It’s that time of month again…time for my column.  I’m not sure how many of you regular ChristopherDixon.com subscribers are reading this, but I have to believe that there are some of you who are reading this on a regular basis.  You may wonder what inspires me from month to month, and that is a fair question.  Most, if not all, of the time, it comes from real-life experiences.  The rest of the time, it comes from recent things that I have read that really motivate and inspire me.  This month’s column is a healthy mix of both cases.

I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey.  And while I have been lax on implementing every single one of his precepts, I find that his advice is sometimes just the kick in the pants that I need.  And so, with that preface, I offer you these practical survival tips for the recession.  Some people are espousing the idea that, as a nation, we are emerging from the recession, but I’m not so sure that I am ready to claim victory. I believe, as I’m sure many of you do, that we still have a long, long way to go.

So, without further ado, let’s launch into the tips:

1. Hug your husband/wife/significant other:  There is no other factor that plays into broken relationships more than finances.  If you are facing financial difficulties, rather than retreat into isolation, share the burden.  Nothing heals like sharing the load, and there is no reason to “protect” your spouse from the difficulties that lie ahead.  Last time I checked, one of the common vows during a wedding ceremony states “for better or worse.”  There is nothing noble about hiding the worse from your partner in life.  Tell them.  Hug them.  Tell them you love them.  And then forge ahead.
2. Set a budget, and live within it:  I heard a rather sobering statistic yesterday.  Nearly 40% of Americans spend more than they make on a monthly basis.  Where does that extra money come from?  Credit cards, loans, and even some far more nefarious sources (ie, PayDay loans).  For many, there is no controlling the income aspect of our budgets.  However, what we do have exclusive control of is the “outgo”.  How much do we spend on cable/satellite TV?  How much are we paying for our cell phone plans?  Is paying for High Speed Internet really worth leveraging your financial future?  Hardly.  There are many ways that we can trim our spending, some less comfortable then others.  But what is more uncomfortable?  Living paycheck-to-paycheck, or eliminating a few luxuries from our lives?
3. When there’s too much month left at the end of the money, make sure you have a place to live and food to eat:  Dave Ramsey espouses prioritizing the bills.  I happen to agree with this, quite whole-heartedly.  He states that there are “four walls” that MUST be paid every month:  Rent/Mortgage, Utilities, Transportation (ie, car loan, insurance) and Food.  When it looks like you aren’t going to make budget, these are the four things that MUST be paid.  You MUST have a place to live; you MUST have heat, water and electricity; you MUST have a way to get to and from work; and you MUST have food for your family.  Everything else can wait.  Do you really think that your Citibank Credit card is more important than these things?  If so, you need to seriously re-evaluate your priorities.
4. Debtor’s prison hasn’t been around since the 1830s:  Naturally following from point number 3, it bears stating that if you can’t make all of your payments every month, you ARE NOT going to jail.  Will the creditors call you and harass you?  Probably.  Can they threaten to sue you?  Sure they can.  Will they sue you?  Probably not.  Are collectors calling?  If so, it is their legal right to call you, but they are paid to threaten and get results.  But, that doesn’t really matter, does it?  Their threats are mostly empty, and at the end of the day, if you don’t have the money to pay them, you don’t have the money to pay them.  They’re just going to have to wait.
5. Stop inviting disaster:  Christmas and birthdays come at the same time every year.  There is no reason to “freak out” when these things are approaching.  Make a plan early on in the year to pay for the items that these events entail.  If you haven’t, then it’s time to scale down.  It’s better to just give a greeting card with words that express your love to someone else than leverage your future to pay for a gift that you can’t afford.  The second that you bust out the credit card to pay for birthdays and Christmas is the second that you break down and decide that you must spend more than you earn.  STOP IT!
6. Finally, explore alternatives:  If the “four walls” are busting your chops, find alternatives.  Utility bills kicking you in the teeth?  Turn the thermostat up!  No one ever died from living in a house where the temperature is 78 degrees (in fact, since moving to Texas, I have found that to be the status quo).  Grocery bills making you pull your hair out?  Last time I check, rice and beans are pretty darned cheap, and fairly nutritive.  It may be time to suspend the weekly steak and shrimp meal and start trimming down the food budget.  Is your rent too much?  It may be time to look at cheaper options.  It’s painful…I know.  But, the fact of the matter is, you will never get out of the position you are in by simply doing the same thing you’re doing now. 

Some of these may be simple, and some of these may be extremely difficult.  But, they are all do-able.  It is time that we stop lying to ourselves and start doing what is necessary.  This is your call to action!  Get up and start making changes. 

And finally, it would be irresponsible for me not to mention this:  If you are a Bible-believing Christian, it is your responsibility to carve out 10% of your earnings (BEFORE TAXES) to give to the church.  The Bible clearly states that if you are faithful in this aspect of the Christian discipline, that God will be faithful to supply your needs.  No if’s, and’s or but’s.  In fact, God asks in the Third Chapter of the book of Malachi to TEST Him in this.  He says that if we are faithful in our giving, He will open the floodgates of blessing.  Let me be clear.  I am not espousing the idea that if you give to God, He will make you wealthy.  But, what WILL happen is that you will find that your needs are met, day after day, and month after month.

If you are NOT a Bible-believing Christian, maybe it is time to explore it.  God IS faithful…I am a living example of that.  Even when times have been tight, God has always seen to it that my family’s needs have been met.  And believe me, in the unpredictable world of sales, that is a load off my mind.

Ready to get started?  Good!  Change is possible…it’s simply up to YOU!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am and is filed under Dr. Jesse Greevers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.