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
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and many more financial
matters on Take It to the Bank.
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Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas
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and welcome to
Take It to the Bank.
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We're gonna talk about
for the next few minutes
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this thing called debt.
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The top major
stresses in people's life,
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the top one of the five
that was listed is finance.
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In many different
studies the stresses in life
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that can cause
many different things
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such as major kind of
pains and stresses in your life,
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as well as even
divorce and other elements
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that can be
result of it is finance.
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And the top cause for any type
of financial problems has to do
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with personal
planning, poor budgeting.
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And one of the things
we've been trying to emphasize
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is the importance
of developing a budget.
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Beginning the
process of planning
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because if you don't
know where you're at,
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you have no idea of
where you want to go.
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And many of us
understand this debt crisis
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from a
standpoint of what it can do
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in your life to create havoc.
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One of the things
people have asked me about is,
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"Do you understand
what it's like to be in debt
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or do you just talk about it?"
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I just talk about it? No.
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I've been there. I
know what it's like.
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I understand about spending.
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I understand the context
of lack of personal planning.
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I have been that
advocate for no planning at all
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and it had to change
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because I
wasn't content in life.
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I was thinking more about money.
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I was thinking more
about making the next dollar
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and I wasn't thinking
about what God wanted me to do.
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At one point in
my life I thought
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God wasn't really not a part
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of what I was
supposed to be about
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and probably that was
the most dissatisfying
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and unhappy years of my
life that I've ever had.
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If you as an
urban young person think
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that happiness
comes from following
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what the media
tell you, forget that.
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If you think that
you can gain happiness
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by having a lot
of money, forget it.
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The Bible tells us that
"Contentment and godliness,
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there is great
gain," 1 Timothy 6:6.
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The Bible is also gonna tell you
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as a young
person that in Psalms 90
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asking God to help
us, number our days,
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so that we may gain wisdom.
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Look, you as the young
person when I was there,
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I though I had everything.
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I had all the time in
the world and now I realized
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that I don't
have that much time.
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And it doesn't
matter if I am driving here
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or going there,
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that life could be cut shorter
by an accident happening.
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So many different
things in your life
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that you need to do
to take steps to plan
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so you can avoid
some of the same problems
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that I may have had.
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Yes, I've been in debt.
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And I've had to pay off a
substantial portion of that.
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Yes, I have never. I
didn't plan long term.
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Yes, I understand what it's like
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to spend every
penny that you make
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because I didn't have a plan
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which is what
the studies tell us.
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The major cause for
financial difficulties
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is lack of a plan.
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So your first step
in that plan would be
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to take care of
the long term debt,
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take a look at what you
owe, where you owe it to,
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and then begin the
process of figuring out
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how you can pay it off.
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You're never going
to be able to pay off
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any type of long
term debt without a plan.
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And there are
many different things
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that you can begin
the process of using
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to help you take care
of that long term debt.
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There are apps
that you can download
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that can provide
you an opportunity
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to input some of that
data and then of course, plan.
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It will tell you exactly
how long it will take you
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to pay off the
debt at a certain rate
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in monthly basis.
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There're other hints
that I would also take,
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that if you're
having a specific concern,
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contact your credit agency,
tell them what's going on,
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be proactive because
it's in that proactiveness
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that they can take the steps
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to help you getting a hold
of that kind of debt issue.
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Now one of the things I
actually had a chance to do
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is meet with a financial planner
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Mr. Joshua Hernandez
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who helps us in variety of areas
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out of Orange County
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and he is provided us
with this input on debt.
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Here is our conversation.
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We're talking debt
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and we've talked a lot
of the different issues
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that are relevant to
each one of our families,
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when we talk about
debt, the debt issue.
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And we're gonna bring in
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our financial
expert here Joshua.
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Joshua, as we talk about debt,
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every one seems to be worried
about debt in their lives
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and we typically
tell people look,
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the way to take
care of this issue is,
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is begin to understand,
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you need to spend
less than you bring in.
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Right.
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So the concept of debt,
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and as we're
talking of investment
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and long-term planning,
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what would be
some of the key issues
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that you think would
be relevant to individuals
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who are dealing with
this debt crisis right now?
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Great question, Cordell.
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You know, some of
the first thoughts
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that come to mind in
terms of debt has to do
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with making sure
you're controlling your debt
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before you start thinking
about a lot of other things
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in your life financially.
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If one thing can
really anchor you
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down in the wrong direction
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if you're not
looking at a bigger picture.
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So those who are
investing and saving, you know,
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you definitely want to
have a portion of your money
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going into debt and
looking at your interest rate
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in terms of debt is it,
interest rate that's too high,
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is it something you can
negotiate to make a lower.
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Often I ask an
investment advisor,
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how much, you know, if
I've got debt, you know,
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should I start
saving for my retirement,
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should I start
saving some money?
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If I start saving money,
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it's gonna focus my
efforts on saving money
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and then I'm going
to go backwards in debt
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and that's a great point.
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And so what I
often say is make sure
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you've got the debt
scenario taking care
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of where you've
got a monthly budget
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and you can see
that there is a reduction
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in your debt that
you are paying off.
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Make sure you could see
some kind of advancement
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in your debt scenario.
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And as you got that
handle, you also want to,
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then you can start moving
into the savings aspect of it.
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Now you mentioned something,
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if you don't mind
me interrupting you...
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Yeah, yeah.
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You mentioned
about budget of course,
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and then of
course, you mentioned about
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calling your credit
card companies and seeing
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if they can
reduce the interest rate.
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Did I hear that correctly? Yes.
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So in fact, you can
actually call your creditors
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and try to
negotiate a reduced rate
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and that may be
helpful in paying off
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the debt a little quicker.
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Absolutely. Am I correct?
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Absolutely.
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You definitely want
to make that effort,
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it's worth the time.
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Another thing I
think about is making sure
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that you're paying yourself.
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And I like the concept
of paying yourself first.
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And what, you know,
we're always really worried
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about paying bills
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and making sure that
the bills are taken care of.
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And at the end of the month,
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what I often find
happening in families is that
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you end up paying everyone else,
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but yourself.
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That's
interesting. It's interesting.
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There are a
couple of sports videos
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that are out there that
talk about some of these
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famous personalities
that have gone through debt
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and gone into debt.
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But of course, you
begin to wonder, why?
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They make millions,
and millions of dollars
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and it seems that
once you talk about
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how much you make
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which I think is the first thing
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you shouldn't do,
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is if you are a wealthy
person keep it to yourself,
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live within your means,
you don't have to tell anyone
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because you get this
entourage following you,
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people coming,
family members coming,
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asking for monies.
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It's quite interesting
what Joshua had to say.
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And one of the
things that stood out to me
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is about paying yourself first.
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One of the things we think
from our Christian financial
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management
perspective is paying God first,
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the tithing principle.
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It seems that you can
do more with nine tenths
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than most people
do with ten tenths.
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It seems that you
spend your money a lot wiser
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when you're giving
God a portion of what
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and if you keep God
in your perspective.
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Remember 1 Timothy 6:6,
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"Godliness with
contentment is great gain."
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Being
comfortable where you're at
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and making sure
you have a budget
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which is the other thing
that Joshua talked about.
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Making sure you've budgeted
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and make sure you're planning to
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what you spend
on an ongoing basis.
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What the big thing is,
most people think of is
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I need to make a lot of money.
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No, you don't.
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All you need is to
spend less than you make
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and you're in a
lot better situations
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than most people
are in the middle class
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American realm.
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So you as a demographic
should think first of all about
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the budgeting and
planning perspective.
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Plan, planning cannot,
cannot be emphasized anymore
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because that's a top reason
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why people fall
into financial crisis,
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they lack the lack of planning.
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The secondary thing
of paying yourself first
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or paying God first
and tithing also lends
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to a certain sense of planning
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and spending a
lot more in a more,
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keeping the spending
process as our priority
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because you're not just
going to spend on anything
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and it not get caught up
in this consumer perspective
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that the world
would like us to think of.
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The third thing he
talked about is making sure
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you're seeing some
type of formal inroads
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into the debt that you have.
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So if you have a credit
card and you're using an app
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that tells you is going
to take two years to pay off,
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continue to pay
on it and try to pay
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on the smallest
amount of credit first
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and then work yourself up
to the largest credit debt
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that you have.
00:10:06.77\00:10:08.10
And as you see
yourself getting things done,
00:10:08.14\00:10:11.44
you feel better about yourself
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and you're more likely
to continue the process.
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One of the things we
do in Southern California
00:10:16.64\00:10:18.98
is we work with certain agencies
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that provide some type of
free money match programs,
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why do they do that?
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As they ask the
questions, try to research
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why these type of programs
have become so prevalent
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around the United States?
00:10:30.69\00:10:32.03
Is because we're trying
to develop in people a habit,
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the habit of
putting money aside,
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the habit of saving and
the reinforcement of that
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is when you
reach a specific goal
00:10:42.37\00:10:45.71
and you get that match,
it reinforces that behavior
00:10:45.74\00:10:49.24
and causes you to do
more of the same thing.
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So as we talk about that,
we see that the primary issue,
00:10:53.31\00:10:57.55
issues involved in
this debt issue is looking
00:10:57.59\00:11:01.49
to attack the debt,
ensuring that you plan
00:11:01.52\00:11:04.26
and have a budget and ensuring
00:11:04.29\00:11:06.03
that you take a
fiscal responsibility
00:11:06.06\00:11:08.43
in paying God
first, paying self first,
00:11:08.46\00:11:10.17
and ensuring that you
have that nine tenths there
00:11:10.20\00:11:14.04
to manage in a more crucial way
00:11:14.07\00:11:15.80
than most people
do with ten tenths.
00:11:15.84\00:11:18.11
Remember again, godliness
with contentment is great gain
00:11:18.14\00:11:22.44
and then you become
a happier individual
00:11:22.48\00:11:24.71
when you're able
to help someone else
00:11:24.75\00:11:29.08
and get involved in family
and get involved in something
00:11:29.12\00:11:32.35
that's bigger
and greater than you.
00:11:32.39\00:11:34.49
Because we find that
happy people are those
00:11:34.52\00:11:36.42
that give away, give to others,
00:11:36.46\00:11:39.56
pay for somebody else as
opposed to paying to themselves
00:11:39.59\00:11:42.56
which brings up
a secondary issue
00:11:42.60\00:11:44.53
about this whole
thing called debt.
00:11:44.57\00:11:48.60
Giving money away is just that.
00:11:48.64\00:11:52.37
When you give money
away, you've given it away.
00:11:52.41\00:11:55.01
And if you give
it to family members,
00:11:55.04\00:11:56.64
it's not necessarily a loan
because you shouldn't expect
00:11:56.68\00:12:00.38
that money to come back,
there's no promissory note,
00:12:00.42\00:12:03.08
there are no contracts involved,
00:12:03.12\00:12:04.45
you pretty much give
that money to the individuals.
00:12:04.49\00:12:06.79
And all you have to do is talk
to some of those individuals
00:12:06.82\00:12:09.92
who have made a lot of money
00:12:09.96\00:12:11.29
and people have
come to borrow that money
00:12:11.33\00:12:13.16
and they've
never seen that money
00:12:13.19\00:12:14.86
put back in their pockets.
00:12:14.90\00:12:16.23
So remember, that this thing
00:12:16.26\00:12:18.47
called loaning to family members
00:12:18.50\00:12:20.67
is a critical item that
00:12:20.70\00:12:22.04
we must take into consideration
and that's another conversation
00:12:22.07\00:12:25.74
I had with Joshua Hernandez.
00:12:25.77\00:12:28.18
Here is what was said.
00:12:28.21\00:12:30.05
How do you approach the
issue of a family member
00:12:30.08\00:12:32.98
asking for a loan
or something like that?
00:12:33.01\00:12:35.42
Many different
people have those questions,
00:12:35.45\00:12:38.25
we should help
them or should we not,
00:12:38.29\00:12:39.92
but how does that,
00:12:39.95\00:12:41.29
how does that impact
our long-term capacity?
00:12:41.32\00:12:44.09
Yeah, touchy subject, you know,
00:12:44.13\00:12:45.56
you love your family and
you care about your family,
00:12:45.59\00:12:47.46
you want to help
them and sometimes
00:12:47.50\00:12:51.47
which when you think
you're helping someone is
00:12:51.50\00:12:53.27
actually making
things a lot worse.
00:12:53.30\00:12:55.44
So one of the first
thoughts, if I ever want to,
00:12:55.47\00:12:57.21
if I'm asked to
loan someone some money,
00:12:57.24\00:13:01.11
the amount of money that
that I'm going to loan out,
00:13:01.14\00:13:03.88
my first question is,
00:13:03.91\00:13:05.25
"Can I just give
that money out away"
00:13:05.28\00:13:07.48
'Cause often I find the money
00:13:07.52\00:13:08.88
that you loan
often never comes back.
00:13:08.92\00:13:11.62
So... Interesting.
00:13:11.65\00:13:13.19
Yeah, can you
just give it to them
00:13:13.22\00:13:14.66
and not worry about it?
00:13:14.69\00:13:16.52
And so that's my first
idea is just give it to them.
00:13:16.56\00:13:20.66
If you cannot loan money out,
00:13:20.70\00:13:22.70
if you are, if you don't have
the room to be able to do that,
00:13:22.73\00:13:26.47
then don't do it.
00:13:26.50\00:13:27.84
That's the other part of it too.
00:13:27.87\00:13:30.04
As much as you'd like to help,
00:13:30.07\00:13:31.41
if it's gonna hurt
you more than help them,
00:13:31.44\00:13:33.27
then don't do it.
00:13:33.31\00:13:34.64
Just say no.
00:13:38.58\00:13:41.98
If you don't have
the means to do it,
00:13:42.02\00:13:43.89
then you shouldn't do it.
00:13:43.92\00:13:45.25
But family is always
important part of our lives
00:13:45.29\00:13:47.42
and it's
critical that we do have
00:13:47.46\00:13:48.82
an emergency savings
'cause emergencies do come up
00:13:48.86\00:13:51.33
on a variety of
different levels.
00:13:51.36\00:13:53.26
And if you have
the ability to do it,
00:13:53.29\00:13:55.26
it's always good to
help because you feel better
00:13:55.30\00:13:57.53
when you're able
to help somebody.
00:13:57.57\00:13:59.20
But you're never going
to be able to help someone
00:13:59.23\00:14:00.80
unless you've put yourself
00:14:00.84\00:14:02.17
under the control
of a planning proposal,
00:14:02.20\00:14:05.57
a proposal that
considers a budget,
00:14:05.61\00:14:08.04
considers the
different elements of
00:14:08.08\00:14:09.71
what you would
like to do in your life,
00:14:09.74\00:14:11.48
what your accomplishments
would like to be?
00:14:11.51\00:14:13.68
So this budget in and of itself
should also incorporate short,
00:14:13.72\00:14:18.45
mid-term and long-term
plans, retirement issues,
00:14:18.49\00:14:21.29
insurance issues, all
of those type of things
00:14:21.32\00:14:24.33
and of course, that
emergency savings that's there,
00:14:24.36\00:14:27.56
something that's
aside that can be used
00:14:27.60\00:14:30.23
on a short-term
and a quick basis
00:14:30.27\00:14:31.67
to give to somebody.
00:14:31.70\00:14:33.17
But you should
also have that budgeted,
00:14:33.20\00:14:35.00
what is your maximum
capacity in a number, a number,
00:14:35.04\00:14:39.61
how much money
on a maximum basis,
00:14:39.64\00:14:41.64
on a monthly
basis can you afford
00:14:41.68\00:14:43.95
to give to someone else?
00:14:43.98\00:14:46.68
And you might find
that a challenging dilemma
00:14:46.72\00:14:51.29
but it also provides
you the opportunity to think
00:14:51.32\00:14:53.82
through about what
this whole thing is about
00:14:53.86\00:14:56.59
when you're looking at loans
to which I don't consider loan
00:14:56.62\00:14:59.79
when you're giving
money to family members.
00:14:59.83\00:15:02.06
All you need to do is
see some of the stories
00:15:02.10\00:15:04.43
that some of
these sports individuals
00:15:04.47\00:15:07.94
or wealthy individuals
have had to deal with.
00:15:07.97\00:15:10.11
There were some
stories on the internet
00:15:10.14\00:15:11.74
about these individuals
that spend a lot of money
00:15:11.77\00:15:14.41
to win the lottery and
when they won the lottery,
00:15:14.44\00:15:16.31
they found how
quickly their friends,
00:15:16.34\00:15:19.11
quickly they
developed a lot of friends
00:15:19.15\00:15:21.52
and how those that
succeeded in maintaining
00:15:21.55\00:15:24.89
that lottery
winning, and to lose friends,
00:15:24.92\00:15:28.99
and lose acquaintances
00:15:29.02\00:15:30.36
because people
turned against them
00:15:30.39\00:15:32.19
when they were unwilling
to just give up monies.
00:15:32.23\00:15:34.90
Many of the people
that were successful,
00:15:34.93\00:15:37.87
they'll say all that
00:15:37.90\00:15:39.23
were successful in
the lottery winnings
00:15:39.27\00:15:41.10
were individuals that
00:15:41.14\00:15:42.47
put themselves
on a strict budget.
00:15:42.50\00:15:45.11
There are many
stories about people
00:15:45.14\00:15:46.78
who won a lot of
money which is, you know,
00:15:46.81\00:15:49.61
the lottery odds
of winning a lottery,
00:15:49.64\00:15:51.68
we all know is
pretty slim to none.
00:15:51.71\00:15:53.55
One in 176 million
people will win the lottery,
00:15:53.58\00:15:58.02
only one in 176 million.
00:15:58.05\00:16:00.06
So we understand
that the odds of winning
00:16:00.09\00:16:02.62
that are not likely
but if you do win it,
00:16:02.66\00:16:05.43
it takes an appropriate action,
00:16:05.46\00:16:08.36
planning, developing a
budget, and putting things aside
00:16:08.40\00:16:12.63
and assessing what you're
going to live on a yearly basis
00:16:12.67\00:16:16.04
and then also making
sure that you include
00:16:16.07\00:16:19.77
the necessity of
paying your taxes.
00:16:19.81\00:16:22.04
People aren't aware that yes,
we hear that these individuals
00:16:22.08\00:16:26.51
who are put all
over the internet
00:16:26.55\00:16:28.98
now all their friends
know that they've come up,
00:16:29.02\00:16:31.45
you know, with a lot of money,
00:16:31.49\00:16:33.59
so now those friends
come in, they swoop in
00:16:33.62\00:16:36.46
and all they're doing
is asking for a handout.
00:16:36.49\00:16:38.73
Those type of things happen
00:16:38.76\00:16:40.56
to everyone on an ongoing basis,
00:16:40.60\00:16:42.83
some of the things
that you should think about
00:16:42.86\00:16:44.73
when you're looking at
this thing called debt.
00:16:44.77\00:16:48.24
What are the most
common types of debt?
00:16:48.27\00:16:50.81
College student loans,
00:16:50.84\00:16:53.21
bank loans, credit card debt,
00:16:53.24\00:16:58.18
those are the most common types.
00:16:58.21\00:16:59.55
And as debt goes up,
00:16:59.58\00:17:03.22
we find many other things happen
00:17:03.25\00:17:04.99
because of course,
we tap into savings,
00:17:05.02\00:17:07.02
we try to get some of
these things paid off,
00:17:07.06\00:17:09.06
but then of
course, many of us haven't
00:17:09.09\00:17:10.59
taken the time to budget,
00:17:10.63\00:17:13.43
to take some personal planning
00:17:13.46\00:17:15.06
and taking
assessment of where we're at
00:17:15.10\00:17:17.73
and where we want to go.
00:17:17.77\00:17:19.10
The moment we
have a budget emplace,
00:17:19.13\00:17:20.47
some exciting
things begin to happen.
00:17:20.50\00:17:22.24
We begin to get numbers,
we begin to get patterns,
00:17:22.27\00:17:24.71
we begin to get
an understanding of
00:17:24.74\00:17:28.01
where we are at currently?
00:17:28.04\00:17:29.91
What kind of debt we have?
00:17:29.94\00:17:31.48
And what kind of things
00:17:31.51\00:17:32.85
we need to
really go after and pay?
00:17:32.88\00:17:34.28
I would
download some type of app
00:17:34.32\00:17:36.82
on to your smartphone
00:17:36.85\00:17:38.32
that would help you assess
your current level of debt.
00:17:38.35\00:17:41.16
The ones that's
out there, study them.
00:17:41.19\00:17:43.12
There are some that
are really good, Mint.com,
00:17:43.16\00:17:46.13
some of the other ones
00:17:46.16\00:17:47.50
that help you organize
your receipts and coupons.
00:17:47.53\00:17:49.93
Some of those that are
there to help you assess
00:17:49.96\00:17:52.03
how quickly you
can pay off debt.
00:17:52.07\00:17:53.54
Once you start that process
00:17:53.57\00:17:55.27
and going down
in that direction,
00:17:55.30\00:17:56.87
you begin the
process of getting control
00:17:56.91\00:18:00.71
of this thing called debt
00:18:00.74\00:18:02.11
because you don't want it
00:18:02.14\00:18:03.48
to start
spiraling out of control.
00:18:03.51\00:18:05.05
So we talked about
some other key issues
00:18:05.08\00:18:08.02
that are relevant to this
00:18:08.05\00:18:09.72
and we talked to Joshua
about that in this interview.
00:18:09.75\00:18:13.59
Here's what was said.
00:18:13.62\00:18:15.26
As a financial advisor
what would be the key issue
00:18:15.29\00:18:17.76
you think is relevant
in this segment on debt
00:18:17.79\00:18:21.26
as it applies to
long-term savings?
00:18:21.30\00:18:23.47
What would you think
is key to approaching?
00:18:23.50\00:18:26.63
Number one is,
pay yourself first.
00:18:26.67\00:18:30.54
At the end of the day, the bank,
00:18:30.57\00:18:34.61
if you ever need that money back
00:18:34.64\00:18:36.18
will never give
you that money back
00:18:36.21\00:18:38.61
if you've already spent it.
00:18:38.65\00:18:40.42
So always think about you
and your family, you know,
00:18:40.45\00:18:42.98
even if it's just a
little bit of money,
00:18:43.02\00:18:44.39
if it's $25
00:18:44.42\00:18:45.99
and that's where
you're at in life, then do it.
00:18:46.02\00:18:47.82
And then start paying
your bills, pay yourself first.
00:18:47.86\00:18:50.63
And then you definitely
want to focus on your debt
00:18:50.66\00:18:53.53
and then manage it.
00:18:53.56\00:18:56.16
You also, you
talked about a percentage,
00:18:56.20\00:18:58.53
we were talking earlier about
how much would you pay in debt
00:18:58.57\00:19:00.64
and how much you
pay in investments
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.24
and the overall
idea of a percentage
00:19:02.27\00:19:05.24
you should invest
in your retirement
00:19:05.27\00:19:07.61
or your futures
is usually they say
00:19:07.64\00:19:09.71
about 10 percent of
your monthly income.
00:19:09.74\00:19:13.08
I'd say at least make
that the same for your debt,
00:19:13.11\00:19:15.78
you know, 10 percent
debt, 10 percent monthly income.
00:19:15.82\00:19:18.49
If you've got an
interest rate of 25-30 percent
00:19:18.52\00:19:21.69
on a credit
card, that's, you know,
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.73
very overwhelming, handle that.
00:19:23.76\00:19:25.69
Handle that, maybe
you can put 10 percent
00:19:25.73\00:19:28.56
as your savings account,
00:19:28.60\00:19:29.93
maybe you can
only put in 2 or 5,
00:19:29.96\00:19:31.77
well then do that for now
00:19:31.80\00:19:33.13
and as you handle
your debt scenario,
00:19:33.17\00:19:34.74
then you can increase
your savings from thereon.
00:19:34.77\00:19:38.07
A lot of the
topic, a lot of the terms
00:19:38.11\00:19:39.97
that were used it can
be scary, investments,
00:19:40.01\00:19:42.94
those type of
things, savings, budgets,
00:19:42.98\00:19:45.48
it's not really that tough.
00:19:45.51\00:19:47.72
All I ask you to do
00:19:47.75\00:19:49.62
is to talk with a
financial individual,
00:19:49.65\00:19:52.22
a person that has an expertise
00:19:52.25\00:19:53.69
and he will make
it simple for you
00:19:53.72\00:19:55.62
because this is
not out of your reach,
00:19:55.66\00:19:57.89
I think a lot of the tools
00:19:57.93\00:19:59.86
that Joshua is
sharing with us today
00:19:59.89\00:20:01.86
can be very, very helpful
in getting a hold of our future
00:20:01.90\00:20:06.80
and being able to
invest in that future by saving
00:20:06.84\00:20:10.61
and putting money aside.
00:20:10.64\00:20:12.11
Pay yourself first, is
not really what that is
00:20:15.64\00:20:19.61
because I want you to remember
that your responsibility
00:20:19.65\00:20:22.12
is to God first
and pay your tithe.
00:20:22.15\00:20:27.02
From your nine tenths
you'll find that nine tenth
00:20:27.06\00:20:29.76
is going to go a lot further
00:20:29.79\00:20:31.53
than you would
ever believe it could.
00:20:31.56\00:20:33.36
Remember, godliness with
contentment is great gain.
00:20:33.40\00:20:37.30
The information
that Joshua provided
00:20:37.33\00:20:39.10
is very informative,
00:20:39.13\00:20:40.74
but I'd ask you to take
control of the conversation,
00:20:40.77\00:20:43.77
talk to these
financial advisors,
00:20:43.81\00:20:46.51
an individual
that understands money
00:20:46.54\00:20:48.68
and ask the
questions that are necessary
00:20:48.71\00:20:50.91
because it can only
start with $150 a month,
00:20:50.95\00:20:54.42
could be the
start you could have.
00:20:54.45\00:20:56.82
In some of
these savings programs
00:20:56.85\00:20:59.12
that they have out there,
00:20:59.15\00:21:00.49
it could be as little
as $50 or $75 a month.
00:21:00.52\00:21:04.29
And if you put this
money away on a constant basis,
00:21:04.33\00:21:07.30
you will begin the process
00:21:07.33\00:21:09.53
of making a
habit of saving money.
00:21:09.56\00:21:13.97
And when the habit is
saving and not using the credit,
00:21:14.00\00:21:17.11
then you begin to see
that discovery of the,
00:21:17.14\00:21:22.28
of how wonderful it is
00:21:22.31\00:21:24.01
to be comfortable
with what you have,
00:21:24.05\00:21:25.81
that you don't have to buy
everything out everyone has,
00:21:25.85\00:21:28.98
that you can be
content in the fact
00:21:29.02\00:21:31.22
that you are saving money
00:21:31.25\00:21:32.59
that can be used for
great gain, for great gain.
00:21:32.62\00:21:36.22
And as you develop that
wealth, you can now understand
00:21:36.26\00:21:39.13
that God is asking you to give,
00:21:39.16\00:21:41.63
to do, to be for other people
what he's been for to you.
00:21:41.66\00:21:45.73
The key issues
here about debt is this,
00:21:45.77\00:21:48.90
that we're living in
a society that's focused
00:21:48.94\00:21:51.97
on getting information about us.
00:21:52.01\00:21:53.84
They're looking
to get information
00:21:53.88\00:21:56.04
through warranty cards,
00:21:56.08\00:21:57.41
information
through your bank records,
00:21:57.45\00:21:58.98
information through your
how you use your smartphone,
00:21:59.01\00:22:02.22
and we need to be very smart
00:22:02.25\00:22:03.95
about how we handle
all of these technologies
00:22:03.99\00:22:06.39
that are available to us.
00:22:06.42\00:22:07.79
We can't get
caught up in the fact
00:22:07.82\00:22:09.92
that this
technology is going to be
00:22:09.96\00:22:11.29
such a great resource
for us without understanding
00:22:11.33\00:22:16.03
that this technology is
also creating information,
00:22:16.06\00:22:19.83
the tracks what we do.
00:22:19.87\00:22:22.90
Why is it critical to understand
00:22:22.94\00:22:24.57
that this information
is tracking what we do?
00:22:24.61\00:22:26.94
Because we now know
that their databases
00:22:26.98\00:22:29.88
of information that's
looking at your expenditures,
00:22:29.91\00:22:33.52
your spending habits.
00:22:33.55\00:22:34.88
We're looking at the facts
that there are people out there
00:22:34.92\00:22:37.52
in the media that
are tracking what you do,
00:22:37.55\00:22:39.45
they buy this
information up, they look at it,
00:22:39.49\00:22:42.19
they dissected and
now it's created new jobs,
00:22:42.22\00:22:44.89
jobs that are just
focused on developing algorithms
00:22:44.93\00:22:50.80
and programs that can figure out
00:22:50.83\00:22:53.50
how you can bring
the information together
00:22:53.54\00:22:56.10
and put it in a resourceful way
00:22:56.14\00:22:58.24
that banks and
other organizations
00:22:58.27\00:23:00.18
can study your behavior
00:23:00.21\00:23:01.54
and target you
in a dramatic way.
00:23:01.58\00:23:04.31
All you need do is go
to your social network
00:23:04.35\00:23:07.88
and go to a specific website
00:23:07.92\00:23:09.75
and you'll find that
they're able to track
00:23:09.78\00:23:11.25
where you go, what you do,
00:23:11.29\00:23:13.62
and they're able to
advertise specific things
00:23:13.66\00:23:16.89
that you have seen on the web.
00:23:16.93\00:23:19.19
They can target books
and automotive equipment
00:23:19.23\00:23:22.50
that you've purchased
00:23:22.53\00:23:23.87
because of the
tools and the mechanism
00:23:23.90\00:23:26.10
they have emplaced to
get that information on you.
00:23:26.13\00:23:28.94
This whole world of
technology is overwhelming
00:23:28.97\00:23:31.37
to many individuals
00:23:31.41\00:23:32.74
and it can be to you
unless you study and understand
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what they're
trying to accomplish.
00:23:36.44\00:23:38.01
So you as an
individual, do you get involved
00:23:38.05\00:23:41.35
in signing up every
possible warranty card?
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What I ask people to do
is take that warranty card
00:23:44.22\00:23:47.32
and staple it to the receipt
of any type of big ticket item
00:23:47.36\00:23:50.06
and or any item you
may receive from a retailer
00:23:50.09\00:23:53.03
and put it in a file
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because then you have
all the information you need
00:23:54.43\00:23:56.77
to refer to that warranty
00:23:56.80\00:23:59.43
and you can get your item fixed.
00:23:59.47\00:24:01.37
People want information
to know your demographics.
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What type of social
economic group you fit into?
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Where you live? What
you do? How often you spend?
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Where you go on the Internet?
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And that tool now is
fine tuning the information
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that all of these media
conglomerates are getting
00:24:15.78\00:24:19.22
so that they can,
00:24:19.25\00:24:20.72
as they say
manipulate your behavior
00:24:20.76\00:24:24.76
and try to get a
better understanding
00:24:24.79\00:24:26.80
of how they can get you
00:24:26.83\00:24:28.40
into the retail
establishment and consume.
00:24:28.43\00:24:32.17
Consumption is a big issue.
00:24:37.31\00:24:40.64
When you look at how
much information is out there
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and you look at the
strategies that are being used
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against many
consumers out there,
00:24:46.92\00:24:49.05
we find that the
consumers are now behaving
00:24:49.08\00:24:52.12
as they're told to behave.
00:24:52.15\00:24:54.06
You look at the regulation
of advertising way back in 1984
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and you begin to see
that the system has won
00:24:58.06\00:25:01.10
and it's worked
substantively so much so
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that our personal
savings rate has gone
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from between 11 and 12 percent
on an annual income basis
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all the way down to
a negative savings rate
00:25:10.41\00:25:12.67
in 2006-2007.
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The only reason we've
begun to save a little bit more
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is because of the
scares we received,
00:25:17.51\00:25:20.15
during the timeframe
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when we saw
foreclosure crises happen
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and many people
losing their homes
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based on some of
these subprime mortgages.
00:25:26.86\00:25:29.99
It's essential that
we begin to understand
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that what they want
us to do is to spend.
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They believe that
middle class Americans are,
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the middle class are
the ones that can really
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impact the
economy in a dramatic way.
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How does that happen?
00:25:46.37\00:25:47.71
Well, let's label what a
middle class American is.
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A middle class
American is someone
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that makes
between $30,000, $35,000
00:25:52.05\00:25:54.58
to $40,000 a year
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upwards of $80, 000 to $90,000
00:25:55.98\00:25:57.55
depending on what
study you look at.
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So that's a wide
range, but they expect you
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to spend so
much so that they say
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that when you get a tax break,
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you get extra $2,500
during the tax return season,
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they know that you are
going to take that money
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and you're going to spend it.
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They know that many
middle class Americans
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are living paycheck to paycheck.
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So they realize
that they have us
00:26:24.38\00:26:27.05
in this little perspective of,
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"Hey, we need to
spur the economic growth.
00:26:31.02\00:26:34.72
So if we're going to do so,
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.09
we need to get
middle class Americans
00:26:36.12\00:26:37.83
to save less and spend more."
00:26:37.86\00:26:40.70
I remember an
article that came out
00:26:40.73\00:26:43.03
maybe several months ago
that talked about the fact
00:26:43.06\00:26:47.64
that Americans
were now saving more
00:26:47.67\00:26:51.71
and paying down
their credit card debt
00:26:51.74\00:26:54.38
which is a great thing.
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That is the right thing to do.
00:26:55.88\00:26:57.88
But as I was
doing a lecture series
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and bringing the
specific information
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to the attention
of those attending,
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I also said what
you're going to find
00:27:03.28\00:27:05.49
especially in
this type of economy
00:27:05.52\00:27:07.96
is a response to
that type of article.
00:27:07.99\00:27:10.49
And we did see a response
to that type of article.
00:27:10.53\00:27:13.66
We saw, some of the feds
come out and actually say that,
00:27:13.70\00:27:17.80
"We want to spur
continued economic growth."
00:27:17.83\00:27:22.40
So what we need
is for you America
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to go out and
borrow more and spend more.
00:27:25.41\00:27:30.18
Use that money that
you're going to get back
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from your tax
returns and go out and buy.
00:27:32.58\00:27:35.45
Buy that next tablet,
buy that next smartphone,
00:27:35.48\00:27:39.45
buy that next car,
00:27:39.49\00:27:40.86
put a down payment on something
00:27:40.89\00:27:42.49
that you may not
necessarily need and or want.
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Debt, it's a critical issue.
00:27:46.56\00:27:48.96
It's a crisis in
America, but you can handle it
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by finding your
contentment in God.
00:27:51.93\00:27:54.90
God bless and
take it to the bank.
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