Participants: Cordell Thomas
Series Code: TITTB
Program Code: TITTB000013
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00:01 On Take It To The Bank,
00:02 you will find ways to get out of debt, 00:09 solve your credit card problems, 00:14 how to make and stick with a budget, 00:19 simple ways to save, 00:24 buying or selling a home 00:27 and many more financial matters, 00:29 on Take It To The Bank. 00:31 Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas 00:33 and this is Take It To The Bank. 00:34 And I'm here with you 00:36 and this program to talk to you 00:37 about a couple of things. 00:39 One is, Avoiding The Holiday Shoppers' Hangover, 00:42 if I could put it that way. 00:43 And of course, talk to you a little bit about 00:46 what it really takes to understand 00:48 your financial literacy and where you want to be 00:51 from a financial perspective. 00:53 The first thing I'd like to really talk to you about 00:55 is a personal experience of mine. 00:58 When I was younger, 01:00 I had an opportunity to get a job at a department store 01:04 and this specific department store 01:06 offered its own credit card. 01:07 I enjoyed it because I saw all the new designs coming out. 01:10 I saw the whole, the whole games that they play 01:13 with new-- new shirts, 01:17 clothing and all those type of things. 01:19 And what it got me into was this threshold of, 01:22 I need those items. 01:23 I want those new styles. 01:25 I want to start buying and I remembered 01:27 it clearly as I go each day to work. 01:30 I probably wouldn't leave, you know, 01:31 without buying something each and everyday 01:35 and running my debt to whole different levels. 01:39 And I remember the context very clearly. 01:40 I was dressing in very nice clothing, 01:42 but the thing that was really unique, 01:44 it was a higher end department store. 01:47 And a lot of the stuff that they had were 01:49 far more expensive than, 01:51 if I just bought it at some lower end store 01:54 that had the same type of quality. 01:56 But what was interesting is, 01:57 some of the clients that came in 01:58 and that I worked with, they bought, you know, 02:01 they would buy $5000, $6000, $7000 02:03 worth of stuff at one-- at one setting. 02:05 They would come in and they would have an idea 02:07 what they wanted to buy and you would go in and, 02:10 and help them decide what they should buy. 02:12 The only problem with that job is the fact that, 02:14 if I was paid a commission, 02:16 I would have made a ton of money 02:18 because of the type of clients that were there. 02:21 I got paid an hourly salary, 02:23 so I didn't have that much coming in. 02:25 And one of the major issues just coming out of college was, 02:28 I didn't decide on a specific budget 02:31 that I should be managing for myself. 02:33 It was a very interesting time because as I look back 02:37 from where I am now, I did everything wrong. 02:40 which is a key for me talking to you about this, 02:42 this experience, is as I went through that situation 02:46 at the department store, 02:48 I learned about debt from a real time perspective 02:52 and understood later on 02:55 that I was going to need help to get out of it. 02:59 I had a great father and he understood the situation 03:04 and he made it a learning experience, 03:06 of which I cycled through again in my life. 03:08 But the context is, at that time 03:11 I didn't know where I was, 03:14 I didn't know where I wanted to be, 03:16 I didn't know where I was heading 03:18 and so I was completely out in this landscape without a plan. 03:23 Consider me trying to find my way back to my home 03:27 in California without making a plan and getting there. 03:32 Was I gonna take a plane? Was I gonna drive? 03:34 What route would I take? Where would I go? 03:36 Which direction would I take? 03:38 Have I made out a map? Have I planned for the guest? 03:42 Have I made sure the car has enough oil? 03:45 Have I done all the necessary planning to get there? 03:48 No, I had done none of that planning. 03:50 And what I am choosing to tell you 03:51 through the experience is this. 03:54 Without a plan and without a destination, 03:59 you won't get there. 04:00 The key is, make the plan. 04:02 What is the plan? The plan is the budget. 04:04 The budget is key to understanding 04:06 where you want to go. 04:08 Sit down and write those priorities. 04:09 Write down those goals 04:11 and make sure you prioritize those goals, 04:12 so you have an understanding of the direction 04:15 I'm taking, where I'd like to be, 04:18 by when and giving yourself that goal to get there. 04:23 So I now know that if I want to save $10,000 04:27 for the plan to purchase of a new car, 04:30 I have to know how much money I have coming in. 04:34 I have to know how much I have to pay out in expenses 04:37 in a monthly basis. 04:39 And I also have to know how much money 04:41 I can plug into those accounts 04:45 for the specific savings of the car. 04:49 Without a plan you're going into disaster. 04:52 And I ran towards disaster. 04:54 I was running headlong into it 04:56 because I didn't know where I was at. 04:59 And the key to this, this testimony is this. 05:03 Make a plan. What is the plan? 05:07 Make a budget, that is your plan. 05:09 Stick with your plan. Don't deviate from your plan. 05:12 Ensure it's a reachable target and make sure 05:15 you're trying to make your way 05:17 through to a debt free type of lifestyle. 05:20 Planning is key. 05:27 So as I decided what I wanted to talk to you about today, 05:30 I decided to think about what is that gets people 05:36 around the holiday timeframe? 05:39 What is it about people that gets them caught up 05:45 in the frenzy of buying stuff, 05:48 of doing stuff, of getting stuff? 05:51 I mean I'm amazed at times about, you know, black Friday 05:54 and all of these labels they placed on major, 05:58 major shopping days that lure people in 06:00 and they line up and they campout overnight 06:03 and they do all of these strange things 06:06 just to be in the position to get something, 06:09 to get something that they may not necessarily need. 06:12 And it pushes me back to the context of that verse 06:15 about possessions. 06:16 What does it say? Is it Luke? 06:19 "A man's life does not consists 06:22 in the abundance of his possessions." 06:25 It's not about things. What is it about? 06:28 Well, we take a look at 1Corinthians 4:2. 06:31 Where is 1 Corinthians? 06:32 Again, it's the New Testament, after the gospels, 06:34 after Acts and Romans, you've come to 1Corinthians 4:2, 06:38 talks about an issue of what a steward is. 06:42 A good steward is found faithful. 06:43 It's someone that you can trust and trusts with money 06:46 and trust with a talent 06:48 and know that they are gonna take care of it. 06:50 And not only take care of it, they are going to make it work 06:53 and make it grow. 06:55 That is a concept that I like to deliver it to you today. 06:58 In that story in Luke, 06:59 if we go back to that specific chapter, 07:02 I'd like to point out one thing that many people 07:04 don't really get to when they read that parable. 07:08 It says that, after he said that it is not 07:10 about a man's abundance of his possessions. 07:13 He says, "There's a certain rich man 07:16 who produced a good crop. 07:18 He thought of himself and he thought to himself. 07:21 Hey, what shall I do? 07:24 I have no place to store all of my stuff, 07:26 all of my crops in this case. 07:29 Then he said, this is what I'll do, 07:31 I'll tear down my barns, 07:32 I'll build bigger ones and there I'll store 07:35 all my grain and my goods. 07:36 And I'll say to myself, you have plenty of good thing 07:39 laid up for many years. 07:41 Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry." 07:45 The next verse is very important to me 07:47 because as I read it, 07:49 I began to realize what was lacking in my life 07:51 and what God was doing to me in all of the situations 07:55 that I now look back on and I can recognize. 07:57 He says, "But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night 08:02 your life will be demanded from you, 08:04 then who will get what you have prepared for yourself. 08:07 This is how will be with anyone who stores up things 08:12 for himself, but is not rich towards God." 08:16 We have a responsibility. 08:19 If you take a look at the parable of the talents, 08:22 our responsibility is a talent that God gives us. 08:25 The Holy Sprit blesses us with specific talents. 08:28 We need to take those skills and make them work. 08:33 In the case of talent of money, each one of the servants 08:36 were given a certain amount of money 08:38 and two of the servants were able to double 08:40 that money on behalf of the master. 08:42 The third servant didn't do anything with it. 08:45 As a matter of fact, he buried it, 08:46 left it alone and came back with an excuse saying, 08:49 I didn't do anything with it. 08:50 I was too afraid so here's your money back. 08:53 The responsibility you have is now 08:55 to take and maximize those talents 08:58 the Holy Spirit is blessed you with. 09:00 And to take it and do as much as you possibly can 09:03 to bring about the kingdom of God. 09:04 That is your responsibility 09:06 and I think that is what the Bible is telling us 09:08 in reference to our responsibility 09:10 with the wealth that we're given. 09:12 It's not about the possessions. 09:14 It's about how we help in the overall process 09:18 of sharing the gospel with the globe 09:20 that is in need of it. 09:22 So as I've titled this program, 09:26 Avoiding The Holiday Shoppers' Hangover, 09:28 consumer awareness. 09:30 We're gonna talk about a few things 09:32 in reference to acquisitions. 09:33 And I will... 09:34 Acquisitions meaning you purchases, 09:36 those things you buy. 09:38 The first thing I'd like to do is share with you 09:40 a specific case scenario. 09:42 Case application. 09:44 Jim, Ron, Bill, could be anybody 09:48 recently purchased a sweater 09:49 for his wife over the phone, over the telephone. 09:52 When the item was received, it was lightly, 09:55 it was slightly damaged. 09:57 When he returned it, he received another sweater, 10:00 but also received another bill. 10:02 The company says he owes for two sweaters. 10:06 What would you do if you were Jim? 10:08 What's your process? 10:10 My question is, why did you buy over the phone? 10:12 Did you do any research about it? 10:14 Was it from a catalogue? Did you see it online? 10:16 There are many different questions 10:18 that I would begin the process of asking 10:19 because if you didn't do your due diligence, 10:22 and do some research about the process, 10:24 and even researched the company you're planning to buy from... 10:27 how did you-- what is their quality? 10:29 What is their respect around in the community? 10:32 Have you questioned? 10:33 Have you dealt with that type of research? 10:35 So he has now a sweater that was defective. 10:38 Was that what it said? It was damaged. 10:40 And then he returns it. 10:42 So number one, the quality of the product is not good. 10:44 Secondarily, he returns it and the company is not organized 10:48 enough to know that he returned one and bought another. 10:51 So just credit him for the amount or just not do anything 10:54 and just give him an even exchange. 10:55 That's all they would need to do, 10:57 but there seems to be a management issue, 10:59 and a process flow issue, as well as the concept of... 11:02 Hey, the quality of the product is not that good. 11:06 Now it doesn't talk about the new one he received. 11:09 Did he look at it? Is it the same quality? 11:11 Was it good? I don't know. 11:13 But the context is, as he got the second one 11:15 and then he got a second bill. 11:16 So he's paying twice for a product 11:19 that he only has one off. 11:21 Okay. 11:22 My recommendation is, 11:23 Jim should start by calling the company. 11:27 He should explain the situation 11:29 that he's in and next he should put, 11:32 put the explanation and the conversation 11:35 he's had with the company in writing 11:37 and show them that he's followed up 11:41 and done his due diligence. 11:44 Now if that doesn't work, 11:46 then he might contact a local state consumer group 11:50 or whatever the case maybe and take it a step further. 11:53 But the situation that you have to consider in all 11:56 of this is, over the holidays, does it make it harder work 12:00 if you buy something from a distance away 12:03 and it's shipped to you, bought it online, 12:05 bought it via mail-order. 12:07 And you don't have a personal connection. 12:10 You don't have someone to talk to you. 12:12 You don't have someone you can interact with 12:14 to straighten out the problem. 12:15 And when it comes to returning the item, 12:17 you're gonna have to ship it back, 12:19 you're gonna have to wait for three or four days, 12:20 you're gonna have to wait for them 12:22 to ship you the new product 12:23 and then all of a sudden you've been billed twice. 12:27 Now if it's negligible, some people would say, 12:29 ah, whatever. 12:30 You know 14 bucks I got when I need, it's a gift, 12:32 no big deal. 12:34 But it is a big deal, $14 is $14. 12:38 So as you consider these holiday shopping issues, 12:43 I think the key to this is knowing 12:47 how-- the approach you have for buying things, 12:52 how comfortable it is for you. 12:54 Do you need a tangible store of physical brick-and-mortar? 12:59 Or do you actually need an internet based store? 13:03 Of course, you can buy from major manufacturers online 13:06 and they have a local places 13:08 you can go to fulfill some of those orders. 13:11 You can purchase online and go 13:13 and pickup from a physical location. 13:16 They are many different alternatives, 13:17 but what the key to this is, 13:19 it's saying in this case is, when you go shopping 13:22 look at the alternatives, look at the capacity 13:25 for you to fulfill your needs. 13:26 Look at your capacity to get customer service 13:30 and customer satisfaction 13:31 because all it takes is one negative experience 13:34 in the situation that he is in. 13:36 Holiday shopping, you are right around the holidays 13:39 and guess what happens? 13:40 You're dealing with the hustle and bustle 13:42 and the volumes of traffic. 13:44 I personally don't like shopping around those type of, 13:47 those times. I don't like crowds. 13:50 I don't like the pushing and the mayhem 13:52 that happens at that time. 13:54 So I select a common time of year to do shopping. 13:57 And I personally now, don't like going into a store. 14:02 You should see me and my wife. 14:03 My wife used to look at me and see me tapping my toes 14:05 and twiddling my thumbs and trying to figure out 14:08 when are we getting out of here. 14:10 She is one of the best shoppers. 14:12 She looks for the best deals. 14:14 I shop online and go into the store. 14:17 I know what I want. I pick it up and I go out. 14:20 The least amount of time I spend in a store, 14:22 is the less time I have to be tempted 14:24 to buy something else. 14:25 I am very, very easily distracted. 14:28 And if I see something that pops up, it can pull me 14:31 and give me that temptation. 14:32 So I choose the process that's comfortable for me. 14:38 You find a process that's comfortable for you. 14:43 Avoiding holiday shoppers blues means avoiding 14:46 the things that bother you. 14:48 Customer service issues, the difficulty of returns, 14:51 the places you go to buy things, 14:54 the internet based possibilities, 14:57 all of these have a place to play 14:59 in your specific life. 15:01 And remember, if you have assessed 15:04 your position in life, and you've created a budget, 15:06 and you have cut your spending, 15:08 and you saved what you want, 15:10 it also gives you that added integrity now 15:15 to know that I am going to abide 15:18 by the budget I have set for myself 15:21 and I'm not going to deviate from it, 15:24 no matter what the temptation. 15:26 So for me, I go in... 15:28 Well, first of all I go online, 15:30 I shop. I compare. 15:32 I find out where the best price is. I call up. 15:34 Do they have an inventory? 15:35 And I go straight there, I go straight in, 15:38 I find the location of the product, 15:40 I pick it up, I go straight to the checkout 15:43 and I checkout and go because if I walk... 15:47 Oh, what's that? Do I need it? 15:49 And then I go through this conversation in my mind. 15:52 And if my wife is not with me, it's even deadlier. 15:54 If my wife is with me, it's a great situation 15:56 because she just looks at me and I know the look. 15:59 You know that look? Are you crazy? Okay. 16:02 So I turn around and say, let's go, honey, 16:05 there's no big deal. 16:06 The concept is yours. The context is this. 16:09 Find what fits your needs and abide by it. Okay. 16:15 So we've talked about Jim, Bill, Ben, 16:17 whatever the case be, it could be you. 16:19 Take it upon yourself to find what's comfortable. 16:23 Deciding what to buy, is it a want versus a need? 16:27 What are some of the strategies 16:29 that smart shoppers use? 16:31 Deciding what they want, shopping, researching, 16:34 and making those decisions. 16:36 And I would suspect one of those strategies is, 16:39 take a cool off period. 16:40 If you're going to buy a big screen TV, 16:42 if you're buying a big appliance, go in, 16:45 shop, do the research, shop around, 16:47 negotiate and go home for a couple of days 16:49 and think about it. 16:51 If you don't go by and buy it, you never really needed it 16:54 in the first place. 16:56 Take a look at what choices you make 16:58 and why you make those choices? 17:00 What's builds in? Is it about values? 17:03 Values is key. 17:05 We have led a generation to this issue of credit, 17:09 when credit is not necessarily that important. 17:12 What is important is, the savings aspect 17:16 and the planning process for the acquisitions 17:19 or the purchases that you make. 17:23 Is it a need? 17:24 What are the resources that are available 17:26 for that purchase? 17:28 What about quality? What is quality? 17:30 What does quality have to plan to it? 17:32 What are the pros and cons with different stores 17:34 that you use and that is deep. 17:37 I had an opportunity at one point in time 17:39 to purchase a camera. 17:43 And in making that purchase 17:45 I had the opportunity to either go into a store, 17:49 a physical store and a well known brand store 17:52 or I could buy that camera for a lot less via mail order. 18:00 Now here is the key. 18:02 There are mail order companies all over. 18:03 There's some of them 18:05 that are not that good from a customer service standpoint 18:10 and they are going to hammer you from the standpoint 18:13 of credibility and of course, 18:15 getting the product that you actually want. 18:17 Some are very misleading. 18:19 I went online and found a couple of great deals 18:22 on cameras, but when you 18:24 called up and did the research, 18:25 these companies had bad reputations 18:28 for customer services, terrible. 18:29 And you don't know if you're gonna get the camera 18:31 that you want. 18:32 And the other issue goes right back to the case scenario 18:34 we had before with Jim is, if you buy it mail order 18:39 I'm gonna have to ship it back across the country 18:42 to the people if I don't get what I necessarily wanted. 18:46 And number two, if they have bad customer service, 18:48 I'm putting myself in a very difficult situation. 18:51 So you consider all of these things in the research 18:54 that you do. 18:56 And then what I decided I do was to go into a well known 19:00 merchandiser and purchase the product there 19:03 because if there's a problem 19:05 I could just go right back to them 19:07 and return it with no questions asked. 19:09 They had that reputation 19:10 and I didn't have to worry about it. 19:12 The other issue is before I understood the context 19:14 of warranties and registrations 19:16 and those specific issues is, 19:19 they wanted a lot of information from me. 19:21 They wanted information that they didn't necessarily 19:24 need to have. 19:25 And one of the things, some of these smaller companies do, 19:27 is they need that marketing information and consumer based 19:30 information from you so they can make extra money 19:33 on the side by consumer data 19:35 that they can sell to marketing organizations 19:37 and database warehouses. 19:39 Key issue. Okay. 19:42 So we're dealing with other type of issues, 19:45 comparative shopping, looking around, research, 19:48 making sure you're comfortable with the process 19:51 that you have in place for making an acquisition. 19:54 All of these will make your holidays, 19:56 your birthday shopping, 19:58 your anytime shopping, a whole lot easier. 20:02 There are alternative forms of purchasing. 20:04 There are buying clubs. You now what those are? 20:08 You pay a fee and you get a chance to go in and buy 20:11 product in bulk or whatever the case may be. 20:14 Some feel good about it, some feel that you 20:16 can actually go out and make some acquisitions 20:19 in a less expensive manner by using coupons 20:22 and just by shopping on the right days. 20:25 That is up to you. 20:26 Again, I ask you to do the research. 20:28 Go online. 20:30 Search the newspapers, read, find out as much as you 20:33 possibly can because in doing so, 20:35 you're going to make the best value 20:38 for the dollar you're going to spend. Okay. 20:42 There are layaway plans that are out there. 20:46 Is layaway plan a good deal? I don't know. 20:49 If you can't buy it upfront, then why are you gonna lay 20:53 it away and buy it overtime. 20:55 The key that you need to know is this. 20:59 I believe that saving is key. 21:03 Plan for what you want and go back to your budget 21:06 all the time. 21:08 Have we planned? Have we set a goal? 21:10 Have we prioritized that goal? 21:12 Is it necessary for us to address our budget 21:19 and fine-tune it, looking at the trends that we have? 21:23 And as we prioritize the goals we have, 21:25 is it a part of our process for purchasing? 21:27 If I've saved $10,000 for my yearly holiday shopping, 21:32 I should actually take the time and go in detail 21:35 as to who I'm buying for. 21:37 How much I'm spending for each person? 21:39 And if you don't want to show favorites, 21:41 just take a number of people you're buying for 21:44 and split it into the amount that you have. 21:47 So you can't say I played favorite. 21:48 I spent the same amount for your gift 21:50 as well as for your sister's gift. 21:52 So you don't have to worry about it. Okay. 21:54 Those are little things that you should do. 21:56 One of the major issues that come up at holiday times is, 22:02 one of two issues. 22:03 One is, I purchased something that I didn't really need. 22:05 Goes back to the budget. 22:06 You didn't plan for it, so you don't have to worry 22:08 about that now. 22:09 But there's another thing you should be very much aware of. 22:11 There are scams and there are frauds that are out there. 22:15 You need to aware of that. 22:17 They are anything from telemarketing fraud. 22:19 People will call you, they will find your information, 22:22 if you shared too much information, 22:23 they may give you call. 22:25 There is an opt out website. 22:27 Do a search for that and go in there 22:29 and opt out from telemarketing calls 22:31 as well as-- it's get-- being sent all 22:33 of this stuff, collateral stuff in the mail. 22:36 Key, understand that. 22:38 But also understand that there are travel scams, 22:41 they are telemarketing scams, there's telemarketing fraud, 22:44 there are magazine telephone scams, there are things 22:50 that you can do to protect yourself 22:51 and I think you should do so, especially 22:53 as we're looking at the proliferation 22:55 of ID theft and fraud. Okay. 22:59 We asked a few people how they planned for shopping 23:02 and I want you to hear some 23:04 of what was said in our outing. 23:10 I like to plan of course, always, 23:12 but there are times when, you know, purchases weren't 23:17 necessarily planned, you now. 23:23 A little of both. 23:25 Sometimes if I have some extra cash, 23:26 if I've paid enough bills, 23:28 I know there have some extra cash over. 23:30 I would say to myself, oh, 23:31 let's go ahead and buy some stuff 23:33 because I have some extra money. 23:34 Sometimes, you know, depending on the situation 23:36 I see something I wanted, I'll go ahead and get it. 23:38 So it's a little bit of both. 23:39 Sometimes I plan it ahead, 23:41 another times depending on what it is. 23:42 I don't, I don't do a spontaneous spending 23:46 on big items, those types of things I save, TV's, 23:49 play stations, cell phones, all those different things. 23:51 But for small things like clothes or little CDs or DVDs 23:57 or drives, that can be impulsive. 23:59 I likes to over budget for any event and then I just spend 24:03 all the money that I plan for that event. 24:08 It's a wonderful situation 24:10 when you've planned for something, 24:11 you have the funds that purchase and use it 24:13 for the appropriate thing that you planned it for. 24:16 There are not any unexpected things that come up. 24:19 You can plan for things and you know exactly 24:21 what has to happen. 24:23 When you're in control, you are in control. 24:25 When Christ has your attention and you know that you're doing 24:29 everything to support His ministries, there are many 24:33 wonderful things that can happen in your life. 24:36 As you heard here with some of the individuals 24:38 that we talked to, they plan. 24:40 Sometimes you don't plan 24:42 and there's a spontaneity that happens. 24:44 Hey, there are times that I have to figure 24:47 a spontaneous thing for my spouse. 24:50 You know, I have cutback on taking my things 24:53 to the drycleaners because she's fantastic 24:55 in taking caring care of some of my shirts. 24:59 My shirts are really nice and they feel comfortable 25:02 because she knows exactly how much starch to put it 25:04 and what to do with the shirts, 25:06 but there is no free service in life. 25:09 Oh, she will say, oh, I love you 25:11 so I'm gonna do it on your behalf, 25:13 but I do pay it back. 25:14 So at times there's a spontaneity with a rose here, 25:17 some flowers there, and dinner outing here. 25:19 But it's a part of the savings process and the planning 25:22 process on our behalf to take care of her because I need her 25:26 attention and I want her to love me long term. 25:28 So anyway, I just thought I'd throw that in there. 25:30 Now we talked about a variety of things over this time about 25:34 what we're dealing with in holiday shopping, 25:36 how we should plan, how we should approach 25:40 these times of the year because they can get 25:42 very stressful, but you can control 25:44 that stress by handling the planning process. 25:48 What do we talk about in reference to, 25:50 to taking care with the planning process? 25:53 You should always go back to square one, 25:55 assess, assess your debt. 25:57 Do you have debt? Go in to creating a budget. 25:59 A budget will layout where your debt is, 26:02 what expenses you have, what income you have. 26:04 From there look at cutting the extra spending that you have. 26:07 Cut the expenses as far as you can and begin the process 26:10 of widening that margin of the savings that you can 26:14 potentially put away and begin the process of investing 26:17 and putting money back into your charity, 26:20 into sharing the gospel with the world. 26:23 And then of course, if you do have the debt 26:25 and you able to save a little bit of money, 26:27 you're able to now attack that debt and wipe it out. 26:31 But understanding that you have that budget, 26:33 now I can plan. 26:34 I can plan according to what things I have. 26:37 I can live within my means now. 26:39 I can actually plan for a future both financial 26:42 and other, whether it's educational 26:44 or whatever the case may be 26:45 because I have that as a priority. 26:50 I begin the process of avoiding chaotic situations, 26:55 handling situations that could be disastrous 26:57 in many other situations, 26:58 such as job loss, such as health and disability issues 27:03 and it helps me to prevent certain issues 27:06 such as bankruptcy, homelessness, welfare 27:09 and even the cost of dropping out of school. 27:12 We've talked about many different things 27:14 over this past half hour, 30 minutes. 27:17 What I'd like to say to you now is this. 27:20 The Bible verse that we talked about in James is a key verse. 27:24 The verse actually talks about treating people as equals. 27:29 You're going to develop wealth. 27:31 You're going to develop a context 27:33 of saving and investing. 27:35 You're going to show that Christ has blessed you 27:38 with this type of wealth. 27:40 Now take that wealth and treat people as a humble servant. 27:44 Treat-- you be that servant and bless others 27:48 with the abundance that God has blessed you with. 27:51 Read James 2:5-9, realize that you can take it 27:56 to the bank and save. 27:58 God bless. |
Revised 2016-01-14