For the last 19 months my wife and I have been on a debt free journey, which has had it's fair share of emotional ups and downs throughout the process.  Nothing too outrageous happened to us (THANK GOD) as we were on the journey, but something that did change for me was my perspective.


Around the age of 16, I began to realize that the "System" was set-up for the average person to lose.  I mean you had to get a credit card to build credit, you had to get student loans to go to school, you had to get a loan to get a car (maybe not even the car you wanted but a car nonetheless), and of course the only way to get a home was you just had to get a mortgage.  Isn't that what everybody does?  As long as you can "afford" the payment you're good, right?  And with all this stuff I have, everybody knows I'm not broke, right?  And if I look broke, what would they say?  Nothing good, probably laugh, crack jokes, and of course no woman wants a broke dude.  I was never really into the notion of borrowing money, it just didn't make sense to me, but in my mind the questions above were facts, truths if you will.  Hmm... I suppose, what I didn't realize at 16 was I had a choice.

Fast forward a decade plus a couple of years (man I sound old) I was introduced to a guy name Dave Ramsey, who was a huge catalyst in taking my "you had to" and turning them into "do you have to?" Then he would say stuff like, "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender."- Proverbs 22:7  Now, as a believer in Christ (to be honest, a relatively new believer) I really sat back and thought about this idea that if you borrow money then you are a slave to the person or entity you owe.  Is this really true? 

Think about it, have you ever loaned someone some money and the way they acted toward you changes?  Have you ever felt like you were over them as if they owed you something (well I suppose they do lol)?  On the flip side, have you ever borrowed money and the way you act changes?  For example, if the person you owe is with you and you are about to buy something but you think to yourself, "I owe them money I better watch what I do."  Have you tried to avoid them?  Or even worst you forget you owe them and they come at you like, "Hey! How are you going to buy that and you owe me money!?!"  Even if it's not said, chances are it's thought (keep it real).  Well, what about an entity like a credit card company.  If you owed them money, they get to charge you interest if you miss a payment, that would mean they get richer as you get poorer... the rich really do rule over the poor.  It seems like borrowing money causes some weird energy in a relationship at some point. Why is that?

Then it hit me, some how the relationship does change; even if the words are not spoken the spirit that comes from the transaction is different.  We can typically feel it.  That being the case, why borrow money?  Especially without a well thought out plan on how you are going to pay it back (if you borrow money with no intention on paying it back, that is almost the definition of stealing, just throwing that out there).  But if the plan was well thought out how many things are really worth borrowing money to obtain?  I suppose the short answer is, "whatever I want at the moment".  Then the key question is how does what you want now affect your future?  Your children's future? Their children's future?

Today I decided to answer my questions in the second paragraph, enjoy:
Isn't that what everybody does? My mama, said if everybody jumped off a bridge would you?
As long as you can "afford" the payment you're good, right? Wrong. I may look like money, even smell like it, but I won't really have it because all of it's going to my payments.
And with all this stuff I have, everybody knows I'm not broke, right? I can't live my life based on what people think especially to the extent I'm hurting myself.
And if I look broke, what would they say? No matter what I do, good or bad, right or wrong, people are going to talk about me. So I might as well do the right thing and make the best decision I can.

Your answers may not look like mine but I would challenge you to think about why you do the things you do, especially from a financial standpoint.  One of the first steps in getting your finances in order is to change your perspective, you have to know your why.  The next time you decided to go into debt ask yourself "why am I doing this?", "Is it worth it?", and "Is this worth becoming a slave for a time (Proverbs 22:7)?" If you believe ask God too.  See what conclusion you come to and what your perspective is aligned with.


If you are in need of financial coaching in the Kansas City area please email me at:
foffcoaching@gmail.com