WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHAMPION BYTE OF 2008? HOW DID IT IMPACT YOU? WE WANT TO KNOW. TELL US NOW!
"And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon (*deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings). He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much."
--Jesus Christ speaking to his disciples in Luke's Account
Money will fail you.
But our influence was designed to make us employable and fortify our marketability in times of economic failure.
God has an economy. How are you doing in it? What is your plan to prosper in it?
In God's economy, WE ARE DESIGNED to supernaturally do better in famine than in years in plenty.
But we must stretch our faith; have goals and practical sense to survive. Here are four things you can do to THRIVE in a recession:
- Don't allow the economy to paralyze you with fear and anxiety.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- The National unemployment rate is 6.7%. (That means 93.3% of the Nation is working.)
- 107.2 million people are employed full-time.
- The median weekly earnings of workers are $720.00 (This is 3.6 percent higher than a year earlier.)
God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity. He has given us HIS; a Spirit of power, love, and a strong disciplined mind that can overcome ANY environment.
You were created to be an anchor on your floor/team, in your locker room, family and workplace. Live fearlessly and full of faith. Build a storehouse (a creative idea, niche, etc.) that can provide for your family. Refuse to remain where you are. People are watching to see how you respond in crisis.
2. Pay high interest loans off or the smallest ones first.
If you have a $5,000 credit card and only pay the minimum, it will take you 86 years to pay it off. It you live that long, you would've paid $38,000.00 to the credit card company.
In this crunch, identify two things in your credit life:
- Your highest interest cards
- The creditors that report to credit bureaus timely (not all of them do); pay them off -QUICK-or pay them timely.
CHAMPION TIP:
Bob Duquette of Adirondack Funding Services of Plattsburgh, New York, writes that you can save nine years of mortgage payments (and $41,500 in the example given) on a thirty-year mortgage, or two and one-half years on a fifteen-year home loan. This strategy involves making biweekly mortgage payments instead of monthly payments. And the biweekly payments are exactly half of what you would pay by the month. The trick is that you are making twenty-six half payments in a year instead of twelve full payments. This is like making an extra full payment a year:
Original Mortgage: $70,000 at 8.5%, 30 years, monthly payments of $688.24 (payments include $150 per month escrow for property taxes and insurance.)
Loan Curtailment Strategy: convert to biweekly payments of $344.12
Interest on the original loan: $122,774
Interest if biweekly schedule is used: $81,268 ($41,506 saved!)
Consult with your banker on this strategy and other ideas to knock years off your mortgage. King Solomon wrote: "The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear of the wise is ever seeking (inquiring for and craving) knowledge. A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men."
What are you EVER getting? X-box, TV, sleep? Where is your gift taking you? One of your greatest gifts is your mind-THE MIND OF CHRIST. It is your edge; your X-factor, so use it creatively.
3. Budget where your money is going.
This is not easy. Most of us don't realize where all of our money has gone until our taxes are finished and we find out how much those early morning Starbuck runs really cost us. Budgeting takes time, discipline and commitment every month, but it will help you cut back on unnecessary expenses (For instance, instead of getting my Chai @ Starbucks daily, I can buy spiced Chai tea bags; instead of eating lunch out daily, I can buy frozen dinners or take sandwiches for lunch.)
Get a handle on your finances. If you are ill-disciplined with money, you have no right to authority (View Microsoft budget form templates NOW!)
4. Invest 5-10% of what you get (or make.)
Most people pay everyone else, except themselves. We pay creditors because we owe a debt. What about the debt you owe to your family or dream? You need to pay yourself at least 5% of every paycheck to build a cash reserve that can carry you for 6 months (if necessary) OR fund your dream (banks won't lend you money unless you have money-something as collateral.)
But the 5% rule doesn't just stop there. Take 5% of your time per day or week to invest into the vision that is in your heart. Write a chapter; pen a song, draw a plan, organize an event, build a website, take a class, create a mission statement or price list; DO SOMETHING with the talent or promise God has given you. Situations don't just change. We must change (Don't forget to tithe to your local church.)
YOUR time is as valuable as the investment of YOUR money, so INVEST BOTH.
God's desire is that you enjoy the fruit of your labor. He declared through Isaiah: "They shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat [the fruit]. For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My chosen and elect shall long make use of and enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bring forth [children] for sudden terror or calamity; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them."
Today, you have a promise by God that even when money fails, He will never fail or forsake you.
The best is yours.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
"Also do not look with regret or concern upon your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours." The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
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