Participants: Cordell Thomas
Series Code: TITTB
Program Code: TITTB000036
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00:01 On Take It to the Bank,
00:02 you'll find ways to get out of debt... 00:09 solve your credit card problems. 00:14 How to make and stick with the budget? 00:19 Simple ways to save... 00:24 buying or selling a home, 00:26 and many more financial matters on Take It to the Bank. 00:31 Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas, 00:32 and I welcome you to Take It to the Bank. 00:35 I'm interested in this specific topic 00:38 that we'll be talking about, 00:40 because many people wonder 00:42 whether or not it's how much money you make 00:43 that creates wealth. 00:45 And it's interesting, 00:46 I was just having a conversation about it, 00:47 if you look at an individual whose budgets are in order, 00:52 whose system is in order, 00:54 whose finances are in order, 00:56 you can see a sense of peace on their face. 00:58 You can sense that they are okay, 01:00 because things are in good order. 01:03 For example, if you make $10,000 a year, 01:06 if you make $50,000 a year, 01:08 and you save a good portion of that, 01:10 and all of your bills are paid and, 01:12 and you don't have any debt, you're in a lot better setting 01:15 than if you make $1,000,000 a year, 01:17 and you're spending that $1,000,000 a year. 01:19 So it's all about how much you make. 01:21 But, you know, before we start the program, 01:23 what I would like to do is get a context 01:24 of what some of our young people are thinking 01:27 about this thing called money. 01:29 So we ask them the question about, 01:32 "What type of salary would make you happy?" 01:36 And here is what they said. 01:39 An annual salary that will make me happy, 01:42 I would say maybe 45 to 50 enough to, 01:49 I'm single, 01:50 so that would probably be enough 01:52 to cover my personal expenses of rent, 01:56 things that carry me along 01:57 and then just allow me to pay here and there. 02:00 Again, I'm a little off on estimation, 02:02 so I'm thinking that should be okay. 02:07 I don't really ask for more, 02:08 but I do like to live a comfortable life 02:10 where I don't have to like, 02:11 that stress of money is not like over me, the whole time. 02:15 So I wanna say like at least, $80,000 will be fine, 02:20 because then I can afford a little car, 02:22 I can rent a small apartment, maybe buy a small home, 02:25 and it will give me enough money 02:28 for me to pay off my debt, and save money for, 02:31 to have a family in the future. 02:34 An annual salary that would probably make me happy 02:37 would be between, you know, 40,000 to 50,000 a year. 02:43 I think with my short experience, 02:46 I believe that would be a, you know, 02:48 a perfect salary so that I can live comfortably. 02:51 You know, have my car, perhaps be making payments on, 02:55 you know, a small house or, you know, giving my tithes, 03:00 you know, anything, I think 50, 40 to 50 grand would be great. 03:07 I don't know, I guess, 03:11 I don't have certain numbers in mind, 03:12 just something that gets me, 03:14 something that will have me keep going 03:16 and I'll be satisfied. 03:18 Just... 03:19 Numbers don't really count 03:21 as long as I have food on my table, 03:22 I have my bills paid, and I have a job, 03:23 a good paying job, then I'm fine. 03:25 The numbers don't really matter to me. 03:29 To me, it doesn't really matter as long as I get my bills paid. 03:34 Like... 03:37 Get to pay everything and then, you know, get, 03:39 everybody's happy, like enough food, 03:41 enough everything. 03:42 I'm good. 03:45 Five hundred grand would be good, would be nice. 03:48 Yeah. 03:50 Yeah, would be really happy. 03:55 I'd say, just go back to Afghanistan, 03:58 but this time, be a contractor, make about $120,000 a year, 04:04 and I'll be fine with that. 04:07 One million dollars. 04:09 One million dollars. 04:15 I had a ball watching those responses, 04:18 anywhere from $40,000 a year, all the way up to $1,000,000, 04:22 "That would make me happy." 04:23 Would that make you happy? 04:25 And what would be the figure that would make you happy? 04:27 And did you know there are statistics out there 04:30 that show that there are lot of unhappy millionaires 04:33 that make a $1,000,000 and spend a $1,000,000. 04:36 There are lot of millionaires 04:37 that are going through foreclosure crisis 04:38 in specific markets around the country. 04:40 There are lot of individuals 04:42 who are making $40,000 to $50,000 a year, 04:45 who are very happy individuals 04:47 because the happiness that they have 04:48 comes from their giving, 04:50 their tithing, their being. 04:52 They're supporting specific things 04:54 or agencies or organizations 04:56 that are about helping other people. 04:59 And I think that's the context 05:01 of what we'd like to start with here. 05:02 Because the responses of those young people 05:05 are quite interesting. 05:07 The young lady that said, 05:08 "$40,000 to $50,000 a year would make me very happy." 05:12 A roof over my head, food on the table, you know, 05:16 everything is in line, where my budget is in order, 05:19 I have no expenses that are outside 05:21 of the typical things that I would have. 05:24 I don't have any credit card debt, 05:26 life is good. 05:28 And that's one of the simple ways 05:30 of looking at happiness. 05:32 Because, remember, happiness is not about 05:35 how much you make, 05:37 it is about how you utilize the funds 05:39 that you are given the responsibility of managing. 05:43 We talk about happiness around the globe. 05:46 And do you know 05:47 what the happiest country in the world is? 05:49 It just took over number one 05:50 and it's not one of the wealthiest countries 05:52 in the world, 05:53 but when you talk to the people there, 05:55 you can see the sense of happiness on their face, 05:57 how they glow, how they welcome their visitors 05:59 who come in as tourists. 06:01 And as they live in groups, 06:04 and live with family members in their countries, 06:06 that number one country is Costa Rica, 06:09 took over that number one position 06:11 from Denmark. 06:12 The top six of the top ten countries 06:16 are from Latin America. 06:18 Jamaica is number six on the list. 06:20 Guatemala is number nine on the list. 06:22 You begin to see that, 06:24 it's not about the wealth of the country 06:25 that makes them happy people, 06:26 it's about how they live their lives, 06:28 and what they do, 06:30 and how they handle the experiences that they have. 06:32 Did you know also 06:34 that wealth is not about an happiness in life, 06:36 not about the wealth but it's about 06:38 how you spend your time? 06:41 Many people think that, 06:42 "I'm happy if I make enough to buy that big car 06:47 or if I have enough to buy that big home." 06:50 And it's not really about the luxury items 06:53 that you purchase, 06:54 it's about the quality of time you spend with family, 06:57 the quality of time you spend with friends, going on a trip, 07:00 going on a walk, and giving. 07:03 They find that the personal happiness 07:04 each one of us have, 07:06 is about spending money on other people 07:09 and not spending money on ourselves. 07:12 It's interesting as we did a lecture back in Riverside, 07:15 we talked to a bunch of kids and some of the questions 07:17 that we asked them about, 07:19 "What would you do if you made a $1,000,000? 07:22 What would you do if you made a $100,000?" 07:25 And it's quite interesting, their responses. 07:27 And there are some steps we take kids through 07:30 when we randomly label them a specific type of occupation, 07:34 and then we say, based on that occupation, 07:36 the average salary is this amount of money. 07:39 How will you navigate the experiences in your life 07:44 when it has to do with money? 07:47 For as little as $80,000 or $90,000 a year, 07:51 these numbers seem big to young people 07:53 and they would comeback with interesting responses. 07:57 For example, this young man labeled a very expensive car, 08:01 that if he researched how much it costs, 08:03 that it was approximately $270,000 to $300,000, 08:07 just to purchase the vehicle. 08:09 And then, of course, 08:10 the young person wasn't even thinking 08:12 about the insurance necessary and other type of things. 08:15 Do you know what cap of gas mileage 08:17 a car like that gets? 08:18 And many of us don't think about that from the standpoint 08:20 of how we research the acquisition 08:22 of different products and to their services 08:24 that we are... 08:27 Deem necessary in getting involved with. 08:29 The same kind of topics that are brought up 08:32 in these kind of conversations are those 08:34 that these young people have enlightened us about 08:36 how they make decisions. 08:38 Did you know that your young person 08:41 is watching everything that you do? 08:43 And then he goes back to many of the studies 08:45 that we hear about, 08:46 that this thing called poverty is generational, 08:49 there is a cycle called poverty 08:52 because the kids are going to do what the parents do, 08:55 they watch, they emulate those experiences. 08:58 And one of the things we're trying to do 09:00 with our contracts out in California 09:02 is to talk to the young people with the parents in the room. 09:07 The parents have to stay silent to a certain extent 09:09 because we want to really engage with this conversation 09:13 and motivate young people to become these people 09:17 that you would consider producers. 09:19 What's a producer? 09:20 It's an individual that has a certain income 09:23 and spends less than he makes, it's an individual 09:26 that takes the savings that he has and invests it 09:29 into buying things that he can retail 09:33 or become a business owner. 09:35 Now, do you have to have a business? 09:37 Or can you just manage the assets 09:40 that you have or the income 09:43 that you have coming into your personal household? 09:47 It doesn't matter. 09:48 All that matters is you've begun the process 09:51 of setting your goals of paying off your debt. 09:53 Number two, it matters that you have set up a budget 09:57 and that budget you follow religiously. 10:00 Number three, it matters that you have a savings account 10:03 and that savings you put towards retirement, 10:07 towards investments, 10:08 towards a personal emergency savings account. 10:10 And then, of course, to this extent 10:13 that you would like to do so, 10:14 you invest and you use the money 10:16 to bring in more money. 10:18 And additionally, most happy people in the world 10:22 are those that have no unnecessary expenses 10:25 so that they can give, they can give. 10:29 They are those individuals 10:30 that don't live grandiose lifestyles, 10:34 that live simply, live in their home, 10:36 and stay in the same type of home 10:38 that they grew up in. 10:39 They don't have to every time they get a promotion at work, 10:41 buy a new house, buy a larger car, 10:45 or those type of things. 10:47 Some of our wealthiest Americans 10:48 are less likely to buy a new car right off the lot. 10:52 They will buy a two year new car. 10:54 These are type of things that you think about 10:57 but never really consider when looking at new car 11:01 or new product sales. 11:03 Now why am I mentioning all of this? 11:05 Because we heard young people are telling us, 11:08 "Look, I'm comfortable making a certain amount of money." 11:11 We hear from the media, we see in the media, 11:13 we see all of these influential individuals 11:17 who are dictating what our kids should become. 11:21 And our kids are beginning to emulate 11:22 what they see in society. 11:24 So it's all about the car, all about the clothes, 11:27 all about the bling that people seem to get caught up in 11:33 and don't realize it's not necessary. 11:36 Did you realize another tip from the wealthy? 11:39 Most of them, you would never know are wealthy. 11:42 The people walking beside you, 11:43 the people that do certain things alongside you, 11:47 are probably business owners or individuals 11:49 that have money invested. 11:52 One of the things that we do in our lectures here, is this. 11:54 We have several different documents 11:56 and there's one of a young person 11:58 that is between 28 and 32 years of age 12:02 and she has her information, 12:04 she's provided her information for the public. 12:07 So what we have is, we take out the names, 12:08 we take out where they work, 12:10 they take out a lot of information 12:11 but put up specific type of information. 12:14 This person, as we are, lure the kids 12:17 into this conversation is, we say, how much you... 12:20 What type of car do you think this person drives? 12:23 Well, obviously, 12:24 the first question you would ask is, 12:25 "Well, then, how much money does she make?" 12:27 I threw up the slide and the slide said, 12:30 she made $95,000. 12:32 Well, $95,000 a year, a month, every six months, 12:37 whatever the case is, $95,000 will put her 12:39 on the higher end of middle class, 12:42 if that was a yearly figure. 12:44 But, no, when they found out, later on in the presentation, 12:47 that this person actually made $95,000 a month, 12:51 it shocked them, number one. 12:52 And, number two, they came out with things like, 12:55 she's got to drive a luxury vehicle, 12:58 she's got to drive this type of car, 13:00 she's got to do these type of things. 13:02 And then at the end, when I shared 13:04 what type of car she actually drives, 13:06 which she actually doesn't drive a car. 13:08 In her budget, she has no funds going out for a car payment. 13:13 She has funds going out to pay for bus passes and taxies. 13:16 She doesn't own a car, but she lives in an area 13:19 that has a wonderful bus system and she utilizes that system. 13:23 But yet, you would walk beside this individual 13:25 and you wouldn't know 13:27 that he or she has 1.6 million dollars 13:30 in accessible funds in her cash checking or CDs 13:34 that she can get access 13:35 to in a relatively short period of time. 13:37 We don't know that she also has probably 13:39 the equivalent amount of money 13:41 put away in long-term investments, 13:43 that she's already a millionaire with. 13:46 And then we don't know that she also owns a home 13:49 in a certain affluent community in the area that she lives. 13:53 And then you take a step back and realize 13:55 that the wealthy are beginning to learn 13:57 that it's not important about letting everybody 13:59 know about your wealth. 14:01 And there are several reasons why that matters. 14:04 So when we consider this issue on salary, 14:07 and how much you make, 14:08 that really isn't the big issue. 14:11 What is relevant is how you manage the funds 14:15 that you have. 14:16 And it was quite interesting 14:17 to see the look on the kids' faces 14:19 if they ask, "Well, what does she do? 14:21 Who is she? 14:22 Where is she from?" 14:24 I don't think I can give that information 14:25 but you get a context of what this thing 14:27 called Money Management is all about. 14:32 Here is the key. 14:34 What we're looking at, in all of this, 14:37 is teaching a simple thought process. 14:42 If you are going to live a comfortable life, 14:48 I don't care how much you make, the simple answer is, 14:54 spend less than you make. 14:58 If you do that, you're in a way better setting 15:01 than the majority, 15:03 the vast majority of middleclass Americans. 15:05 Because they are living paycheck-to-paycheck 15:07 and as you live paycheck-to-paycheck, 15:09 you begin the process of understanding the stress 15:12 that can happen in a person's life, 15:14 even though they're making $80,000 or $90,000 a year, 15:19 and therein is the key. 15:21 So the question came up about, 15:23 what type of job did this person have? 15:26 Who did she work for? 15:27 How is she making all of that money? 15:29 The fact of the matter is, she doesn't work for anyone, 15:32 she works for herself. 15:33 She has her own business. 15:35 She is into music licensing and all of these other things 15:39 and she knows how the system works. 15:42 So she has learned dramatically from her parents 15:46 and emulates what they do. 15:50 The other thing that is very interesting 15:52 about how the affluent live is the fact 15:55 that they've prepared 15:56 for those experiences in our life 15:59 that we're not expecting, such as, 16:01 they're not expecting passing of a father and or mother, 16:04 they are also utilizing 16:06 some of that funds that they have, 16:09 that could go into savings, as investing in insurance. 16:12 And many of us don't think about insurance 16:15 as an important part of our lives 16:17 because how many times do you see families 16:20 who are dealing with these difficult situations 16:23 and they don't have the funds to actually take care 16:26 of those loved ones that they used to have. 16:29 There are many issues that are out there as we talk, 16:32 about the simplicity of understanding 16:35 that how much money that you make is not the issue, 16:39 it's how you take care of the funds. 16:42 So, as we talk about this, 16:44 let's talk about how happy you will feel 16:47 when you've taken care of those first few steps. 16:51 The first steps are setting goals, 16:53 paying off debt. 16:54 Two is, setting up that budget. 16:56 Go online, download the spreadsheet, 17:00 and then fill it in, take a look at that. 17:02 How much money do I have coming in? 17:04 And what do I have going out? 17:06 And see how you can cut back on certain things 17:10 that might save you money. 17:13 One of the biggest items in our everyday lives today 17:18 that is impacting our budgets, on a dramatic basis, 17:22 is technology called the smartphone. 17:24 Oh, think about it, 17:26 a family that has two smartphones, 17:28 that pay one bill to a company, 17:29 they're paying probably between $100 to $150 a month. 17:33 You have kids in there, you have these shared plans, 17:35 it can get well over $180 to $200 a month. 17:38 So on a yearly basis, you consider, 17:40 that's approximately between $2,000 and $3,000 17:44 of money going out from a budget. 17:47 And then we begin the process of considering the fact that 17:50 this is an item that I can't do without. 17:53 Can you do without it? 17:55 There are many times that I now take a moment, 17:58 and try to live without any technology, 18:01 go a couple of days without technology, 18:03 go without getting on the internet. 18:05 And my wife just loves that kind of thing 18:06 because she thinks I'm too engaged in it 18:08 because I'm trying to search out 18:10 new stories and new things 18:12 that can be relevant in our conversations. 18:14 But it teaches you 18:16 that you don't have to be reliant 18:18 on all of those type of things 18:19 and you can actually cut back the usage 18:22 that you have on your minutes shared in the plan 18:26 and cut back on how much you actually spend on a monthly 18:30 and or yearly basis. 18:31 One of the biggest impacts to people's budgets 18:34 is that smartphone. 18:36 So watch that very carefully. 18:42 Now as we talk about wealth, we talk about happiness. 18:46 What salary would make you happy? 18:48 It doesn't matter. That's my answer. 18:50 It doesn't matter. 18:51 It matters how you manage the money. 18:54 But then, again, we find out 18:56 that happiness is ingrained in people who give, 19:01 so there is a kind of legacy effect on people 19:05 who feel it more appropriate to give and to do, 19:09 so that other nonprofits can do very well. 19:13 And so now, I had an opportunity 19:15 to talk to a brother of mine, a friend of mine, 19:17 who is an Adventist and does some work in the ministry, 19:24 his organization called Little Light Ministries 19:27 is one that I'd like to focus on now, 19:29 because we talked about certain things 19:32 and we talked about 19:34 what it is about the legacy of giving. 19:37 So I would love it 19:38 if we could bring on the segment 19:42 that I had with Scott Mayer, 19:46 and he will begin by answering a question 19:48 that I asked, "Why is it so important in these last days 19:53 that we give, and the importance of ministry? 19:56 And here is what Scott said. 19:59 Advertising is a very effective way to make people aware 20:03 of different ministries or different pieces of content 20:07 that you're producing. 20:09 So I think it's very important 20:12 that we make these different ministries 20:15 that are out there, available to the public 20:20 and, you know, more specifically, 20:23 what kind of projects each one is producing. 20:29 And then as we talked 20:31 and we're engaged in this conversation, 20:32 I asked a second question what was, 20:35 "What are the results of our engaging 20:37 with organizations like yours, 20:39 supporting organizations like yours?" 20:41 And here is his comment from that standpoint. 20:45 A lot of the support that our ministry has received 20:48 has allowed us to hire more help, 20:52 and really allowed us to spread our message a lot faster 20:56 than if we obviously didn't have those resources 21:00 or help. 21:02 It's very important. 21:04 The world takes money 21:06 and that's just what it takes to do a lot of this work. 21:11 I think, yeah, there's a big misnomer 21:12 that video work 21:14 doesn't really cost a lot of money, 21:15 but the video equipment is very expensive, 21:17 people's time is very expensive. 21:19 And you can actually share a DVD 21:22 around the world a lot faster than somebody could go around 21:25 and speak in the entire world. 21:27 So there's a big need for media and even though it's expensive, 21:32 you actually have much more of a reach with it. 21:36 It's quite interesting what he said. 21:37 He is using technology. Does that... 21:40 What comes to mind, 21:42 when you think about the use of technology? 21:43 Think about what 3ABN is doing with the satellite ministries, 21:46 reaching different countries, different people, 21:49 and connecting with them about the gospel, 21:52 and that's what he is doing. 21:53 He is using the same technology, 21:55 so he can reach more people a lot quicker by supporting, 22:00 and engaging, and in giving, that's what legacy is about, 22:04 that's what happiness is about. 22:06 When you know you have changed a life for the better. 22:09 And so I followed up the conversation 22:11 with another question. 22:12 "What were the one or two top results from his ministry 22:17 in reference to what they do and what they share?" 22:20 And here is his response. 22:24 I would say one of the most impactful ways 22:26 our ministry has influenced people with our material 22:31 is probably in making people aware of some of the dangers 22:38 of the entertainment industry, 22:41 how to put good things into their minds, 22:43 and, you know, if you really want to 22:46 focus on your relationship with Christ, 22:49 then, you know, focusing your life, 22:52 and building your character with positive things 22:57 rather than soaking in 23:00 worldly things or negative things, 23:02 has made a big impact upon people's spiritual lives. 23:05 So that's one of the ways 23:08 that our ministry has influenced others. 23:14 Interesting. 23:16 I love what he does. 23:17 I've watched a lot of his work, 23:20 and it's been very impressionistic on me, 23:22 as well as other people that I have talked to. 23:26 What I followed up was with one last question, 23:29 "How can we best be of support? 23:31 How can we help?" 23:33 And this can apply to not only his organization 23:36 but to many other Adventist organizations 23:39 on a global basis, 23:40 of how we can help them spread the gospel. 23:43 Here is what he said. 23:46 Obviously, resources is probably one of the best ways 23:51 to support a ministry such as ours. 23:53 We have a Roku channel which costs us $1,000 a month 23:57 and we try to put our material on there, 23:59 so that people can enjoy it for free but that costs money. 24:03 So if we could get supporters 24:06 that would help support this work to continue forward, 24:11 then we can obviously spread the message 24:13 that much more effectively and that much quicker. 24:20 There is something dramatic and amazing 24:22 that happens in our lives when you become a part 24:25 of something bigger than yourself. 24:28 When you begin to understand that it's about others, 24:30 it's about something bigger than who we are 24:33 because it's all about God, 24:35 and He wants to give us an opportunity 24:38 to be a part of this grandiose process 24:41 of bringing people to know Him in a better way, 24:44 and about giving of ourselves. 24:46 And then we begin to minimize all of these things 24:50 that we get involved 24:52 and the new acquisitions that we have, 24:54 the ideas of going and sitting in line for a long time 24:59 to buy all of these sales items for ourselves. 25:03 It becomes a bigger and better thing 25:07 when we can give to others. 25:10 And you find that's the case from happy people 25:14 because they know, that, "I don't need more things, 25:19 all I need to do is manage what God has given me, 25:23 is manage those assets that I do have, 25:26 is manage the income that comes into me on a monthly basis, 25:30 and budget, budget in a detailed way 25:32 so I know that I can have an account, a savings account, 25:36 that can be used for other things." 25:39 It can be used for investments, can be used for savings, 25:43 can be used for emergencies, 25:45 can be used for long-term planning, 25:47 and it can be used to give away, 25:49 to give to others, 25:50 so that others have access to resources 25:53 that they would have never had 25:55 unless you would have done something. 25:57 And that now begins the process of us understanding better 26:04 that the salary that makes us happy 26:06 is not necessarily a number. 26:09 What makes you happy 26:10 or should make you happy is two things. 26:14 One is, managing the wealth that God has given you, 26:20 spending less than you bring in, 26:23 and utilizing the money for specific things 26:26 that are beyond us, giving to other people, 26:30 that creates happiness. 26:32 And number two is, planning, engaging with your family, 26:37 yourself and your spouse, 26:39 sitting down and working on a budget, 26:42 working on the details of where you would like to be, 26:45 and how quickly you would like to get to those goals 26:48 and objectives. 26:49 Because if you sit back and look at your life, 26:51 and you look at what Psalms 90:12 says, 26:55 it says, "Teach us, Lord, to number our days, 26:58 so that we can gain access to some of the wisdom 27:01 that You can provide us." 27:03 Teach us to number our days. 27:04 We realistically are not here very long, 27:08 70 or 80 years if given that opportunity 27:11 and it is what we do in the years we are given 27:15 that acts as a blessing and creates a happiness 27:18 and a sense of satisfaction that we've done everything 27:21 that we possibly can, for Christ. 27:24 So asking the same question, let me ask you, 27:28 "What salary would make you happy? 27:32 What number comes to mind 27:34 that would create a sense of happiness?" 27:36 And if you think about a large number 27:39 and you forget what really matters, 27:41 then you, no matter how much you make, 27:45 will never be wealthy and will never be happy. 27:48 Remember, it's about how you use the money, 27:51 not how much money you have. 27:53 And with that, please Take It to the Bank, 27:56 and save. 27:58 God bless. |
Revised 2017-04-13