Participants: Cordell Thomas
Series Code: TITTB
Program Code: TITTB000041
|
00:01 On Take It To The Bank,
00:02 you will find ways to get out of dept. 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 on Take It To The Bank. 00:30 Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas, and thank you for joining me 00:34 on this program called Take It to The Bank. 00:36 We are talking today about some important issues, 00:39 and the title to this program has to do with budgeting. 00:45 One of the major things 00:46 that many of us get caught up in 00:50 is some things that are really not biblical. 00:53 In 1 Timothy 6:6 it talks about 00:57 godliness with contentment is great gain. 01:02 But then I ask you the question, 01:04 how many of you 01:07 think more about money than you do about God? 01:09 How many of you think more about making wealth 01:13 than about-- thinking about what God wants 01:15 you to do? 01:16 How many of you are more caught up 01:20 in the next item that's out there to purchase 01:23 and are willing to do what ever it takes to buy it? 01:25 I remember, I was in a lecture with a young lady, 01:28 this were group of young people 01:31 that were between ages of 14 and 19 years of age 01:34 and they had all received a summer job. 01:38 And each one of them 01:39 were expect to make about $8 an hour. 01:41 Many of them didn't really know 01:43 how much money they expect to make that summer. 01:46 But there's this one bright young lady in the room. 01:48 And as we started talking and engaging with young people, 01:51 by the way, when we do these programs 01:54 we expect to show them things visual 01:57 for visual learners. 01:59 So we have a backdrop and a white screen 02:02 that they see a projected information. 02:04 And then of course, there are those auditory individuals 02:06 that learn by listening, 02:08 and we speak through some of the information 02:10 that we try to provide them with. 02:12 But one of the most essential parts to learning 02:14 has to do with engagement. 02:16 Now one of the things that I know that young people 02:19 and or any of the audience is learning 02:21 is their willingness 02:23 and ability to engage in the conversation. 02:26 Because, when we are talking about money 02:28 I like to throw little ideas, 02:30 little gems into the conversation 02:32 which they question, you know, "What is that?" 02:34 Well, the 20/10 rule has to do with 02:36 how much debt you should take on 02:37 on a monthly basis 02:39 and how much percentage of your annual income 02:41 you should put towards debt. 02:43 And when you have that context and explain it 02:46 in an active conservation what we find 02:49 is that kids, young people, adults 02:51 are better able to retain the knowledge, the information. 02:56 So as we were talking, the images behind us, 02:59 we talked about 03:00 the level of wealth in United States, 03:02 we talked about the issue of budget, 03:04 we talked about spending and consumerism, 03:06 we talked about 20/10. we talked the rule of 72. 03:10 And all of sudden this young girl said, 03:12 "But I got all of that." 03:14 Then I said, "What did you have?" 03:15 She says, "Well, I've already have a budget for this summer. 03:17 I know how much I'm going to make. 03:19 I know that I'll make about $1, 750 this summer 03:23 and I know exactly what I am gonna spend it on." 03:25 And I had her 03:27 step up and take off over a part of the presentation. 03:30 "So what do you expect to spend the money on?" 03:32 I asked, and she said 03:34 "I have it budgeted down to the dollar, 03:37 I'll be spending money on a tablet, on a smartphone, 03:40 I'll be spending it on this type of getaway, 03:42 I'll be doing this with the funds." 03:44 Then I asked a simple question, "So, 03:46 where is your emergency funding?" 03:49 And she didn't really have a clue. 03:51 I said "You have a budget for what you gonna spend 03:53 but you know where the money is coming from, 03:56 but what happens if you run into a problem?" 03:59 "Well what kind of problem could I 04:01 as a 17 years old run into?" 04:03 Well, there are many different issues to deal with, 04:05 you need 04:08 an account for this smartphone, do you not? 04:10 And there is a monthly fee for that smartphone, 04:14 isn't there? 04:15 And there is gonna be cost for the actual smartphone. 04:17 So there are not only the costs to purchase it 04:22 but there's also the cost to maintain it over the course 04:25 of the next two year contract. 04:27 So now you are making $1, 750 for the summer 04:31 and you don't realize there are residual costs, 04:33 monthly costs to maintain 04:36 that smartphone. 04:38 And then you are talking about your tablet, 04:40 and then we are talking about driving or going somewhere, 04:44 and we are talking about of variety of thing in summer. 04:46 And I can tell you that the $1750 that you've allocated 04:52 to buy these items, which is a great thing, 04:55 you have actually budgeted for what you be going to get. 04:59 But how many of us 05:03 actually think through the actual costs of items? 05:09 So look at a budget this year 05:12 as we are going to talk through this specific element. 05:16 And let's think about how we can better utilize 05:20 this contentment and forget about or put aside 05:25 this being caught up in being a consumer, 05:28 being someone that likes to buy things, 05:30 being someone that likes to go out 05:32 and listen to what the media is telling you 05:34 about the buying things. 05:35 Because, did you know, 05:37 they want you to go into the stores 05:41 at the times that they want you to go into the sores, 05:46 and they want you to buy things 05:50 in the stores that they want you to buy. 05:52 They are very intriguing about how they proceed. 05:56 They put teasers in there, they put lead deals in there, 05:58 they put something in there 06:00 that's not likely to be available when you get there. 06:04 You see that happened all during the winter season, 06:08 specifically up to the holidays. 06:09 And we know about like, Friday deals, 06:11 you know about Christmas deals, 06:13 you know about all these holiday deals, 06:14 but did you know 06:16 that there are better times to buy many of these products? 06:19 Did you know that if we haven't spend.-- 06:22 a plan for our expenditures 06:24 we are very likely to overspend during that time of year. 06:29 Because, realistically, when you go to a great deal 06:33 and many people wait outside for hours, 06:36 camp out in front of these retail stores 06:39 to get the best deals, 06:40 and you hear about people being trampled, 06:42 these are not content people, 06:43 they are really anxious about getting these product 06:47 that are available at specific prices. 06:51 But when you look at the products 06:53 they've actually mark the products up 06:56 and cut the prices 06:57 because there are better times of year 07:00 to buy some of these products. 07:01 Let's talk about some of them. 07:02 We have laptops, 07:04 a new laptop and a computer 07:07 is better buying during the summer, 07:10 summer-fall season. 07:12 Why is that? 07:14 Because the new models 07:16 for laptops are typically coming out 07:19 towards the end of the year, 07:21 and they're already trying to get rid of 07:23 some of the older models. 07:25 The best time of year 07:26 to probably buy some of these laptops 07:28 would be waiting until the January/February timeframe 07:31 early on in the year 07:33 for the purchase of these type of products. 07:36 When they emphasize buying vehicles 07:38 around Christmas, not Christmas but around 07:41 thanks giving time 07:43 it's also another thing 07:44 in reference to vehicle purchase. 07:45 The best time to buy a new vehicle 07:49 is towards the end of the year, 07:50 seven days to two weeks prior to the New Year. 07:54 That's when you're probably apt to get the best deal. 07:58 But in many difference scenarios 08:00 do you know that wealthy individuals 08:02 think differently about 08:03 a car purchases in most instances? 08:06 You hear about the younger 08:08 and wealthy type of individual 08:10 but the true thought process of a wealthy person 08:13 has to do with, 08:14 'Hey, did you know 08:16 that if I buy a car above this type of price 08:18 there is luxury tax, a new car, 08:21 there is a luxury tax I have to pay? 08:23 But if I wait and buy that same car 08:26 as a two year new car 08:27 I can avoid luxury taxes 08:29 and I still get benefits of driving that type of car.' 08:32 Thinking about things from that prospect is can change 08:36 your overall outlook of 08:39 how we make decisions on a purchase habits, 08:42 but it comes actually down to this thing called budgeting. 08:46 This thing called budgeting 08:48 is one of the most important elements of your life 08:50 and it can change the direction and the contentment 08:54 that you can have along with your Godliness. 08:58 Follow what God wants you to do is one of the essential parts, 09:01 and one of the essential parts 09:02 of doing what He wants you to do 09:03 has to do with setting up a budget. 09:05 I believe that, 09:07 because you can only plan if you have that budget. 09:12 You can only begin the process of making long-term 09:16 and mid-term plans 09:18 if you have something established 09:20 that can tell you where your money is going, 09:22 how much money you have in savings, 09:24 and how much money you can allocate 09:25 towards specific projects, 09:27 and giving to other type of organizations. 09:31 And that's the essential part 09:32 that I'd like to communicate here today. 09:34 So a budget review, 09:36 why is it so important? 09:38 Because, 09:39 where the budget review comes the analysis of 09:41 where we make our purchases, 09:45 puts together in an analysis of where we can make savings, 09:48 where we can cut back, what we can do 09:50 to make other funds available 09:54 so we can give away. 09:55 In 1 Timothy 6, 09:57 and if look at verse 17 and through 18 10:02 it says "Command them to do good." 10:06 And he's talking about commanding the rich. 10:08 So he says "Command those who are rich 10:09 in this present world not to be arrogant, 10:11 nor to put their hope in wealth, 10:13 which is so uncertain, but put their hope in God." 10:15 So having the faith in God is essential, 10:18 who richly provides to us. 10:19 But then 18 it says, "Teach them to do good, 10:22 to be rich in good deeds, 10:25 and to be generous 10:27 and willing to share." 10:29 We did a study or we analyze this study 10:34 that they did on happiness. 10:36 There is a movie, you can go online 10:38 and look at it's called Happy Movie. 10:40 And I would take you to look at it 10:42 because it talks about what makes people happy. 10:44 Who are the most happy people in the world? 10:46 Who are most, 10:48 what's the most happy county in the world 10:50 and why are they happy? 10:51 Happiness and a sense of peace comes from 10:54 looking at something bigger than yourself. 10:57 Wealth is not happiness. 11:00 Showing that you're wealthy is not happiness. 11:02 When I was asked, you know, "How much do you worth? 11:04 What is it about you 11:06 and why is it that this thing is so important?" 11:09 Well, wealthy people are not gonna share 11:12 how wealthy they are. 11:14 That's just they are. 11:15 You don't share that type of information 11:16 because you become a magnet. 11:18 I remember, in college there was a person that went, 11:22 attainted the same school 11:23 and he got a basketball contract. 11:27 And I remember, he came back to same town 11:29 with his new expensive vehicle and he dove it 11:32 into the car dealership to get it serviced. 11:34 But what was interesting about this whole experience 11:37 is when he was in school and just a student, 11:40 he didn't have his great entourage following him, 11:43 what he had was he was just 11:45 an individual going to school 11:46 and happen to have a talent for this specific sport. 11:49 But when he came back after getting that contract 11:53 he had an entourage that followed him. 11:55 And if you go and study this whole industry of sports 11:58 you find that individuals who are coming out of poverty 12:03 or coming out of underserved communities 12:07 and they get this big contracts they become targets. 12:10 Did you know there have been websites 12:12 that are set up to target these individuals? 12:17 People who are interested in these sports individuals 12:22 are willing to setup websites 12:26 that target these individuals. 12:30 And some of these websites are just for women 12:34 and other individuals who are interested 12:36 in associating with these individuals. 12:39 And you began to see stories out there 12:41 of professional athletics that are getting caught-up 12:45 paying $5,000 every evening or on weekly basis 12:51 for an entourage 12:52 that follows him around to different restaurants, 12:55 flying them wherever he goes 12:56 because they have that expectation 12:58 that 'He will just help out. 12:59 Now, he's come from where we've been 13:01 and he is just gonna help us out.' 13:02 There ones that will tell you that 13:04 'I come out of my professional game 13:06 and I go back to my car and go home 13:08 and their people leaning up against my car 13:10 and saying, "Hey, you know what, 13:11 I'm short on funds this month 13:13 can you help me out with my rent?" 13:14 " They are targets. 13:15 Did you know that they have websites setup 13:17 that you can find out the exact income 13:20 for each one of these individuals? 13:23 And then you began to understand 13:24 why they are so stressed, why they are pressed, 13:26 and why many of them end up broke, 13:29 because they have no idea 13:32 that they need to be taking those funds, 13:35 planning for how they utilize it. 13:36 Here's one example, 13:38 think one of these individuals had a major contract 13:41 and he got a lot of money. 13:43 His initial check was sent to him, 13:45 he didn't even know, 13:47 he'd never open a bank account, 13:48 he never done anything with banking. 13:51 And so that check, 13:53 initial check was taken and framed. 13:55 He put it on the wall. 13:57 He didn't realize that 13:58 actual physical piece of paper had monetary value. 14:02 And then the 14:05 accounting department gave him a call 14:06 from the origination say "Hey, you know what, 14:09 we sent you a form of a check, 14:11 a payment for your initial, for your contract 14:13 and we haven't seen it clearing your account as yet. 14:16 We're wondering have you cashed it yet?" "Cashed it?" 14:20 Questions come up about cashing and bank. 14:24 "You must mean that piece of paper 14:25 you sent me that I have framed on the wall?" 14:28 A piece of paper that has monitory value, 14:30 this individual had no clue 14:32 and no financial literacy training to understand 14:35 that that have monitory value. 14:36 And then you get into the fact 14:38 that over the course of their lifetime 14:40 they are planning to make about 14:41 you know, 50, 60 million dollars 14:44 so they start spending 14:46 like they are going to make 60 million dollars, 14:49 and they forget that they have to account for taxes. 14:51 So that 60 million is actually 30 million 14:53 and then you have a problem. 14:56 Because, now I am living that 60 million dollar lifestyle 14:59 and making only 30 million, 15:01 therefore, endorsements and other type of 15:04 revenue based or income based activates have to take place 15:07 where they write books and do other things. 15:09 Now you began to understand the stress that happens 15:11 when you're given a certain sense of responsibility. 15:14 God is telling you not be arrogant, 15:17 don't tell everybody what you have, 15:19 but share, give, do. 15:24 And it's in that giving 15:25 that you begin to see the blessings. 15:28 You don't have to be arrogant, nobody needs to know. 15:30 In fact, they say that the wealthy 15:33 don't actually, now, many of the wealthy 15:35 that are Gen-x and millennials 15:37 don't actually dress like they are wealthy. 15:39 You can be beside a wealthy individual 15:42 and never know it because they dress down, 15:44 they are in jeans, they are in t-shirts, 15:46 they work their life style, 15:48 they do it what they need to do, 15:49 they utilize the business practices 15:51 but they come out and be a part of. 15:53 They don't show their wealth in what they drive, 15:56 they don't show their wealth in how they dress, 15:58 and they may what they may take 16:00 really well-planned and exotic vacations. 16:02 That's how they spend their money 16:04 as oppose to spending their money on things. 16:08 And you begin to see that these-- 16:10 this generation which is being studied, 16:12 the data that's coming in about the data, 16:15 and the data is very important 16:18 because it gives a context to how they behave. 16:21 They are more likely now to participate 16:24 in philanthropic type of things, 16:26 trying to make the world a better place. 16:28 They begin to feel better about themselves 16:31 when they give, which is what the study says. 16:34 I'm a happier person 16:35 if I spend money on somebody else 16:38 and not on myself. 16:40 And so as we begin to dialogue 16:43 about this thing called a budget, 16:45 and what's about a budget, 16:47 and getting to a better budget. 16:49 I want to give you six-- 16:52 five or six steps to getting to a better budget, 16:55 and understanding that 16:56 you don't need to caught up in being a consumer 17:00 but you can become more so an individual 17:02 that manage their funds 17:04 and becomes happier in the wealth that they have 17:07 because you're giving it away. 17:08 That you're giving and making it better for somebody else. 17:14 So lets take a moment. 17:17 And think about a couple of things. 17:23 One of the things that are essential 17:26 to understand a budget is this: 17:32 there isn't 17:34 anything out there that you have to have. 17:36 There is a lot of technology, there are a lot of things, 17:38 and they're going to make changes. 17:40 So I have a specific smartphone 17:43 that's I have for two years, 17:45 I don't need to get new one. 17:46 It does the same things that other smartphones do. 17:49 Why do I need to get a new one every year? 17:51 Did you know that 17:53 if the technology is already there 17:55 that they can put into all of these smartphones 17:57 to give you everything now but they don't do it now. 18:00 Why? 18:01 Because they want to develop their market place 18:03 and the study that they have done 18:05 upon the consumes of this products 18:07 says that they like new things, new gadgets, 18:09 new things that they can accomplish with these gadgets 18:14 they have in their hand. 18:15 So you get location devices, 18:17 you can get pictures taken, video taken, 18:20 you can do so many different things, 18:22 you can now organize your own wallet 18:24 on one of these smartphones. 18:27 Some of the essential issues that we should talk about 18:29 from the stand point of a budget reviews 18:31 is to take a look at 18:34 getting to a better budget 18:35 and understanding how we can accomplish those goals. 18:38 So number one, 18:40 is emergency funding. 18:44 What is emergency fund? 18:49 How many months worth of funds should you have to cover 18:54 any type of emergency, 18:56 and what do you conceder 18:57 something that can be very disconcerting in your life? 19:00 One of the big things is loosing your job 19:03 or a medical expense that you aren't expecting, 19:06 or a breakdown of your vehicle at wrong time. 19:11 Do you have the funds necessary 19:13 to tap in to get your vehicle repaired? 19:15 Do you have the taps-- 19:16 the funds to tap into 19:19 if you happen to lose your job? 19:21 How long 19:23 does it necessary take to find a new job? 19:28 You can talk to many different individuals, 19:30 but what I've heard 19:31 is it can take well over six to eighteen months. 19:35 And I have heard of some 24 months 19:37 that haven't been able to find a positions yet. 19:40 So what is a correct number? 19:42 I can't tell you a correct number 19:43 but I can tell you this is that if you have a budget 19:46 and you're putting money away 19:47 it becomes an easier process in crisis. 19:49 When you look at your budget you know what things, 19:51 what line items you can cut out 19:54 in a tense situations, 19:55 such as do you really need the cable? 19:57 I can look at that line item 19:59 and I can tell how much money I spent 20:01 for this specific type of services on monthly biases. 20:04 Do I really need all of these aspects to the smartphone? 20:09 Can I cut my usage of it from 1,400 minutes a month 20:12 to 600-700 minutes a month? 20:15 What is it that constitutes an emergency? 20:18 And we all know what that can be. 20:21 But what I ask people to do is to build your emergency fund 20:25 and build it as quickly as possible. 20:27 Begin the process of paying down debt 20:30 because you know, when you lose the job 20:33 and you don't have the funds to pay back 20:35 some of the debtors that you have, 20:37 that becomes a critical situation 20:39 and can become a crisis. 20:42 And its difficult to try to handle that, 20:46 handle the job search, 20:47 handle all of the other aspects of your life 20:50 when you still have all of these debts coming in. 20:52 And if you don't have the budget, 20:53 you don't know where to go to, 20:55 to look at to figure out what you need-- 20:57 maybe I can get rid of the newspaper, 20:59 maybe I can get rid of the dog walker, 21:00 maybe I can get rid of a verity of things in my life. 21:02 Maybe I can get rid of a couple of things 21:05 that I never knew I was doing 21:09 when I develop that budget. 21:12 One of the things is when you get a budget in place 21:17 and you have an emergency funds set up 21:20 and you know where things are at, 21:22 I would suggest that you begin to downsize and substitute. 21:28 There are a lot of substitutes that are out there 21:31 that we can share with you. 21:33 I just came across a unique site-- 21:38 and I can give that to you on our website. 21:40 But you can actually, if it's your 21:42 first pair of glasses that you want to buy, 21:44 you can get them for free, just pay shipping and handling 21:46 if you need that new set of glasses. 21:47 In an emergency type of setting, 21:50 those kind of things help out a lot more 21:53 if you break a glasses and you don't have-- 21:57 and you don't have the funds necessary 21:59 to go and buy a new set of glasses. 22:01 Substitute certain things for other things. 22:04 Do you need the big brand item 22:07 or can something else provide a better service? 22:10 I can see some retailers 22:12 that are offering some smartphone services 22:16 at a discounted rate or for even half the price 22:19 of what major brands of smartphones 22:22 are charging consumers. 22:24 So you start going through your budget and seeing, 22:26 do I really need all this? 22:28 Can I downsize? Can I substitute? 22:30 And you know, when you get into that type of behavior pattern 22:33 you began to get a little more comfortable 22:36 about how you deal with buying new 22:42 or taking on new debt, new type of expenses. 22:46 And what I found is that when you cut out something 22:49 you find that you never really needed it. 22:51 I, you know, having two kids and not having 22:54 any really cable or satellite type of television service, 22:58 hasn't really bothered them or me that much. 23:01 And we find different ways to fill our time. 23:07 And now I'm finding a lot more 23:09 special time with the young people 23:10 as we take then to the park, we ran around with him, 23:12 we go out and engage in different things. 23:14 Take my daughter out to-- 23:16 to ice cream, we have special dates, 23:18 special times we do things. 23:20 We read more, we do more, 23:22 we expect more of our time. 23:24 And that's what trying to teach 23:27 my son from that stand of point 23:28 about the aspect of professionalism 23:31 that he should have as well as a business mindset, 23:34 'what can he do to generate revenue? 23:37 And you know, what's exciting this past year is 23:39 that little man of mine wanted to go 23:43 with his cousins to Europe. 23:47 It is very intimating to me, should I, 23:50 can I send that little boy over with people that we trust, 23:54 we do trust them inherently. 23:55 But send him to a far country for him to experience it? 23:58 Well, he's been studying about Europe, 24:00 specifically Spain and France in his studies in history 24:03 and he decided, I really want to go. 24:05 After we've talked through we said, "Okay, 24:07 if you want to go we would like you to save the money 24:11 that you can make to go on that trip." 24:14 Did you know what came out that? 24:16 He developed this creative concept 24:20 of a unique holder, a bottle holder. 24:25 And he use the concept 24:27 and began manufacturing at it 24:30 and selling it to his friends and family and counterparts, 24:33 people at church, and at the bank 24:35 when he opened up his bank account. 24:37 Yes, he started putting money aside for this trips so much so 24:41 that he was able to pay himself a trip, 24:44 pay for himself for trip over Europe 24:46 and experienced Italy and France on a unique basis 24:52 and see some of the things 24:53 that he'd been studying in his history class. 24:57 So a lot of things can come out of downsizing, substituting, 25:02 thinking through things in different ways, 25:03 strategizing, and just doing and accomplishing 25:08 those types of things. 25:10 Number three is something that's essential, 25:14 I call it focusing on the reward aspect of things. 25:16 And I can probably shift the statement by saying, 25:21 focus on you goals. 25:23 When you get through a goal, reward yourself. 25:27 I was asked at the turn of every year, 25:29 you set up certain resolutions and you set up certain things 25:32 you're going to change in your life. 25:34 I say, you know what, 25:36 don't worry about the resolutions, 25:38 set up tangible goals that you like to get to 25:40 and set up the different levels 25:42 you're going to utilize to get there. 25:44 And you'll find that there are a lot of resources available 25:48 in getting to those goals. 25:51 The goal that some have set up is paying off their debt. 25:55 Did you know there is an app too? 25:58 You can put in all of your debts 26:01 and the app will assess how much time it will take 26:04 to pay it off. 26:05 And there you go, 26:06 it will take you two years to pay off this debt 26:09 and there is the goal you set for yourself 26:11 to get debt free. 26:13 So using technology, 26:15 using substituting and downsizing 26:19 can provide the opportunities to think in a different way, 26:24 to think in a way that God would have you to think. 26:28 And then, once you have focused on the rewards 26:32 and gotten to those objectives-- 26:38 I ask you to assess where you are at, 26:43 take a look at what you want to accomplish 26:45 and then find new resources, new areas 26:50 that you can provide of income, find a second position. 26:53 You know music, teach somebody music. 26:56 Find some other resources of income 26:58 because that's what you can take 27:01 to help pay off that debt quicker. 27:03 So once you found an emergency fund things-- 27:06 the necessary worry of things go away, 27:09 you can have a better chance 27:12 of getting a real world connection 27:17 with your financers, with your family, 27:20 and you can better adopt to the difference stresses 27:22 that can come into your life. 27:24 And then, once you able to have your budget 27:27 that you're spending less then you make 27:30 and that you've downsize and that you're now encouraged 27:33 by reaching some of those goals that you set for yourself, 27:37 take a step back and see what other venues of income 27:42 you can develop for yourself. 27:45 Godliness with contentment is great gain. 27:51 What God wants you to do is to spend less than you make, 27:55 that's wealth. 27:57 So take that to the bank and save. 28:00 God bless. |
Revised 2016-06-02