when i was in college i got credit card applications and i filled them out. i got a whole bunch of credit without a job. i was late all the time, didn't pay every month - the whole works! when i started working i paid them off and got rid of them. i didn't have a credit card for years. when my husband met me i paid cash for everything. i didn't have any credit to speak of - none. i never had money - ever, not because of debt, but because of bills and stupid purchases.
when we got married we had my husband's college loans and his debt. we had to pay it off. it was not easy at all. what we were going to do; we had to pay it. my parents didn't live that way and niether did his. that's what was so bad about our finacial choices, because we were not taught that. we wanted to live like our parents did - what idiots.
i made very poor financial decisions for years - i mean years. it sure did come back to haunt me. my parents were furious and they had a right to be. they were willing to help me if i was going to help myself. i really had to get my butt in gear. now if that were to happen now they would help me just because they know how expensive it is to live, but we sure would have a lot of explaining to do. in another sense they see it just as money and they aren't going to let their grandchildren starve that's for sure. it would be our fault and we would need to be accountable for that.
when we got married we had very different views of money. we still don't always agree about it. we have to define what a need is and a want. we have to look at the long term because of our kids and my ms. we've chosen to live in a smaller house with a smaller mortgage payment, we have used cars versus new cars, we have 1 credit card that we pay off each month if we use it versus 5 credit cards. if we don't have the extra money for something that we want we just don't buy it.
dave ramsey has billboards that say live your wage. well that is true, big time. we didn't always live this way. we both had to break bad money habits along the way and get our heads on the same wave length. i'm not saying we agree on everything financially. my husband likes to buy home entertainment systems, speakers, and cars. i like to buy antiques, home goods, and vera bradley bags. we even have different ideas about vacations - i'm not even going to get into that.
for some of you reading this you know my family. we have been blessed financially. well i didn't always spend that money wisely. i would use it more on wants than needs - my fault only. when i made the decision to change that habit it worked a lot better. i actually had money to give more and help more. i prayed for that stability and GOD gave it to me. it took a long time to realize what money is for and the difference between a want and a need. once i was diagnosed with ms and had children that had to be responsible.
it's not something that just happens over night. i'm not in the same place financially as my parents, or the older individuals in my family. we can't live like they do because we are in a different stage of life. i think a lot people are going through that right now. we reap what we sow it's that simple.
i understand we get ourselves in jams financially, but what if we keep doing it and we keep expecting people to bail us out. what if we continue to spend more than we make? who's fault is that? what if we refuse to make cuts and a huge emergency comes up and we go bankrupt? who's to blame; you, or the people you owe money to? what if an individual is fiscally responsible and they are being asked over and over again to bail someone else out that isn't fiscally responsible. i just want to know what GOD would do. should i give more money out my pocket to a government that's in debt because i can and i have paid my the taxes i owed already, or should i give it to the person on the street that doesn't have food, clothing, water, or shelter. tell me what GOD would want me to do?
i'm not even going to put scripture on here because there are over 250 verses about money in the bible. all you have to do is go to the back of your bible and look up money, taxes and debts.
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