Big Spender

I used to marvel at wealthy people. They seem to be relaxed and happy. As I got older, I learned that often they weren’t wealthy at all. They were leveraged by debt and living way above their means to impress others. I tried that life and it about crushed me during the Great Recession. Dave Ramsey said that some people live to impress people they don’t even know or like. I was there. I learned the value of contentment. I learned that if you spend more than you make, you’ll end up broke. I heard a statistic recently that said that 50% of Americans can’t put their hands on $400. I was once there. I remember during the recession when my income really went down, I thought I was going to lose everything. I decided that once I got out the mess I was in, that I would NEVER go back to living like that. Dave Ramsey coined the phrase: “I want to live like no one else, so I can live and give like no one else”.

Solomon, who was arguably the wisest and the richest person who ever lived speaks a ton of wisdom in the book of Proverbs. It appears that he didn’t take his own advice, the way his life ended up. I want to glean some wisdom of him and put it into practice. Check this out….

²⁰ The wise have wealth and luxury,
    but fools spend whatever they get.

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love
    will find life, righteousness, and honor.(Proverbs 21:20-21 NLT)

I remember as young student pastor, a wise man telling me that you should give 10% of everything you earn and save (aka pay yourself) 10% of your earnings and live off the remaining 80% of your income. If I had done that, I would be wealthy by now. As it is, I’m on a “full court press” toward retirement. I recently heard a different version of that called the 70-10-10-10 rule. You give 10%, save 10%, invest 10% and live off of 70%. It’s all about self-discipline and being clear on what the end goal is.

I want to be wise and wealthy. I want to be known for giving and being generous. I want to honor the Lord in my management of my finances. I believe that I’m simply the “bookkeeper/steward of all that He has blessed me with. I don’t want to be a big spender, I want to be a wise and disciplined spender. I want to be clear about wants and needs. I want to pursue righteousness and love.

Pressing On!

Dwayne