.77\00:20:06.43
And you keep breaking it down.
00:20:06.47\00:20:07.80
Or, you know, 750
times; $750.0016 times?
00:20:07.84\00:20:13.64
You know, $375.00
and what not, 32 times.
00:20:13.68\00:20:17.31
And you keep breaking it down
until you get to a denomination
00:20:17.35\00:20:20.68
that you feel
comfortable with saving.
00:20:20.72\00:20:22.48
And then just focus on that.
00:20:22.52\00:20:24.05
And, again, we'll be having a
lot of discussions around these.
00:20:24.09\00:20:27.12
But the problem that we've
had is that we get so impatient
00:20:27.16\00:20:31.59
with waiting on what
God wants us to have.
00:20:31.63\00:20:33.96
And we have to start asking
ourselves, if we buy this home,
00:20:34.00\00:20:37.20
or car of the flesh, or
did we allow God to make this
00:20:37.23\00:20:40.07
decision in our lives? Uh hum.
00:20:40.10\00:20:42.24
And the budget
helps to dictate that.
00:20:42.27\00:20:44.27
The emergency fund, in terms
of making sure you have enough
00:20:44.31\00:20:46.34
savings for that rainy day,
talks a lot in Proverbs about
00:20:46.37\00:20:49.71
retirement and rainy day fund,
and what to do to between the
00:20:49.74\00:20:52.81
summer and storing up.
00:20:52.85\00:20:54.18
All these things
are in the Bible.
00:20:54.25\00:20:55.92
That emergency fund
is a Biblical principle.
00:20:55.95\00:20:59.55
And so we have to
have an emergency fund.
00:20:59.59\00:21:01.52
And if you want to break it down
even further, 6 months of cash,
00:21:01.56\00:21:04.73
and maybe 3 to 6 months of a
credit card debt that you can
00:21:04.76\00:21:07.60
have, in case
your car breaks down,
00:21:07.60\00:21:09.20
or something of that nature.
00:21:09.23\00:21:10.57
Then we have Step 6.
00:21:10.63\00:21:11.97
Eliminate all low risk
debt, and making sure that we,
00:21:12.00\00:21:15.84
that's not student
loans, auto loans, mortgages.
00:21:15.87\00:21:19.17
All those things
usually attached to an asset.
00:21:19.21\00:21:22.08
You want to start paying those
down as fast as possible, okay?
00:21:22.11\00:21:25.61
Again, it says in Romans,
Let no debt remain unpaid except
00:21:25.65\00:21:28.52
for the debt to
love one another.
00:21:28.55\00:21:29.88
So we have to
pay all of our debts.
00:21:29.92\00:21:31.32
These are Biblical principles.
00:21:31.35\00:21:32.89
We're going to have a discussion
about in Deuteronomy they really
00:21:32.92\00:21:36.32
outline our credit laws today.
00:21:36.36\00:21:38.69
And so our credit laws are
based directly, almost verbatim,
00:21:38.73\00:21:42.90
word for word,
from the Bible. Wow!
00:21:42.93\00:21:45.30
So as we pay our debts,
our debtors back, we have to
00:21:45.33\00:21:47.97
understand that it's
more important to be a
00:21:48.00\00:21:50.24
lender than a borrower.
00:21:50.27\00:21:51.61
That's also a
Biblical principle as well.
00:21:51.64\00:21:53.81
And then we have Step 7, which
is a Diversified Investment
00:21:53.84\00:21:57.31
strategy in the market, so
we have to have stocks, bonds,
00:21:57.38\00:22:00.32
business, real estate,
all those types of things.
00:22:00.35\00:22:03.18
Again it talks about in
Ecclesiastes about diversifying
00:22:03.22\00:22:07.29
your assets and making sure
that you don't invest in one,
00:22:07.36\00:22:10.56
but put, divide your portions
into 7 and into 8, right?
00:22:10.63\00:22:13.40
So these are all things
the Bible has laid out for us.
00:22:13.43\00:22:17.53
So we don't have to; we
might not go to Susie Orman,
00:22:17.57\00:22:21.17
or Teddy Savage, or Dave Ramsey,
you go to the word. Come on!
00:22:21.20\00:22:25.21
And the word will give you
everything you need, and more.
00:22:25.24\00:22:28.98
And so I just, I'm so
thankful for this program,
00:22:29.04\00:22:32.08
and being able to have
these candid discussions.
00:22:32.11\00:22:34.18
And I just urge everyone to
please go to the Dare to Dream
00:22:34.22\00:22:37.45
Network Face book page and
engage with us so we can have
00:22:37.49\00:22:40.42
continued interaction with
all of you, and getting our
00:22:40.46\00:22:43.49
finances in order.
00:22:43.53\00:22:44.86
That's great, that's great.
00:22:44.89\00:22:46.23
What would you say are some of
the challenges that people have
00:22:46.26\00:22:50.40
as they move
toward financial literacy?
00:22:50.43\00:22:53.37
I think the biggest
challenge is ourselves.
00:22:53.40\00:22:55.74
And the biggest challenge,
again we tend to feel that our
00:22:55.77\00:23:01.01
external environment can
control our internal success.
00:23:01.04\00:23:04.31
And we sometimes don't believe
that no weapon formed against me
00:23:04.35\00:23:10.79
shall prosper. Uh huh.
00:23:10.82\00:23:12.15
And it shows that we don't
believe it through our actions.
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.26
So I'm asking you,
Do you believe that?
00:23:14.29\00:23:17.03
If you truly believe every
word in the Bible, then you know
00:23:17.06\00:23:19.76
that no matter what
situation you're faced with,
00:23:19.79\00:23:22.10
you can overcome that situation.
00:23:22.13\00:23:23.73
Well that... we have a lot...
I'm not trying to say it's easy.
00:23:23.77\00:23:27.10
I'm not trying to say it's
not going to be challenging.
00:23:27.14\00:23:29.57
I'm not trying to say
that there's not going to be no
00:23:29.60\00:23:31.57
obstacle that's going to give
you pause, and make sure you
00:23:31.61\00:23:34.34
have to do some digging.
00:23:34.38\00:23:35.71
But I believe that there are
some real diamonds that can be
00:23:35.74\00:23:39.05
formed through the hardships of
what we're going to come through
00:23:39.08\00:23:41.48
in our economy today.
00:23:41.52\00:23:43.85
So once we get out of our own
way, then it's about making sure
00:23:43.89\00:23:47.82
that we can find
the right information.
00:23:47.86\00:23:50.43
Because there's a lot of
information, bad information,
00:23:50.49\00:23:52.73
being put around there.
00:23:52.76\00:23:54.36
This is a 360 billion dollar
industry, and I look forward to
00:23:54.36\00:23:56.80
having a longer
conversation about this,
00:23:56.83\00:23:58.93
about the
financial predator industry.
00:23:58.97\00:24:01.17
And they are preying
on our ignorance. Uh hum.
00:24:01.20\00:24:05.01
There's nothing wrong with being
ignorant, but there is something
00:24:05.04\00:24:07.11
wrong with staying ignorant.
00:24:07.18\00:24:08.78
So they essentially want
to exploit us for all of the
00:24:08.81\00:24:14.35
things that we don't know.
00:24:14.38\00:24:15.72
For everything we don't
know about how to open up a bank
00:24:15.75\00:24:18.62
account, there's a
check cashing place.
00:24:18.65\00:24:20.16
For everything we don't know
about saving, there's a payday
00:24:20.19\00:24:22.29
loan in the pawn shop.
00:24:22.32\00:24:23.66
For everything we don't know
about the dangers and the ails
00:24:23.73\00:24:27.20
of drugs there's a weed
refinery, and the liquor store.
00:24:27.23\00:24:30.63
For everything that we don't
know about all of these things
00:24:30.67\00:24:34.60
they put in a very convenient
location, right in the heart
00:24:34.64\00:24:38.04
of our neighborhoods.
00:24:38.07\00:24:39.41
So we have a lot of work to
do to getting this information
00:24:39.44\00:24:42.71
out there to make sure that
before you walk in that liquor
00:24:42.78\00:24:45.85
store, that weed refinery,
that payday loan, check cashing
00:24:45.88\00:24:48.95
place, and all those things that
have to, that mean to make money
00:24:48.98\00:24:51.95
off of doing you harm, let's
look for the word first to get
00:24:51.99\00:24:54.96
some true sense
of enlightenment.
00:24:54.99\00:24:57.19
Uh huh. Because the
word will let you know.
00:24:57.29\00:24:59.33
Don't go into those places.
00:24:59.36\00:25:01.23
Exactly, exactly, exactly.
00:25:01.26\00:25:03.06
Because the
principles are there.
00:25:03.10\00:25:04.83
It might not
say weed or alcohol.
00:25:04.87\00:25:06.60
Well, it does
talk about alcohol.
00:25:06.63\00:25:08.27
But it will let you know those
principles are there in the
00:25:08.30\00:25:12.54
word for us to follow. Exactly.
00:25:12.57\00:25:14.51
What would you say is the
greatest danger when people
00:25:14.54\00:25:21.05
procrastinate, and
just say, you know what?
00:25:21.08\00:25:23.99
I'm thinking about it, but,
you know, but I'm not that sure.
00:25:24.02\00:25:28.42
Probably, well the reason why
I'm against prepaid debit cards
00:25:28.46\00:25:32.86
is for that exact reason.
00:25:32.89\00:25:34.63
Many people procrastinate on
getting their finances in order,
00:25:34.66\00:25:38.10
improving their credit.
00:25:38.13\00:25:39.47
I've been a long time antagonist
of prepaid debit cards.
00:25:39.50\00:25:42.24
And if you... The answer to a
cavity is not to just eat on the
00:25:42.27\00:25:48.48
left side if the
cavity is on your right side.
00:25:48.51\00:25:50.61
Because as you procrastinate
that cavity gets larger,
00:25:50.65\00:25:53.25
and larger, and
larger, and the problem looms.
00:25:53.31\00:25:55.95
The prepaid debit card
essentially does just that,
00:25:55.98\00:25:58.59
and it doesn't allow
us to fix our problems.
00:25:58.65\00:26:01.62
And it keeps this not
being able to build our credit.
00:26:01.66\00:26:04.69
It grows and grows, and
now when you really want to buy
00:26:04.73\00:26:07.83
a home, or start a business,
it perpetuates an underclass
00:26:07.86\00:26:10.90
of society that does not
allow us to be successful.
00:26:10.97\00:26:13.23
So we have to take it head on.
00:26:13.34\00:26:15.57
The word talks about
taking things, don't deal,
00:26:15.64\00:26:18.97
don't procrastinate.
00:26:19.01\00:26:20.38
The word talks about making
sure that we are deliberate
00:26:20.41\00:26:23.28
in our empowerment.
00:26:23.35\00:26:25.25
This program has been amazing.
00:26:25.28\00:26:27.22
I can't believe our time is up.
00:26:27.25\00:26:29.05
And we've got to give
you time to give to Takeaway.
00:26:29.08\00:26:32.85
It sounds good. Yeah!
00:26:32.89\00:26:34.26
We are living in
challenging times.
00:26:39.73\00:26:41.56
If you would only look at
the news for your source of
00:26:41.60\00:26:44.07
enlightenment it is very likely
that you would believe there's
00:26:44.13\00:26:46.84
little hope and much distress.
00:26:46.90\00:26:48.60
Thank God we have an
Almighty God who doesn't want
00:26:48.64\00:26:51.31
us to fear tomorrow.
00:26:51.34\00:26:52.67
We all must take
advantage of the blessings
00:26:52.71\00:26:54.51
He has in store for us.
00:26:54.54\00:26:55.88
Jesus Christ believes in all
of us despite what the naysayers
00:26:55.91\00:26:59.41
try to tell us
about our economic fate.
00:26:59.45\00:27:01.18
God believes we all have
a vital role to play in our
00:27:01.25\00:27:04.22
economic advancement.
00:27:04.25\00:27:05.59
What community
resources have you found today,
00:27:05.62\00:27:07.82
and in recent days that
can be used to better yourself,
00:27:07.89\00:27:11.13
and can be shared with others?
00:27:11.16\00:27:12.86
On each day have you marched
closer towards your God given
00:27:12.89\00:27:16.03
purpose, making the
life of others better?
00:27:16.06\00:27:18.50
The greatest blessing you
will receive is to be a blessing
00:27:18.53\00:27:21.20
towards someone else.
00:27:21.24\00:27:22.57
But we must do what is mandated
of us to put ourselves in a
00:27:22.60\00:27:25.84
better position to be
the best blessing possible.
00:27:25.87\00:27:28.44
We at Dollars and Sense are
committed to playing our role.
00:27:28.48\00:27:31.71
And the advice and guidance you
receive here is useless unless
00:27:31.75\00:27:34.95
you put some action behind it.
00:27:34.98\00:27:36.42
In these challenging
economic times we need to
00:27:36.45\00:27:38.89
follow the Scripture.
00:27:39.12\00:27:40.46
We need less
talk and more action.
00:27:40.49\00:27:42.26
And remember, be the change
you want to see in the world,
00:27:42.29\00:27:45.23
and the purpose of life
is a life full of purpose.
00:27:45.26\00:27:48.26
This is Yvonne Lewis and
Ryan Mack, Dollars and Sense.
00:27:48.30\00:27:51.33