We can’t afford it!

We can’t afford it!

This used to be a phrase that I heard often when I was growing up, when prudence and planning were common place and common sense. Now some thirty odd years later, my co-worker and I discuss the fact that it is seldom heard. As we sat in the car and he describe how his wife reacted to his suggestion that they should turn down an invitation to an event because they simply could not afford it. With two girls in University and one soon to start I can certainly see his point. His wife however, did not feel as if they could say or email those words in order to decline the invitation. So he left her to her own devices to tell them in some other way that they would not be going.

But that is not my point; he actually said the words and meant it. Restraint when it comes to finances is something the entire nation has definitely lost a grip on. Just this month I read reports that the average family spends 163% of the money they bring in. I know math in high school was hard people, but come on, you and I can both add. This is a huge problem that left unchecked is exponential in nature and destroys families and generations to come. Indulging every whim and want has proven to be a bad plan. The buy now and pay later mentality needs to be put to rest, I mean how can anyone gripe and complain about a government who is only doing what its citizens are doing? This mind frame is permeating every level of society and every age. Credit cards once considered an emergency source of funds are now the normally way that people live.

Just for fun let’s do a little math together. Say we have an imaginary friend named Jim and he makes $2000.00 per month and so does his wife Jill. That’s a combined total of $4000.00 not bad right? Now picture them with a house they didn’t put any money down to buy, a wedding they are still paying for, schooling they still owe, two cars in the driveway and kids on the way. Now it doesn’t seem like that big a number does it? So on average they spend; let just use 150% of their combined income, $6000.00 per month. That is a loss of $2000 per month or $24,000.00 per year, as you can see things get out of hand quickly.

My point is this, why do we always need to newest thing, the leading edge technology, that flat screen TV and why do we feel that we can’t wait until we save for it? Are we so obsessed with what others think of us, that we are forced to keep up with appearances and the Jones? How can someone justify this type of mentality and expect a different result other than debt and eventual bankruptcy? What about retirement, how are you ever going to stop working if you keep spending more than you make? The average working life span is from 25 to 65 that means 40 years. If you therefore spend 150% percent of your income that means by age 55 you have spent 65 years of money, 10 years’ worth of income disappears and there is nothing to show for it. I would also like to point out that this calculation does not consider interest at all.

I humbly suggest that this is not a way to live but a way to imprison you. Having debt and worrying about it, is unhealthy and I know that those reading this don’t need me to tell them about the pressures of life, so why not start to today, make a plan, live life and find financial freedom. Learn how to say “I Can’t Afford It,” and be okay with it.

For those struggling with their finances, one great resource that I have come across is Tom Copland’s Financial Ministries which can be accessed at http://www.biblefinance.org/