On Take It To The Bank,
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you'll find ways
to get out of debt.
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Solve your credit card problems.
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How to make and
stick with the budget?
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Simple ways to save.
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Buying or selling a home
and many more financial matters
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on Take It To The Bank.
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Hi. My name is Cordell Thomas.
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And I welcome you to our program
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on Take It To The Bank.
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Today, we'd like to talk
about a variety of things,
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specifically in
reference to debt.
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This is
considered a serious program
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because this is
one of the areas that
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a lot of us are
trying to contend with
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and dealing with
these issues on debt,
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is very, very
important as we proceed
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in becoming debt free
and becoming the individuals
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that Christ would have us to be.
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There are a couple of questions
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that I asked in
the last program,
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which I'd like to
answer those questions
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as we lead into what
we'll be talking about today.
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One of the first questions
was in reference to risk.
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It said basically
who insures your money
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in the stock market?
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And the answer to that
is actually no one does.
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When you invest
in the stock market,
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you're taking risk
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and investing is
a long term process.
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It means you will be
dealing with the ups and downs
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of whatever the
market has to deal with.
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And we've been
seeing in the news
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a lot of how the
volatility in the market
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has impacted a lot
of people's 401(K)s.
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Risk, maybe a good
thing, maybe a bad thing.
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I'm not telling you what to do.
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But it is a risk situation
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and if you don't
have the access and funds
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to invest in the market,
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wait until you have
got the fundamentals
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in what budgeting
and financial literacy
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is all about.
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The second
question we asked had to do
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with the law provides a buyer
a three day right to cancel.
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The answer to that
one is actually false.
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The law does not
require dealers to give you
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a buyer the right to, a
three day right to cancel.
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The right is
totally discretionary
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the dealer's part and
it's something that you,
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if you go in to acquire a car
need to get things in writing
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if you are planning to
walk out with a new car.
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Now, there's couple of issues.
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When you go to a
dealer, make sure you remember
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you are the buyer.
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Don't get sold something that
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you don't necessarily need.
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And if you're planning
to make a major acquisition,
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one of the best
things you can do is,
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taking three days, go
home and ask yourself,
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"Do I really need
this or is this a want?"
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Think of what a dealer
is always trying to do.
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They're trying to get
you to feel good in the car,
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guess what they say is,
"Wow, you look in the car.
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Take the car in a test drive."
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Wow, the new car smell.
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The context is,
is quite interesting
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because I used to work
in the automotive industry.
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And we used to study consumers.
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You know, we
knew the demographics
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between 18 to 24 year
olds, 36 to 40 year olds.
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And we can tell you
exactly what you wanted
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specifically
under your dynamics.
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So the dealer is
using that information,
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that consumer information
and talking to you in a way
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that would drive you to buy.
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There are variety of
things we're going to talk about
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when it comes to purchasing
a vehicle in another program.
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But the issue that
we're talking about
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here is about
the right to cancel
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and there are the
cooling off period.
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A dealer does not
have to do that for you
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and it is important that you get
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all of that
information in writing.
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I believe that
cooling off period
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applied to door
to door sales people
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that would come to your door
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and try to sell
you different things,
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vacuum cleaners, widgets, books,
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whatever the case may
be, but the key is this.
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If they sell you something
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at your front
door of $25 or more,
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you should have a 72
hour cooling off period
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where you can say, you
know, I really didn't need that.
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I'd like to get my money back
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and here's whatever
you tried to sell me back.
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What we'd like to do
though is in this case,
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it's a relatively serious lesson
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in reference to
financial literacy.
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And I'd like to
introduce it on debt
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and how we get out of debt.
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The issues that we're
dealing with in this case
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are relatively significant.
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And as I thought about
of talking about this issue,
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I tried to consider a
variety of different approaches.
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But the first
thing I'd like to do is
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provide you a couple of
resources that are out there.
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There's a lot of
information on money guides,
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on budgetary basics,
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their websites
that we can send you to.
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One of the things that I found
that's a very enlightening are,
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are some software
programs that one of my children
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is actually
excited about playing
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because it teaches
them about setting a goal.
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That's what
budgeting is all about
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and getting to that goal.
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So he wants to go
to a specific fun park
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or if he wants to go to a
zoo or whatever the case is,
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he now knows he
can save that money
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and apply the
savings to the acquisition
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or the purchase of
that specific product.
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Right now, my son
has on his agenda,
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buying a new bike.
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And it's kind of
exciting to watch the enthusiasm
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as he goes out on rakes leaves,
helps with the yard projects
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and assists in
doing certain things.
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I think it's essential though,
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as we talk about those elements.
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There are
resources that we can provide
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and give you
those specific concerns.
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What I'd like to talk about
now is the verses in the Bible
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and that we
discussed at another program.
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It's key to
understand what wealth really is
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and we've talked
before in Matthew.
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Matthew is the first
book of the New Testament.
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Matthew 25 and we have verse 14.
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And it talks about
the parable of the talents
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and you remember the gentleman
that received the one talent
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and he did nothing with it.
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He buried it in the sand
or buried it in the backyard
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or wherever, he didn't
do anything with the money.
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And the master comes back
and says, "You wicked servant,
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you could have at least
placed this money in the bank
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where it could have
gotten simple interest
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and given me at least something
back on my investment."
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And he took that money
away from that servant.
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And he gave that talent or
that skill to someone else.
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In reference to the talent,
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he gave a talent
of money in this case.
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The other issue we've
talked about in another program
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was talk about wealth
is not just about money.
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And we looked at James.
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James 2:5-9, it tells us
there are other wealth factors.
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James is also in
the New Testament
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and if you look
at how to find James,
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from that end of
the Book Revelation,
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just go back five
books and you'll find James.
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You go through Revelation,
Jude, the three Peters,
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the two Johns and
you'll find James.
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James 2:5-9.
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And as you look at that,
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it talks about the issue of one,
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not playing favorites
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and realizing that
we all have skills.
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We have a wealth of a
specific type of skill
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that Christ has
given to each one of us
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and He's going to
hold us responsible for.
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But in James, it's very specific
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and it says that please
don't try to play favorites.
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If someone walks in
and is dressed wealthy
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and has a ring on his finger,
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don't treat him any
different than the poor person
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or the apparently
poor individual monetarily
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that comes to your
same church facility.
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And if you have problems
finding certain Bible verses
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and you'd like to
learn more about that,
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I'd ask you to find your local
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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and ask them and they will be
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more than happy to
give you Bible studies
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and show you how to
find the books of the Bible.
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We are on a journey.
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We're on a journey together
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and I will tell
you a short story.
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Have you ever run a marathon?
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I have.
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It's one of the
most interesting things
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I've ever done.
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But of one of the
most educational things
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I've ever done.
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I remember, it was approximately
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June, July of 1999.
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Okay, I've dated
myself, whatever.
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It doesn't
matter. The case is this.
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I started training in earnest
to run my first marathon.
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I had targeted October 1999
for this Marine Corps Marathon.
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And it was intense.
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The training was
great, three or four days
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of weight
training during the week
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and then the other three days,
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they started on the Sunday
and ran about 12 to 15 miles.
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On Tuesday, we brought
it down to about eight miles
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and on Thursday we just
did about three or four miles.
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And then took a
break for the weekend.
00:09:01.20\00:09:04.27
I had a problem
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where my Achilles
tendon started winding up
00:09:06.21\00:09:09.08
and tightening
and I didn't know why.
00:09:09.11\00:09:12.08
So my doctor told me,
"Hey, you've got to stop running
00:09:12.11\00:09:14.48
are you going to
snap your Achilles.
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And it will cause
you a lot more pain.
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And you will
never run the marathon.
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So take a break
and go see a doctor."
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So I did. He
said, "You can't run.
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What I need to do is
get you an orthotic device
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so you can be better
able to run the marathon."
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So we got the orthotic.
00:09:31.37\00:09:32.70
I had to take three or
four weeks off in my training
00:09:32.73\00:09:35.57
and before I
could get back into it,
00:09:35.60\00:09:37.04
it was already towards the
end of August of that year.
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Remember, the
marathon was in October.
00:09:40.41\00:09:43.71
So now, I had taken a
break from that intense training
00:09:43.75\00:09:46.38
and had to get back into it,
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not realizing that there's
going to be a whole shift
00:09:48.55\00:09:52.19
to how the
training was gonna work.
00:09:52.22\00:09:54.06
I got orthotics in my shoes
00:09:54.09\00:09:55.46
and I'm starting to
get back into training
00:09:55.49\00:09:57.29
but as I trained and
ramped up to the marathon,
00:09:57.33\00:10:00.53
I really never did
00:10:00.56\00:10:01.90
another track of
over 14 or 15 miles.
00:10:01.93\00:10:05.27
And then I flew
out to Washington D.C.
00:10:05.30\00:10:08.00
and got prepped
for this marathon,
00:10:08.04\00:10:09.77
where about 25,000 people
were getting ready to run.
00:10:09.80\00:10:13.58
I still remember it of
this day and I can tell you
00:10:13.61\00:10:16.14
mile by mile by mile
what I had to deal with.
00:10:16.18\00:10:19.68
The first few miles
were kind of interesting
00:10:19.71\00:10:21.78
because I had everyone around me
00:10:21.82\00:10:23.52
and the first point is in
a crowd everything is easy.
00:10:23.55\00:10:26.96
In a crowd everything is easy.
00:10:26.99\00:10:29.09
Debt is easy because
everyone is doing it.
00:10:29.12\00:10:32.29
Think differently.
00:10:32.33\00:10:34.20
Okay, so I jumped
into the marathon.
00:10:34.23\00:10:36.10
It took me a full eight minutes
to get to the starting line
00:10:36.13\00:10:38.27
because there were so
many people ahead of me.
00:10:38.30\00:10:40.14
I finally get there
and I start this track.
00:10:40.17\00:10:42.77
And it's an exciting process.
00:10:42.80\00:10:44.81
I'm hearing the
hurrahs from all the Marines
00:10:44.84\00:10:46.98
and I'm seeing all the sights
and sounds of Washington D.C.
00:10:47.01\00:10:49.91
and I didn't even feel
00:10:49.94\00:10:51.28
the first six or
seven miles of the marathon.
00:10:51.31\00:10:53.48
Of course, and then you
see a break in the crowds
00:10:53.52\00:10:56.79
and then you begin to
just feel the loneliness.
00:10:56.82\00:10:59.39
Mile 10, mile 11,
00:10:59.42\00:11:01.42
I came through the smallest
little area of the marathon.
00:11:01.46\00:11:04.99
And you know.
00:11:05.03\00:11:06.36
I could see the
people ahead of me.
00:11:06.39\00:11:07.86
I could hear people behind me.
00:11:07.90\00:11:09.23
And it's at that point in time,
00:11:09.26\00:11:10.60
and at that
point in the marathon
00:11:10.63\00:11:13.00
that you start
seeing emergency vehicles
00:11:13.03\00:11:15.77
and emergency
personnel helping people
00:11:15.80\00:11:17.47
who really weren't
prepared for this race.
00:11:17.51\00:11:21.21
We get to mile 15
00:11:21.24\00:11:22.58
and then it actually was mile 13
00:11:22.61\00:11:24.28
where I started
feeling a pain in my knee.
00:11:24.31\00:11:27.08
And I couldn't figure
out what it was about.
00:11:27.12\00:11:28.85
But all I could
begin to understand
00:11:28.88\00:11:30.82
was this orthotic
device, I wasn't used to,
00:11:30.85\00:11:34.09
and I had never used
it to run over 15 miles.
00:11:34.12\00:11:37.29
So I get to mile 13, 14
00:11:37.33\00:11:38.99
and I feel this pain in my knee.
00:11:39.03\00:11:42.10
And began to understand
that there's problems ahead.
00:11:42.13\00:11:45.10
There gonna be challenges.
00:11:45.13\00:11:46.67
Any time you're
trying to change a behavior,
00:11:46.70\00:11:50.31
there are going to
be hurdles to get over.
00:11:50.34\00:11:53.27
Second point.
00:11:53.31\00:11:54.64
So mile 15, I get to mile
15 and I can't go any further.
00:11:54.68\00:11:57.48
I'm in pain. This
thing is hurting me.
00:11:57.51\00:11:59.15
I can't do it.
00:11:59.18\00:12:00.52
And I remember,
there's this long corridor
00:12:00.55\00:12:02.52
that's on street
that you had to go down
00:12:02.55\00:12:04.99
and there's a curb on the side.
00:12:05.02\00:12:07.39
So I had to hobble over
to the curb and sit down.
00:12:07.42\00:12:11.09
And I'm sitting
with my chin in my hands
00:12:11.13\00:12:13.66
and I'm thinking
this can't happen.
00:12:13.70\00:12:15.30
I paid all this
money. I flew to Washington.
00:12:15.33\00:12:17.83
I'm running this marathon.
00:12:17.87\00:12:19.20
I have to
complete this marathon.
00:12:19.23\00:12:21.80
But I can't do
it. I can't do it.
00:12:21.84\00:12:24.44
There comes points
in time in your life
00:12:24.47\00:12:27.11
that you feel you
just can't overcome.
00:12:27.14\00:12:30.41
But you can always
believe because God will send
00:12:30.45\00:12:35.18
someone or
something in your life
00:12:35.22\00:12:37.12
to help you
through that challenge.
00:12:37.15\00:12:40.26
Okay, what was my
angel in disguise,
00:12:40.29\00:12:44.69
I was sitting on the side
00:12:44.73\00:12:46.06
and out of the blue
came this biker dude.
00:12:46.09\00:12:48.60
He had black long hair
and it was tied in the back.
00:12:48.63\00:12:51.83
It was grey on one side,
it was black on the other.
00:12:51.87\00:12:55.07
And I began to
understand full servitude,
00:12:55.10\00:13:00.08
full humility and love.
00:13:00.11\00:13:02.78
This biker dude walked
up to me as an individual
00:13:02.81\00:13:05.91
and said, "Dude, you
look like you're in pain."
00:13:05.95\00:13:09.02
"Well, yeah. I'm
hurting, my knee hurts."
00:13:09.05\00:13:11.29
He says, "You know what
works, this stuff, Tiger Balm."
00:13:11.32\00:13:14.86
And he rubbed this stuff out
and he rubbed it into my knee.
00:13:14.89\00:13:19.63
Full service. And he helped me.
00:13:19.66\00:13:21.90
I could feel the heat.
00:13:21.93\00:13:23.30
And he helped me put
a brace around my knee.
00:13:23.33\00:13:25.30
And he said.
"Hey, come on, let's go.
00:13:25.33\00:13:29.20
We can do it.
00:13:29.24\00:13:30.87
And I got up and I
started walking and hobbling
00:13:30.91\00:13:34.51
and with this
gentleman beside me
00:13:34.54\00:13:36.85
helping me along the route
between miles 15 and mile 22.
00:13:36.88\00:13:43.95
I got to this place in
the marathon of no return.
00:13:43.99\00:13:48.86
Now when I got to mile 22,
this gentleman disappeared.
00:13:48.89\00:13:55.43
Point number three is this.
00:13:55.46\00:13:58.13
When you get to a point
where you feel you can't go on,
00:13:58.17\00:14:01.17
ask God to help you.
00:14:01.20\00:14:02.60
He will.
00:14:02.64\00:14:03.97
And He will send the
right person and angel
00:14:04.01\00:14:06.84
or the right resource to
get you through this thing
00:14:06.88\00:14:11.35
that we'll be talking
about in reference to debt.
00:14:11.38\00:14:15.18
Debt is the thing that's hurting
00:14:15.22\00:14:16.85
a lot of people in this country.
00:14:16.89\00:14:19.72
And it would take a start.
00:14:19.75\00:14:21.72
It's gonna be a
marathon for some.
00:14:21.76\00:14:23.12
It might be a sprint
for others and for some,
00:14:23.16\00:14:24.99
you're already
budgeting and taking care
00:14:25.03\00:14:26.90
of your resource
in the right way.
00:14:26.93\00:14:28.26
But this I
believe is an essential,
00:14:28.30\00:14:31.43
essential segment.
00:14:31.47\00:14:33.34
A program to tell you
that debt is a real thing.
00:14:33.37\00:14:36.81
And you need to
overcome in this race of life.
00:14:36.84\00:14:40.81
Mile 22, I got to this
bridge in Washington D.C.
00:14:40.84\00:14:44.75
that if you didn't get to it
00:14:44.78\00:14:46.51
within four and a
half to five hours,
00:14:46.55\00:14:48.92
they were gonna close the bridge
00:14:48.95\00:14:50.32
or open the
bridge back to traffic
00:14:50.35\00:14:51.79
and you couldn't get across it.
00:14:51.82\00:14:53.15
So you had a certain
time limit to cross a bridge
00:14:53.19\00:14:55.69
in order finish the race.
00:14:55.72\00:14:57.23
And he got me to the bridge
with about 15 minutes to spare
00:14:57.26\00:15:00.03
before they
opened it up to traffic.
00:15:00.06\00:15:01.83
And we crossed the bridge
and for some unknown reason,
00:15:01.86\00:15:05.20
I never got this
gentleman's name.
00:15:05.23\00:15:08.94
I can still
recognize the gentleman.
00:15:08.97\00:15:11.57
But I can never, I don't know
if I can ever reach him again.
00:15:11.61\00:15:15.81
If he was real, I don't know
if he was an angel in disguise
00:15:15.84\00:15:18.85
because he disappeared.
00:15:18.88\00:15:20.42
I turned around and looked
after I crossed that hurdle.
00:15:20.45\00:15:25.09
And the remaining portion
of the race was four miles.
00:15:25.12\00:15:27.66
Four miles of a jog or
run that I couldn't believe
00:15:27.69\00:15:31.66
that I was actually
gonna accomplish this.
00:15:31.69\00:15:33.96
Here is a point when I
got to the finish line,
00:15:34.00\00:15:37.93
did I feel any pain.
00:15:37.97\00:15:40.07
No. I didn't feel any pain.
00:15:40.10\00:15:41.57
Well, 15 minutes after,
yeah. I was in a lot of pain.
00:15:41.60\00:15:45.77
But when I crossed the threshold
00:15:45.81\00:15:47.91
and got to that that
specific destination,
00:15:47.94\00:15:51.71
crossing the line
was a release, a relief.
00:15:51.75\00:15:54.88
I had accomplished
the goal of this marathon
00:15:54.92\00:15:58.59
that I'd always wanted to do.
00:15:58.62\00:16:00.39
And took a picture,
felt good about myself
00:16:00.42\00:16:03.26
and walked away.
00:16:03.29\00:16:04.63
My brother picked me up,
took me to his apartment.
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.36
And I sat down
in a cold tub of ice
00:16:06.39\00:16:09.40
as I felt the pain
of contracting muscles
00:16:09.43\00:16:12.77
and doing
certain, of doing something
00:16:12.80\00:16:14.60
that I'd never done before.
00:16:14.64\00:16:16.91
But I've
accomplished the objective.
00:16:16.94\00:16:19.44
And our objective
today is to talk to you about
00:16:19.47\00:16:22.21
the critical nature of
debt in the United States.
00:16:22.24\00:16:25.15
Did you know that
the average person
00:16:25.18\00:16:27.78
has 3.5 credit cards.
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.88
Do you know the
average family debt
00:16:29.92\00:16:31.65
in credit is $14,750?
00:16:31.69\00:16:35.06
We are a country
that rides on credit
00:16:35.09\00:16:36.96
and we talked about the car
and going into a dealership.
00:16:36.99\00:16:40.76
And having a car sold to you.
00:16:40.80\00:16:43.60
Always remember
that you is a consumer
00:16:43.63\00:16:48.37
should be in control.
00:16:48.40\00:16:50.61
And no one can
00:16:50.64\00:16:52.84
or should ever be
able to sell you anything
00:16:52.87\00:16:55.51
that you do not
necessarily need.
00:16:55.54\00:16:58.31
I give you a hint.
00:16:58.35\00:16:59.88
If you go to
make an acquisition,
00:16:59.91\00:17:01.48
take time to shop around,
00:17:01.52\00:17:03.92
and when you think about
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.52
the fact that you're
ready to make the purchase,
00:17:05.55\00:17:07.99
take a step back
00:17:08.02\00:17:11.19
and take three days to cool off.
00:17:11.23\00:17:13.90
And consider whether
or not this is a need,
00:17:13.93\00:17:15.86
this is a want or
whether or not that car
00:17:15.90\00:17:18.00
that you currently
have can be maintained
00:17:18.03\00:17:20.77
and can carry
you a few more years.
00:17:20.80\00:17:23.57
That's my story. We
are on a journey together.
00:17:23.61\00:17:27.84
This marathon is going to
be worth it when we're done
00:17:27.88\00:17:31.51
because we are
going to take care
00:17:31.55\00:17:33.28
of this issue on debt together.
00:17:33.31\00:17:37.59
Now what I'd like you
all to do is follow me,
00:17:37.62\00:17:41.69
when I'm gonna talk
to a little bit about
00:17:41.72\00:17:45.06
the context of
how you assess your,
00:17:45.09\00:17:50.17
the fact that you're
getting into trouble.
00:17:50.20\00:17:56.84
We did a little bit of research
and we went out on the street
00:17:58.31\00:18:01.44
and talked to a
variety of people
00:18:01.48\00:18:04.25
about what they did
and the question was,
00:18:04.28\00:18:06.38
"Regarding your credit,
00:18:06.41\00:18:08.25
are you likely to carry a
balance on your credit card
00:18:08.28\00:18:10.82
or do you pay
them off each month.
00:18:10.85\00:18:13.22
We took some select interviews
00:18:13.25\00:18:14.59
and I'd like to
watch that right now.
00:18:14.62\00:18:20.86
I try to pay
them off each month.
00:18:20.90\00:18:23.90
I try, currently at this moment
I don't have a credit cards
00:18:23.93\00:18:26.47
because I've had a
problem in the past.
00:18:26.50\00:18:29.57
So I, doing just debit cards
and cash only to help myself
00:18:29.60\00:18:34.71
mature financially a little bit.
00:18:34.74\00:18:36.18
But when I did have credit cards
00:18:36.21\00:18:37.55
and I tried to make sure that
00:18:37.58\00:18:39.05
they were paid off on
monthly, on monthly basis.
00:18:39.08\00:18:42.78
I carry a balance
because that's the only way
00:18:42.82\00:18:44.99
you can increase your credit.
00:18:45.02\00:18:47.96
But the problem is we
normally fall back like have.
00:18:47.99\00:18:51.69
But it's only
because of the economy.
00:18:51.73\00:18:54.70
With my credit cards I
actually carry a small balance.
00:18:54.73\00:19:01.54
You can see the different
perspectives about credit.
00:19:01.57\00:19:04.27
Some carry balances, some don't,
00:19:04.31\00:19:06.44
some have credit
cards some don't.
00:19:06.47\00:19:08.44
The context really is
how you manage the credit.
00:19:08.48\00:19:14.48
Now I use that to introduce
the issue of understanding
00:19:14.52\00:19:20.29
some warning
signs that are relevant.
00:19:20.32\00:19:24.66
How do you know when
you're getting in trouble
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.86
and what are some of the--
00:19:27.90\00:19:29.36
Some of the
relevant points to watch.
00:19:29.40\00:19:33.27
Trouble comes when
you are overspending.
00:19:33.30\00:19:35.47
Overspending tells us
that you may not have a budget.
00:19:35.50\00:19:38.54
It tells us that
you are winging it.
00:19:38.57\00:19:40.88
And that's one of
the first concerns
00:19:40.91\00:19:43.18
that many people don't realize
00:19:43.21\00:19:45.31
that problems begin to
happen when you are not tracking
00:19:45.35\00:19:49.08
what's going on in
your personal life.
00:19:49.12\00:19:52.15
I always go back to
00:19:52.19\00:19:53.59
and I'm going to
be hammering this
00:19:53.62\00:19:54.96
over the next few programs
as budgets are necessary
00:19:54.99\00:19:59.43
to have a starting point.
00:19:59.46\00:20:01.63
So assess whether or
not you're overspending.
00:20:01.66\00:20:04.70
And it you will know that
00:20:04.73\00:20:06.10
because pretty much
there's not enough money
00:20:06.13\00:20:08.87
in the bank to
carry your expenses.
00:20:08.90\00:20:13.14
I used the term in
another program of revenue.
00:20:13.17\00:20:17.58
I want to make it simple.
00:20:17.61\00:20:19.31
Revenue is
basically your paycheck,
00:20:19.35\00:20:21.48
a paycheck that
you get on a weekly
00:20:21.52\00:20:23.18
by weekly or monthly basis,
00:20:23.22\00:20:24.95
the money that goes
into your account as income.
00:20:24.99\00:20:29.06
The expenses are basically
00:20:29.09\00:20:30.43
those funds that
go out of your account
00:20:30.46\00:20:32.73
to take care of
your monthly bills,
00:20:32.76\00:20:36.13
whether or not
it is variable bills
00:20:36.16\00:20:40.24
or whether variable expenses
00:20:40.27\00:20:41.94
such as gas can go
up and down each month
00:20:41.97\00:20:44.67
or it could be the phone
bill up and down each month,
00:20:44.71\00:20:46.51
it could be other
variable type of expenses.
00:20:46.54\00:20:50.15
And you have the fixed expenses.
00:20:50.18\00:20:51.68
It's always the
same amount each month,
00:20:51.71\00:20:53.11
so your car expense, your rent,
00:20:53.15\00:20:55.72
those type of
things or your mortgage.
00:20:55.75\00:20:58.85
As we take a look
at the spending issue,
00:20:58.89\00:21:01.49
it's key that we
address those specific concerns.
00:21:01.52\00:21:05.79
Secondarily,
rising interest rates.
00:21:05.83\00:21:07.96
If your credit card
interest rate is going up,
00:21:08.00\00:21:10.60
it tells you that you
have missed the payment.
00:21:10.63\00:21:13.57
Credit cards can
raise the interest rate
00:21:13.60\00:21:15.90
if you miss a payment.
00:21:15.94\00:21:17.27
Second Warning sign.
00:21:17.31\00:21:18.64
Number three, I
mismanaged budget.
00:21:18.67\00:21:20.04
You set a budget
and then the two of you,
00:21:20.08\00:21:22.51
maybe if you're married,
00:21:22.54\00:21:23.88
one is a
spender, one is a saver,
00:21:23.91\00:21:25.78
one likes to go out
00:21:25.81\00:21:27.28
and
spontaneously purchase things
00:21:27.32\00:21:29.08
or another wants to save.
00:21:29.12\00:21:30.45
So you have a budget,
someone sets of the budget
00:21:30.49\00:21:32.19
and one of them
over spends and goes out
00:21:32.22\00:21:34.56
and does them on
a spontaneous basis.
00:21:34.59\00:21:37.96
You mismanage a budget.
00:21:37.99\00:21:39.39
It's one of the sure signs that
00:21:39.43\00:21:41.00
there's going to be
problems in the future.
00:21:41.03\00:21:42.50
Three, increased cost of living.
00:21:42.53\00:21:44.17
Cost of living happens.
00:21:44.20\00:21:45.67
If you're basically maintaining,
00:21:45.70\00:21:48.34
you're spending exactly
what you make, there's a problem
00:21:48.37\00:21:50.91
because gas prices have gone up.
00:21:50.94\00:21:53.78
And so when you have a fuel
00:21:53.81\00:21:56.14
that goes up 50
cents per gallon,
00:21:56.18\00:21:58.85
it means it's gonna
cost more to fill your tank,
00:21:58.88\00:22:02.05
something else has to give.
00:22:02.08\00:22:04.59
Unemployment,
physical emergencies,
00:22:04.62\00:22:09.49
water tank, for
example, a water heater
00:22:09.52\00:22:11.73
that you might
need and then of course,
00:22:11.76\00:22:13.63
the thing that
wipes out a lot of people
00:22:13.66\00:22:15.43
in reference to their ability
00:22:15.46\00:22:16.93
to keep wealth is
disabilities and illness.
00:22:16.97\00:22:20.10
So what can you do short
term if you can't keep up.
00:22:20.14\00:22:24.64
There's a couple things
I'd like you to look at.
00:22:24.67\00:22:27.28
First assess the warning signs.
00:22:27.31\00:22:28.91
Are you looking at any
one of those overspending,
00:22:28.94\00:22:31.51
are you looking at credit
card interest rates going up,
00:22:31.55\00:22:33.82
are you looking at a
variety of different issues?
00:22:33.85\00:22:35.88
Take that into context
and assess where you are at.
00:22:35.92\00:22:41.09
Secondarily, if you
have a credit card issue,
00:22:41.12\00:22:44.49
I ask you to do
a couple of things.
00:22:44.53\00:22:48.66
Call your creditors immediately.
00:22:48.70\00:22:50.90
If you can't make the payment,
00:22:50.93\00:22:52.27
if in fact,
you've lost your job,
00:22:52.30\00:22:56.37
those are major concerns
00:22:56.40\00:22:57.97
that you need to
address immediately.
00:22:58.01\00:23:01.38
Call them up and tell them
you're having some problems.
00:23:01.41\00:23:03.35
Most times they
will work with you
00:23:03.38\00:23:05.68
and they will tell you
00:23:05.71\00:23:08.08
what they can do on your behalf.
00:23:08.12\00:23:10.59
Try to keep
paying a little bit back
00:23:10.62\00:23:12.52
on those accounts
as you possibly can.
00:23:12.55\00:23:15.09
Cut your living expenses.
00:23:15.12\00:23:16.62
It goes back to
now, if I have a budget,
00:23:16.66\00:23:19.66
I can understand what areas
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.86
I need to look at
that I can possibly cut.
00:23:21.90\00:23:24.60
Do I need the cable? Do I
need the cable television?
00:23:24.63\00:23:27.84
Do I need some of
these other niceties
00:23:27.87\00:23:32.67
that I can cut right now?
00:23:32.71\00:23:34.18
Can I take a look at insurance
00:23:34.21\00:23:35.54
and getting a different
type of insurance quote?
00:23:35.58\00:23:38.18
Take a look at
cutting those expenses
00:23:38.21\00:23:40.65
that you don't
necessarily really need.
00:23:40.68\00:23:43.22
And then, begin to understand
00:23:43.25\00:23:46.42
how much credit
you currently have,
00:23:46.45\00:23:48.22
how much credit
you can really afford.
00:23:48.26\00:23:51.03
I talked to you
earlier about the 20-10 rule.
00:23:51.06\00:23:53.76
20-10 rule basically says
00:23:53.80\00:23:55.16
don't absorb
more than 20 percent
00:23:55.20\00:23:56.63
of your annual income as credit
00:23:56.67\00:24:00.27
and don't pay out
on a monthly basis
00:24:00.30\00:24:02.90
as a percentage of
your net monthly income
00:24:02.94\00:24:06.91
10 percent more than 10
percent on a monthly basis.
00:24:06.94\00:24:09.14
Those are key.
00:24:09.18\00:24:10.51
Now as we go towards closing,
00:24:10.55\00:24:12.41
I want to give
you a mnemonic device
00:24:12.45\00:24:16.08
in reference to
getting out of debt.
00:24:16.12\00:24:17.65
One, the acronym
is A- C- C- S- A.
00:24:17.69\00:24:22.82
A- C- C- S- A.
00:24:22.86\00:24:24.96
One is, assess, excuse me,
assess the level of your debt.
00:24:24.99\00:24:30.23
How much do you
owe, find out what it is,
00:24:30.27\00:24:32.90
how much is it
in credit card debt,
00:24:32.93\00:24:34.60
how much is it in, how
much he owe in your car.
00:24:34.64\00:24:38.47
What you owe on your mortgage.
00:24:38.51\00:24:39.84
Assess the complete
amount of indebtedness.
00:24:39.87\00:24:42.54
And then of
course, what you need to do
00:24:42.58\00:24:44.38
after that is,
C means to create.
00:24:44.41\00:24:46.48
A, assess. C, create a budget.
00:24:46.51\00:24:50.42
It might be beneficial if
you turn it those two around
00:24:50.45\00:24:52.55
and say create the budget first
00:24:52.59\00:24:53.92
and then assess the debt.
00:24:53.96\00:24:55.29
But the context is
creating the budget is key
00:24:55.32\00:25:00.36
to help you better look at
00:25:00.40\00:25:02.03
where those
expenses are being paid.
00:25:02.06\00:25:04.73
And then take a look at
where that debt actually is.
00:25:04.77\00:25:09.10
Number three, cut your spending.
00:25:09.14\00:25:12.67
Work with your creditors.
00:25:12.71\00:25:14.38
Take things out
that you don't need.
00:25:14.41\00:25:16.75
Pay off what,
00:25:16.78\00:25:18.71
I guess you can't really
pat it off at that point in time
00:25:18.75\00:25:20.32
but cutting the expenses
00:25:20.35\00:25:21.68
will free up a
little bit more money
00:25:21.72\00:25:23.39
and help you within the
context of creating that margin.
00:25:23.42\00:25:27.69
Margin, there's a
difference between
00:25:27.72\00:25:29.22
the income and the expenses
00:25:29.26\00:25:32.36
that can go towards helping
you pay off that current debt.
00:25:32.39\00:25:37.00
Then of course,
00:25:37.03\00:25:38.37
once you have
that margin in place,
00:25:38.40\00:25:40.14
and you have the budget,
00:25:40.17\00:25:41.50
you now know how
much you can save.
00:25:41.54\00:25:42.97
Start putting
money into savings.
00:25:43.00\00:25:45.87
Save.
00:25:45.91\00:25:47.24
It's essential to
help from that standpoint.
00:25:47.28\00:25:50.65
And then, number
five is, attack the debt.
00:25:50.68\00:25:54.78
Attack the debt.
00:25:54.82\00:25:56.15
Go after it and
try to get rid of it
00:25:56.18\00:25:57.99
as quickly as possible.
00:25:58.02\00:25:59.35
And right now, I want to pray
00:25:59.39\00:26:01.42
for some of you out
there that are dealing
00:26:01.46\00:26:03.63
with this crisis in
America of indebtedness.
00:26:03.66\00:26:06.76
We can go on this marathon,
this journey, this sprint,
00:26:06.80\00:26:10.37
whatever this race is together.
00:26:10.40\00:26:12.00
We can accomplish a lot together
00:26:12.03\00:26:13.70
and we're gonna do it together
00:26:13.74\00:26:15.07
in this program of
financial literacy.
00:26:15.10\00:26:18.21
But it takes that first step.
We're in training together.
00:26:18.24\00:26:21.21
I want you to do
the first mile tomorrow.
00:26:21.24\00:26:23.58
That first mile is
figure out your expenses.
00:26:23.61\00:26:26.75
Figure out your income.
00:26:26.78\00:26:28.12
And let's figure out
where we can cut the expenses
00:26:28.15\00:26:30.49
and where we can figure out
00:26:30.52\00:26:31.85
how we can put
more away in savings
00:26:31.89\00:26:33.59
and how we can take that money
00:26:33.62\00:26:36.19
and attack that
debt that we have.
00:26:36.22\00:26:38.86
If you will,
let's pray together.
00:26:38.89\00:26:40.56
Father in heaven, we thank You
00:26:40.60\00:26:42.46
for this
opportunity to talk to You
00:26:42.50\00:26:45.43
and to understand
the context of wealth
00:26:45.47\00:26:47.90
and as a steward being faithful.
00:26:47.94\00:26:50.34
Help us now to get out of
debt so we can support you more
00:26:50.37\00:26:54.81
in giving back to your ministry
00:26:54.84\00:26:56.61
and to use the
talents that we will be held
00:26:56.64\00:26:58.81
accountable for when you come.
00:26:58.85\00:27:00.55
In your name we pray. Amen.
00:27:00.58\00:27:04.35
Okay, we're on a
journey together.
00:27:04.39\00:27:06.86
I want you to
take a look seriously
00:27:06.89\00:27:09.62
at any type of warning
signs that there is a problem.
00:27:09.66\00:27:13.29
We can take a look at five.
00:27:13.33\00:27:15.16
One is, you don't
know how much you owe.
00:27:15.20\00:27:18.13
We need to figure that out.
00:27:18.17\00:27:19.50
Number two, you're
late paying your bills.
00:27:19.53\00:27:22.24
You're constantly looking
for cash to pay something.
00:27:22.27\00:27:24.51
And you're constantly
late and it's getting behind.
00:27:24.54\00:27:27.61
Three, you're
taking out a new loan
00:27:27.64\00:27:29.74
to cover old loans.
00:27:29.78\00:27:31.98
Four, you're paying
only the minimum amount
00:27:32.01\00:27:35.45
on your credit
card bill each month.
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.99
And five, you're spending
00:27:38.02\00:27:39.92
more than 20
percent of your net income
00:27:39.95\00:27:42.12
after rent and
mortgage on credit use.
00:27:42.16\00:27:45.03
Those are five warning
signs that there is a problem.
00:27:45.06\00:27:50.40
What I ask you to
do is make a change.
00:27:50.43\00:27:53.80
Let's start together.
Take It To The Bank and save.
00:27:53.84\00:27:57.71
See you next time. God bless.
00:27:57.74\00:28:01.04