Saddled with Debt and Guilt
I recently found the American Consumer News blog and subscribed to it. They have had several good posts. Today's post was about 7 Benefits to Getting out of Debt. This is something that I have been struggling with for several years. We've made a lot of progress by way of altering our buying habits, but we still have a long way to go. I look forward to these benefits.
Something that I struggle with is giving while in debt. Financially, it seems like it behooves me to not give to others, the church, or various charities. However, there is a part of me that feels that even though I am paying the consequences of poor decisions, in the way of school loans and credit card bills, that I still have much more than other people. So, I continue to give.
Any one have thoughts on how one balances the desire to be charitable with the need to become debt free?
Labels: questions
posted by Shannon Smith @ 12/13/2007
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shannon- we struggled with the same thing. we gave anyway- i wish we had known, when we were your age, about FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY. It's a program that has been going on at our church and has helped a lot of people to give, get out of debt, and have a good relationship with one naother (spouses) when it comes to money. it also gives you some good advice on how to talk to your children about money from a young age.it does not come at it from a 'know it all' perspective, but one that considers 'grace' a necessity. i think it really encourages people to be real with one another and learn ways to support one another as a community trying to follow Jesus in a temptingly material world. vicki check out their web site
Wow!
It's weird how you almost read my mind sometimes...
Stephanie and I are going through this very same series of thought right now.
This week we gave a certain amount of money to a family that really needed it, and since our budget is very tight, we basically ended up adding that amount to our credit card debt by the end of the week.
And I ask myself weather it's a good decision...
What really messes me up is, technically, if I took all the money I give, and put it towards students loans and other debts, it would translate to much MORE money in the future, which I could THEN give.
But I feel like I need to establish the practice of giving early mine and Steph's new life together, or we'll get used to not doing it.
Plus, it's often the case that I just feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to give to something, even if it doesn't look good on the bottom line...
This is one of many, many reason that I pray every day for God to give me a mentor...
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