Today’s Scripture Reading (September 4, 2016): Proverbs 21
The secret to becoming rich isn’t all that much of a secret. Here it is – you might want to write this down or print this page (not really) – spend less than you make. Get rid of your credit cards, stop financing cars (especially new vehicles that depreciate incredibly fast during that first day of ownership), save up for the things that you want, buy on the layaway program if you have to, and take the money you are not spending and invest it wisely with professionals. Do this and there is almost no way that you will not end up being wealthy or at the very least comfortable. Simple.
Well, maybe not. Most of us fixate on the other side of the equation – making money. But the amount of money you are making doesn’t change the equation. In fact, in my experience, making more money only increases the spending. We buy more wants and go out for supper more often (which isn’t a healthy thing to do) and often spend even more money that we don’t have than someone making less money.
But if we can learn this one secret, especially if we are young, we will be rich by the time we are ready to retire, and then we can enjoy the fruits of our labors. I know, it is hard. None of us like the discipline that is required to get rich, so as a result, few of us ever achieve any kind of personal wealth. But we need to remember that it had nothing to do with luck or a lack of opportunity. For most of us, and I recognize that there are exceptions, we chose our path.
It is the message that the author of Proverbs wants to tell us. There is a way that is common among the wise (and the wealthy) and a way that is typical for the rest of us. The wise spend less than they make, and not just because the make a lot of money. The wise save for tomorrow, but the fools spend everything that comes their way.
The choice really is ours. Which do you want to be?
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 22
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