Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford

I taught a lesson in my congregation today about fasting (going without food and drink for two meals) about fast offerings (donating money that you would have spent on those meals to help the poor and needy) and budgeting (knowing what's coming in, what needs to go out, and preparing for emergencies and retirement.) Not a terribly chipper topic, but vitally important nonetheless. For the budgeting portion, I showed one of my favorite SNL clips. The sound didn't work very well during the lesson, so if you were straining to hear, just click the link below.

For the clip:  http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/dont-buy-stuff/n12020

Do you know the answer to these questions?

1)    What is your monthly income?

2)    What are your required monthly expenditures?

3)     Do you have savings for emergencies?         

4)    What is your plan for retirement?

If you do not know the answer to these questions, go find out the answers. Seriously, go do it.

“No one’s ever achieved financial fitness with a January resolution that’s abandoned by February.” – Suze Orman

“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”  - Dave Ramsey

“Budget: A mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.”

-       A. A. Latimer

“There seems to be a sense of entitlement in today’s culture. . . . When we become burdened with excessive debt, we have . . . placed ourselves in self-imposed servitude, spending all of our time, all of our energy, and all of our means to the repayment of our debts. . . . It is essential that we . . . develop a spending and savings plan—a budget—and distinguish between wants and needs.”  - ROBERT D. HALES , March 2009