Ever get one of those letters? The kind you can't wait to open it, then wish it was delivered to someone else?
That happened to me this week. Fresh into the new year, riding the crest of resolutions, I opened it to find;
Wait a minute! Just who does he think he is? It's none of his business, . . . or does he.
It's an old letter, one I'd read before, but this time it was different.
My family has grown sick and tired of being in hock to a number of "strangers" all because we didn't have the self-control to wait. Yep, we're among the 70 percent of Americans who struggle paycheck to paycheck, having fallen for the credit card carrot on a stick of "Get it Now, Pay for it Later." Master (my money) Card, Discover (how broke I can be), and American Excess, with their slick billion dollar media campaigns, have replaced snake-oil salesmen hawking their wares from the back of traveling wagons.
Just whose fault is it I'm on the bad end of a business deal with these credit sharks? Me, Moi, Myself,. . . The person I stare at in the mirror each morning. Oh, yes, I picked out the desert when the desert cart came by before eating dinner.
And it's little comfort to me on payday that I'm in good company. Consumer Reports Money Book reported the typical American household has $38,000 in debt, part of the total consumer debt of over $3.3-trillion.
The letter is actually part of an ancient proverb which reminded me the heart of man hasn't changed in 3000 years. 2007 is a good time for the Brantley's to swim against the current, stop living like everyone else now, so we can live like no one else later. (Thanks, Dave Ramsey)
It's not going to be easy, but I don't scan the credit card apps anymore. Better yet, I take all their material and send it back in their return envelope so they have to pay postage both ways. I figure CitiBank can afford it after all the interest they've charged me. Without the Capital One card in my wallet, I will have a truly hassle-free deal. Besides, if that well-running restaurant in the TV commercial doesn’t want to take my cash, I know several other food places who still require their help be able to make change.
Our paid-for, 10-year old cars run just fine. If my teen boys want the latest techno-what's-it, they can get the money the old fashioned way, . . . Earn it!
That letter (found in Proverbs 6:1-5, the Message Bible) has rekindled that spark lost during the "gimme/get" holiday season. It's not burst into full flame yet, but the Brantley family's 2007 intention is to keep fanning it to full blaze. "FREEDOM" starts just one paid off bill at a time.
That happened to me this week. Fresh into the new year, riding the crest of resolutions, I opened it to find;
Dear David:
You've gone and locked yourself into a deal with a stranger.
You've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now you find yourself
shivering in the cold. Don't waste a minute, get yourself out that mess. You're
in another man's clutches! There's no time to lose. Run like a deer from the
hunter. Don't procrastinate.
Because I care;
Your Best Friend.
Wait a minute! Just who does he think he is? It's none of his business, . . . or does he.
It's an old letter, one I'd read before, but this time it was different.
My family has grown sick and tired of being in hock to a number of "strangers" all because we didn't have the self-control to wait. Yep, we're among the 70 percent of Americans who struggle paycheck to paycheck, having fallen for the credit card carrot on a stick of "Get it Now, Pay for it Later." Master (my money) Card, Discover (how broke I can be), and American Excess, with their slick billion dollar media campaigns, have replaced snake-oil salesmen hawking their wares from the back of traveling wagons.Just whose fault is it I'm on the bad end of a business deal with these credit sharks? Me, Moi, Myself,. . . The person I stare at in the mirror each morning. Oh, yes, I picked out the desert when the desert cart came by before eating dinner.
And it's little comfort to me on payday that I'm in good company. Consumer Reports Money Book reported the typical American household has $38,000 in debt, part of the total consumer debt of over $3.3-trillion.
The letter is actually part of an ancient proverb which reminded me the heart of man hasn't changed in 3000 years. 2007 is a good time for the Brantley's to swim against the current, stop living like everyone else now, so we can live like no one else later. (Thanks, Dave Ramsey)
It's not going to be easy, but I don't scan the credit card apps anymore. Better yet, I take all their material and send it back in their return envelope so they have to pay postage both ways. I figure CitiBank can afford it after all the interest they've charged me. Without the Capital One card in my wallet, I will have a truly hassle-free deal. Besides, if that well-running restaurant in the TV commercial doesn’t want to take my cash, I know several other food places who still require their help be able to make change.
Our paid-for, 10-year old cars run just fine. If my teen boys want the latest techno-what's-it, they can get the money the old fashioned way, . . . Earn it!
That letter (found in Proverbs 6:1-5, the Message Bible) has rekindled that spark lost during the "gimme/get" holiday season. It's not burst into full flame yet, but the Brantley family's 2007 intention is to keep fanning it to full blaze. "FREEDOM" starts just one paid off bill at a time.
(For information that is helpful, check out The Total Money
Makeover, by New York Times best selling author, Dave Ramsey, or check out http://www.daveramsey.com/)
1 comment:
Ha! Go get 'em!! Nicely done!! I like the part about the 10 year old cars - we both are determined to run ours (his is 9 yrs old; mine 8 yrs old) until they breathe their last "exhausting" breath...it's one of the worst expenses b/c it depreciates the second you drive it out of the lot!
: )
- Lon
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