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LIVING THE BLING

LIVING THE BLING. BELOW. Why did you move to Dallas?. I was born and raised here. I went to college here and decided to stay. I graduated from College, Needed a Job, Dallas is a Big City with Good Starter Jobs that Pay Great Money I missed the turn to Aspen

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LIVING THE BLING

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  1. LIVING THE BLING BELOW

  2. Why did you move to Dallas? • I was born and raised here. • I went to college here and decided to stay. • I graduated from College, Needed a Job, Dallas is a Big City with Good Starter Jobs that Pay Great Money • I missed the turn to Aspen • I like living where it's flat, dusty, dry, and hot, don't you? • LA and NY were full

  3. Now that I live in Dallas, I know that theyoung, hip, successful folks: • Drive new, foreign sports cars (Cayman's are Cool!) • Live in Uptown • Are darn good looking • Work really hard, but will be rewarded someday • Sit in good Mavs seats

  4. Now that I live in Dallas, I know that theyoung, hip, successful folks: • Drive new, foreign sports cars (Cayman's are Cool!) • Live in Uptown • Are darn good looking • Work really hard, but will be rewarded someday • Sit in good Mavs seats

  5. At 29, I wish I had known: • Less is More -- Simplicity and Contentment = Freedom • Little Decisions Today Boomerang Tomorrow • Give ... Really, Give • Paper or Plastic -- Credit Cards, Car Leases, and Buying Real Estate Can Cripple You • Friends Can Help

  6. The Financial Dilemma: " No servant can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one and love the other , or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other . You cannot serve God and wealth ." Luke 16:13

  7. Despite that Dilemma, Everybody Wants to Get Rich and Be Somebody! "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income….The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun; wealth hoarded to the harm of its own…." Ecclesiastes 5:10-13

  8. The Dallas Dilemma • The “Loss of Normalcy” • Dallas suffers from robust affluence that causes all of us to forget what is “normal.” • The Christian community is not exempt • The “Entitlement Culture” • “I am entitled to live in Uptown” • “The new G35 Coupe only costs $399 a month" • “Cabo really is better than Corpus” Of course, all of those demands are merely spending choices

  9. Dilemma Solved Through Contentment.Contentment Brings Freedom. "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work -- this is a gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 5

  10. Make Financial Room for Life Change to Happen • Live Below Your Means in submission, humility, and unselfishness • Actively resist the pull of the culture • Life is not a cosmic accumulation game... although would you know that by looking around Dallas? "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either." 1 Tim. 6:7 Develop into becoming: • diligent earner • generous giver • wise spender

  11. Wisdom Earning and Spending -- A Diligent Trustee of God’s Provision • Must Know What You Reasonably Expect to Earn (we all want to earn more…but should we expect to do so?) • Then, Fit Your Lifestyle to Your Earnings • Disaster Follows if You Live a Life that Doesn’t Fit Your Earnings "Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed." 1 Tim. 6:18-19

  12. If you fit your lifestyle to your earnings… • Less financial stress…less worry • More financial freedom to follow God’s call • More generosity…because less financial stress • Living below your means - Driving your stake lifestyle-wise • Less house • Less car • Less spending

  13. Give Generously • Giving connects you with His heart and mind "But just as you excel in everything -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us -- see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Cor. 8:7 "Well Done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" Matt. 25:21

  14. Avoid Spending Tomorrow's Money Through Debt • Borrowing or using debt: • Presumes on the future • Forces us to use tomorrow's dollars for past purchases • Robs us of an ability to respond to God's call • Suppresses ability to make life changes

  15. The Wise Debtor... "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15

  16. The Wise Debtor... • Does not presume too much on the future • Is careful and strategic when incurring debt • Always repays debt - Psalm 37:21 • Borrows only as necessary for long-term items • Careful control of credit cards

  17. Credit Card Studies: • Family spending using a credit card versus cash • Amount spent (with a credit card) rose between 20% and 30%. • Hidden camera study: purchases using cash versus a credit card • Cash group paid an average of $29.58 • Credit card group paid an average of $52.67

  18. Credit Card Rules: • They tempt you to spend more than you make • DO NOT use them if you are getting out of past credit card debt -- cut them up • Use only for budgeted items • Pay the balance in full every month • If you violate rule one or rule two, cut up your cards

  19. Save Money on Cars • What is the least expensive car you can own? • When is it economically wise to buy a new (never-owned) car? • Are there any economic advantages to leasing? • What is the proper mileage at which it is best to unload the old car? • NO LEASES

  20. Pay Cash for Your Next Car -- Avoid Trap of Leasing .

  21. Friends Can Help • Develop a Community of Equally-Yoked Believers -- there is economy in community • Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 • Scary stuff -- tell someone about your financial condition and your struggles

  22. Focus on the Marathon, Not the Sprint "but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop -- some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown." Mark 4:19-20

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