The Vision: Personal Finance

Do we have a vision for our future? Are we taking the necessary steps TODAY to ensure our needs are met TOMORROW or 30 years from now?

Here's an eye opening article on MSNBC entitled: "Personal savings drop to a 74-year low" It states that, "The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative 1 percent, meaning that not only did people spend all the money they earned but they also dipped into savings or increased borrowing to finance purchases."

We will all get old. We'll all come to a point where we won't be able to work. Hopefully, we'll all come to a point where we have enough saved in retirement to have the option to not work and live off of what we saved. But, appearantly, the majority of Americans won't.

Have you ever asked, "How much will Social Security pay me when I'm eligible?" I have and it's not much. It was NEVER meant to support us, it was only meant to supplement our needs after retirement.

To me, this is a wake up call and it doesn't matter how old you are. MAKE A PLAN NOW!! The younger you are the better. If you are young, your new best friend should be "Compound Interest." Make a decsion RIGHT NOW to retire and grow old with DIGNITY.

I'm really excited, because in March, me and Brandi will go to Dave Ramsey's Financial Counselor Training and we'll be able to provide FREE Financial Counseling through the church to help people get to where they need to be. We've made great strides in our personal finaces over the last 2 years and we are now headed in the right direction. We'd love to share our story and help anyone who has questions about personal finances.

At HPC, they have a Crown Financial Ministries bible study, which is the same biblical principles that Dave Ramsey uses, just packaged differently. The class starts Feb. 11th, if you are interested. Check it out HERE.

Do something! Saving -1% per year is NOT a plan.