How to View Money

No updates today. A friend asked me why we haven’t updated the “Our Debt Progress” yet. I told him it’s because there hasn’t been any progress and I got a little sad. This is a difficult progress to be sure. $42,000 is a LOT of money to try and pay off, especially when our combined income isn’t even that much! I think this is why so many people have problems paying back their debt. They get discouraged when that number doesn’t change. They want to see progress more often, but sometimes it’s just slow. Yes, we will be making a large payment soon, but even that doesn’t seem very big. Even if we were to make $1000/month payments we would still be in debt for over 3 years. That’s depressing if you look at it that way. I don’t think we will be able to keep that up if the only thing we are focusing on is our progress.

So, how do we stay motivated?

Well, I think it comes down to our goals in life. Stephanie and I have to constantly remind ourselves that this is not forever. Even if we are stuck paying this off for 3-4 years, that’s really not THAT long in the scope of your whole life. We have to think about what we want our lives to be in 10 or 15 years. If we don’t stay committed to this then we will STILL be paying off our debt when our kids are teenagers.  How crappy would that be?

I think a lot of things in our culture tell us to be happy now and not worry about the future. It has been something beaten into us every day since we were little. We think we won’t be happy if we can’t go out to eat or buy Starbucks every day. When you think about it, that’s really dumb. It’s all about sacrifice. We have to realize that the habits we are creating now will follow us for years and years. If you have the habit of going to Starbucks every day, it’s going to be harder to break the longer you do it.

Paul said that he won’t be master by anything.  I love that. I love that he tried to live his life in a way that the only Christ was his Master. I think enjoying a coffee or a good meal is a great thing. God created good things for us to enjoy. However, if you begin to do it so much that you are addicted to it, I don’t think that is right. We are habitual creatures and will do what we are used to doing. If you are always spending money on yourself and what you want, then you will continue to spend money on yourself and what you want. However, if you begin to view your money as a way to change the world and change those around you, you will use it differently. See, I will be a father someday. The way I use money will affect my kids. If I am selfish they will also be selfish. However, if I give my money and time to something greater than myself then they will most likely do the same.

It’s not about your present happiness. It’s about those who will be influenced by you. Don’t live a life of self-indulgence because paying off your debt seems too difficult. We need to learn to view our money a different way. To me, that is how Stephanie and I will stay motivated. If we want to use our money to help others then we will stay motivated to pay off our debt so we can help even more people.   

How do you view money? What would your bank statement say about you?

- Brian