“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts."
—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances, Feb. 2007, 1
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This month’s provident living focus is family finances. I love to think about money and ways I can hold on to my dollar longer. President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: “Set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts” ("To the Boys and to the Men," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 54). We have been commanded to get out of debt and save for a rainy day. In the world we live in today, this can seem like a daunting task, and even impossible, to accomplish. I can testify that if we have a desire and work hard, that we can be obedient to this commandment.
One thing I have found to be true when it comes to debt reduction and savings, and many other aspects of provident living, is that we want to reach the goal right now. We get easily frustrated or even discouraged to the point that we give up when we can’t complete the task or goal immediately. Just like eternal salvation, provident living is a line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little concept.
In the pamphlet, One for the Money – Guide To Family Finance, by Elder Marvin J. Ashton, he teaches some valuable skills on how we can reach our financial goals. He says “Financial peace of mind is not determined by how much we make, but is dependent upon how much we spend. If we make the payment of tithing and fast offering a first priority after each paycheck, the likelihood of financial mismanagement will be reduced.” Our stake president has challenged us as members of the Rogers Arkansas Stake to pay our tithing first. I know that the windows of heaven will be opened to us and blessings poured out upon our heads, that there will not be room enough to receive it. (see Malachi 3:10).
Elder Ashton continues to teach that, “Learning how to discipline oneself and exercise constraint where money is concerned shows maturity. Young couples should recognize that they cannot immediately maintain the same spending patterns or life-style as that to which they were accustomed as part of their parents’ family.” Whether we are single, newly weds, or well accustomed to married life, individuals can “show genuine maturity when they think of their partner’s and their family’s needs ahead of their own spending impulses.”
We have been counseled time and time again – Get out of debt and stay out of debt. “We live in a self-indulgent, me-oriented, materialistic society. Advertisements entice young buyers by demonstrating how easy it is to get credit and buy on time.” I remember President Hinckley talking about the power of advertising. I have found that if I don’t know what is on sale and only go to the store when I need something, the less I generally spend. Some would say that I am missing some great deals but I know the less time I spend at the store or shopping online, the less tempted I am to spend money that I don’t have. I am not saying that shopping is bad, but it is so much harder to say no and walk away when a really good deal is in front of you and you don’t have the cash to pay for it, but you did remember the credit card. “Interestingly, no ads focus on the glamour of paying the money back, nor do they mention how long or hard it is to do just that – especially with the unavoidable interest added on.”
If you go www.providentliving.org , and click on the link Family Finances, there is a wealth of information about avoiding debt and building a reserve. Also on the right hand column there is a link to some financial calculators. These would be very helpful to every family. I invite you to take some time and learn more about how your family can be better prepared and educated about family finances.
Love,
Rachel
