Sermon Central
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Financial Freedom Workshop - Session 2
Contributed by Aaron Mishoe on Apr 2, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Learn the Biblical ways to get out of debt.
Download the free PowerPoint and teaching materials at:
http://www.lisbonwc.org/free.htm
Welcome!
FINANCIAL FREEDOM WORKSHOP
Session 2
Developed using the books Your Money Map: A Proven 7 Step Guide to True Financial Freedom and The Total Money Makeover
- You may have noticed that even though we use scripture as a foundation for this workshop, that this is not a Bible Study.
- You may be asking, “Why are we doing this is church?”
- This is a how to workshop.
- We don’t just want to tell you that God wants us to live free of debt.
- We want to show you how to do it.
- This is a Bible application workshop.
ASSIGNMENT FROM LAST WEEK
Bring your spending plan with your income listed and as much of your expenses as you can dig up.
THE ROAD TO FINACIAL FREEDOM
MONEY MAP
Destination #1
- Begin using a spending plan
- Save $1,000 for emergencies
Destination #2
- Pay off credit cards
- Increase savings to one month’s living expenses
“The borrower is servant to the lender.”
WHICH DO I DO FIRST?
Work on your savings and credit cards at the same time.
When you meet one of the goals, put that money toward the other goal.
This will accelerate your progress.
CHARGE!
Average credit card debt
- The average credit card holder has more then six cards
- They owe more than $9,300
- There are now more than five billion credit cards solicitation each year.
Credit card spending mentality
- People spend about 1/3 more when they use credit cards rather than cash.
- Credit cards seem painless, not like parting with real money.
Slow repayment
- About 35 million Americans only pay the required minimum each month.
- If you pay only the minimum at 18% interest it will take an average of 20 years to pay off a credit card.
- I once reviewed one of my own credit cards.
- I noticed that out of a $177 monthly payment only $17 a month was going to the principle.
- This motivated me to pay it off quickly.
PAY OFF THE PLASTIC
Can you handle having a credit card?
Ask yourself: - Do you pay off the balance each month?
- If not, credit cards are too dangerous for you.
- “On average, 39% of Americans pay their credit cards in full each month, this means around 60% carry a credit card balance” (cardrating.com).
- Leaving a little debt left over each month adds up over time.
- With high interest rates, repayment takes forever.
- It may be time for plastic surgery.
- Call to close your account so they cannot send you a new card.
Students with Credit Cards
- “25% of college students who own a credit card, used their card to pay for tuition” (Dave Ramsey)
- “Vince once signed up for a credit card his Sophomore year at college to get the free campus t-shirt. He wasn’t going to use the cards unless there was an emergency, but there was an ‘emergency’ every week, and soon he was $15,000 deeper in debt” (Ramsey).
- “The American Bankruptcy Institute revels that 19% of the people who filed for bankruptcy last year were college students” (Ramsey).
Cancel the cards
- You can live without credit cards. Really!
- A debit card will do everything that a credit card can do.
- “Visa’s Zero Liability Policy: Require the member bank to give the debit card the exact same protections in cases of theft or fraud” (Ramsey).
- Using a debit card feels more like using money when you know your checking account is immediately affected.
- Do not call registry: DoNotCall.gov
- Opt out of junk mail: 1-888-5OPT-OUT
Snowball the credit cards
- The first step is to stop borrowing.
THE SNOWBALL STRATEGY
Pay off smallest high interest debt first.
- The advantage to paying off the one with the lowest balance first is for encouragement.
- Dave Ramsey says, “Sometimes motivation is more important than math.”
- “You need quick wins to get fired up” (Ramsey).
- One thing Larry Burket use to say is to double or add to that one card if possible.
- Paying only the minimum balance may take years even on a card with a low balance.
When you pay one off, add that payment to another card.
- The temptation when paying off a credit card is to spend that extra money.
- Roll that payment on to another card.
See example - Next slide
SNOWBALL THE PAYMENTS
Min. Extra Total
Card 1 $30 $20 $50
Card 2 $80 $50 $130
Card 3 $75 $130 $205
Card 4 $100 $205 $305
All this is accomplished by only paying $20 extra a month and rolling over payments from cards you pay off
