KNU International English ChurchJosh Broward
February 8, 2009
It's time for our next installment of Cajun jokes. One day Boudreaux and Tibedeaux were sitting around complaining about how they never had no money. Boudreaux, he say, “Bra, I'm so broke,1 my girlfriend and I got married just so we could get the rice they would throw.”
Tibedeaux, he say, “Well, I'm so broke the bank called me yesterday, and they asked for their calendar back.”
Boudreaux, he got another one: “I'm so broke I had to make monthly payments on a Big Mac set at McDonald's.”
Tibedeaux come right back: “Keaw, I'm so broke I was walking down the street with one shoe. They say to me, 'Hey Tib, you lost a shoe!' But I say back, 'No bra, I found one!'”
Boudreax he think hard, and he say one more: “Tib you know that chicken place, KFC, where they say that chicken's finger licking good. Well, I so broke I go there to lick other people's fingers!”
Tibedeaux say, “Yeah, man, you're broke!”2
Half of all married couples fight about money.3 In one survey in the USA, 57% of divorced couples said that money problems were the biggest reason they split up.4 Parents are the single greatest influence on a child's future financial success. If the parents manage money well, and if they involve their children in that process, then the kids are much more likely to become good money managers. Finances are the highest rank cause of stress in survey after survey.5
Money is a big deal for families. Money is like food. We can't live without it. We've got to use it. We can't stop using it forever. But if we eat too much of it, it can really mess up our lives. The real key is learning to use money wisely. Parents, if you want your kids to be good money managers, you've got to start managing your money well today.
Let me suggest three basic keys for wise money management. These keys will open the doors for financial peace and security for us and for our families.
The first key is simple. REMEMBER WHO THE OWNER IS. Let me show you how this works. I need two volunteers to help me. X, here is 100,000 won. This is your money, for the next 5 minutes. But X, you don’t want your money to sit there and do nothing, right? You want it to do something. You want to invest it. Y, here, is an investment bank. X, give your money to Y. Now, X and Y have a trust relationship, in finances it is called a “fiduciary trust.” X has trusted Y with his money. Y has possession of the money. But let me ask you a question. Who owns the money? Who is the owner of the money? But Y has the money. Possession is 9/10 of the law, right? Not when there is a trust relationship. Y is just the money manager. X is the owner.
Now, imagine that Y’s wife calls him up and says she needs a new pair of shoes, and these shoes that she needs just happen to cost 100,000 won. Y says, “Hey, no problem. X just gave me 100,000 won. Let’s go shopping!” What will happen? The trust relationship will be broken. How is X going to feel about this?
I want you to get this. This is important. Who is God in this picture? X. And who are we? Y. God has entered into a trust relationship with us. God has invested his resources in our bank account. We have possession of the money, but God is the owner. We are God’s investment bank. Like Jesus' story in Matthew 25, we are God’s money managers. God has trusted us with his resources, and now it's up to us to be faithful with them.6
The first key to a faithful and successful financial life is: REMEMBER WHO THE OWNER IS. Everything belongs to God. Everything we have is God's. Our job is to invest his resources wisely. We invest in our family through providing. We invest in our church through giving. We invest in our governments through taxes. We invest in the Kingdom by helping other people. But the key is that the money is God's, and our job is to use the money in a way that pleases God. Key #1: REMEMBER WHO THE OWNER IS.
Here's the second key: RUN FROM DEBT. Debt is like a chain. We usually start out small, maybe with some school loans. (I know, some of you are thinking, “My school loans weren’t small.” But they’re manageable.) Then, maybe we buy a house or an apartment that’s bigger than we need, just because everyone else is. (It may be low interest, but it’s still a burden of debt.) Along the way, we had some emergencies – like a new pair of shoes or a night at the movies. Maybe we buy a computer or some furniture that is “90 days - same as cash” – yeah right. We’ve got to get to work, so we buy a car … or two. Then, there’s that vacation that we just had to have because we were so stressed out about all our debts.
Before you know it, we’re all chained up in debt, enslaved to the consequences of our foolish spending. Then, we say, “OK, God, here I am. I want to serve you. Use me please. Uh, what’s that? You want me to help someone? You want me to give to the poor? You want me to help the church? OK, um, ughh! I’ll try.”
Proverbs 22 says: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The fool goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. … Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. ... The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.” (22:3, 7, 20). Don't be a fool. Don't become a slave to debt. See the dangers ahead. Cut your spending. Pay off your debts.
Attitude is important here. Proverbs 6 tells the story of a person who got stuck in some bad debt. Then, verse 5 says, “Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.” You need intensity and passion. This danger is real and present. A hunter is after you. Your foot is in a trap. Jump out. Run away. Get yourself free from debt, and you'll be living the second key for a life of financial faithfulness and freedom. Key #2 is: RUN FROM DEBT.
The third key to financial freedom and faithfulness is also simple: SAVE AND INVEST. We need to save and invest in three different ways.
We need to save for emergencies. Look around you. With in the next 10 years almost 80% of the people in this room will have a major negative financial crisis (5-10 million won problem).7 4 out of 5 of us! Be ready. Save an emergency fund that is equal to 3-6 months of your expenses. Put it in a separate account, and don't touch it.
We need to save for large purchases. Don't borrow money to buy a computer or a refrigerator or a car. Just wait and save your money. You want to make interest, not pay interest. Car salesmen have a saying, “Don't let them walk out the door. A purchase delayed is a purchase not made.” Always walk out the door. Always go home to think about. Always save your money first instead of paying with credit.
We need to save for the long term. We need to save for retirement and education costs. Let me ask you a question. Could you find an extra 100,000 (10 man) won to save every month? If you really wanted to, could you put aside 100,000 won to save every month? Almost every working adult in this room could save that much without much trouble.
Check this out. If you save just $100 a month, every month, and you invest that money at 15%, look at the results.
After 30 years: total contributions = $36,000 total value = $701,000.
After 40 years: total contributions = $48,000 total value = $3,140,000.
A little bit for a long time makes a lot! If you don't know about much about money, and you don't know how to invest, don't let that stop you. Just go to your bank or to an investment center, and they will help you. Don't wait. Remember the ant in Proverbs 6. It saves all summer so that it will be ready when winter comes. Starting early and saving consistently are the two most important parts of Key #3: SAVE AND INVEST.
Do you want less stress in your life?
Do you want your kids to have stable finances when they get older?
Do you want a happier marriage?
Then, live by these three basic financial keys.
Key #1: REMEMBER WHO THE OWNER IS (God, not you).
Key #2: RUN FROM DEBT.
Key #3: SAVE AND INVEST.
In the 1960’s a researcher at Stanford University conducted the marshmallow experiment with a group of 4 year olds (5 Korean age). They gave each kid a marshmallow and said, “I have to go out for a few minutes. If you still have that marshmallow when I come back, I’ll give you another one.” Then, the researcher left the room for 20 minutes, and they watched what happened.
Some of the kids ate the marshmallow right away. Some of the kids waited for the reward.
Here’s the really interesting part. They did a follow-up study 14 years later when these kids were graduating high school. The kids who had waited for the extra marshmallow were “better adjusted and more dependable.” Amazingly, they were also better students. On the SAT (the USA’s college entrance exam) the kids who waited scored on average 210 points higher than the kids who couldn’t wait!8
Today, everyone gets a marshmallow. Look at those marshmallows. This marshmallow represents all of those things you want to buy now but don’t really need. Look at it. Are you thinking of that stuff? I'm thinking of a Mac computer, some new clothes, and maybe a nice vacation. What do you see? All of that stuff is in this marshmallow.
Now think about our reward. If we don’t eat this marshmallow, we'll get another marshmallow or two. If don't buy that stuff that we want but don't need, then a lot of good things will happen. We can pay off our debts. We can save enough money that an emergency won't be a financial disaster. We can send our kids to school. We can retire without worry. We can give more to the church. We can help more people. We can rest easy at night because we know that money is not a problem for us. Imagine how your life would be different if you were financially free. Imagine what you could do. Imagine how you could join God's mission of blessing the world through us.
That's a lot of marshmallows!
Don't eat your marshmallow. Talk about it as a family, and decide together that you aren't going to eat your marshmallow.
REMEMBER WHO THE OWNER IS.
RUN FROM DEBT.
SAVE AND INVEST.
And don't eat your marshmallow!
1In this context, “broke” means being very, very poor or having no money.
3Dan Kadlec, “Don't Let Money Ruin Your Marriage,” Money Magazine, April 22, 2008, downloaded February 6, 2009, http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/pf/boomer_may.moneymag/index.htm.
4“Why Money Is the Leading Cause of Divorce,” Jet, Nov. 18, 1996, downloaded Oct. 18, 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n1_v91/ai_18930297/pg_1.
5Anna Hart, “7 Leading Causes of Stress,” 2007,downloaded February 6, 2009. http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Leading-Causes-of-Stress&id=473303.
6 Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace video series.
7 Quoted in Dave Ramsey, “Super Savers.”
8 “Deferred Gratification,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_control, downloaded 10.25.07.
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