Take it to the Bank

Budget Review

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Cordell Thomas

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Series Code: TITTB

Program Code: TITTB000041


00:01 On Take It To The Bank,
00:02 you will find ways to get out of dept.
00:09 Solve your credit card problems.
00:14 How to make and stick with a budget.
00:19 Simple ways to save.
00:24 Buying or selling a home,
00:27 and many more financial matters on Take It To The Bank.
00:30 Hi, my name is Cordell Thomas, and thank you for joining me
00:34 on this program called Take It to The Bank.
00:36 We are talking today about some important issues,
00:39 and the title to this program has to do with budgeting.
00:45 One of the major things
00:46 that many of us get caught up in
00:50 is some things that are really not biblical.
00:53 In 1 Timothy 6:6 it talks about
00:57 godliness with contentment is great gain.
01:02 But then I ask you the question,
01:04 how many of you
01:07 think more about money than you do about God?
01:09 How many of you think more about making wealth
01:13 than about-- thinking about what God wants
01:15 you to do?
01:16 How many of you are more caught up
01:20 in the next item that's out there to purchase
01:23 and are willing to do what ever it takes to buy it?
01:25 I remember, I was in a lecture with a young lady,
01:28 this were group of young people
01:31 that were between ages of 14 and 19 years of age
01:34 and they had all received a summer job.
01:38 And each one of them
01:39 were expect to make about $8 an hour.
01:41 Many of them didn't really know
01:43 how much money they expect to make that summer.
01:46 But there's this one bright young lady in the room.
01:48 And as we started talking and engaging with young people,
01:51 by the way, when we do these programs
01:54 we expect to show them things visual
01:57 for visual learners.
01:59 So we have a backdrop and a white screen
02:02 that they see a projected information.
02:04 And then of course, there are those auditory individuals
02:06 that learn by listening,
02:08 and we speak through some of the information
02:10 that we try to provide them with.
02:12 But one of the most essential parts to learning
02:14 has to do with engagement.
02:16 Now one of the things that I know that young people
02:19 and or any of the audience is learning
02:21 is their willingness
02:23 and ability to engage in the conversation.
02:26 Because, when we are talking about money
02:28 I like to throw little ideas,
02:30 little gems into the conversation
02:32 which they question, you know, "What is that?"
02:34 Well, the 20/10 rule has to do with
02:36 how much debt you should take on
02:37 on a monthly basis
02:39 and how much percentage of your annual income
02:41 you should put towards debt.
02:43 And when you have that context and explain it
02:46 in an active conservation what we find
02:49 is that kids, young people, adults
02:51 are better able to retain the knowledge, the information.
02:56 So as we were talking, the images behind us,
02:59 we talked about
03:00 the level of wealth in United States,
03:02 we talked about the issue of budget,
03:04 we talked about spending and consumerism,
03:06 we talked about 20/10. we talked the rule of 72.
03:10 And all of sudden this young girl said,
03:12 "But I got all of that."
03:14 Then I said, "What did you have?"
03:15 She says, "Well, I've already have a budget for this summer.
03:17 I know how much I'm going to make.
03:19 I know that I'll make about $1, 750 this summer
03:23 and I know exactly what I am gonna spend it on."
03:25 And I had her
03:27 step up and take off over a part of the presentation.
03:30 "So what do you expect to spend the money on?"
03:32 I asked, and she said
03:34 "I have it budgeted down to the dollar,
03:37 I'll be spending money on a tablet, on a smartphone,
03:40 I'll be spending it on this type of getaway,
03:42 I'll be doing this with the funds."
03:44 Then I asked a simple question, "So,
03:46 where is your emergency funding?"
03:49 And she didn't really have a clue.
03:51 I said "You have a budget for what you gonna spend
03:53 but you know where the money is coming from,
03:56 but what happens if you run into a problem?"
03:59 "Well what kind of problem could I
04:01 as a 17 years old run into?"
04:03 Well, there are many different issues to deal with,
04:05 you need
04:08 an account for this smartphone, do you not?
04:10 And there is a monthly fee for that smartphone,
04:14 isn't there?
04:15 And there is gonna be cost for the actual smartphone.
04:17 So there are not only the costs to purchase it
04:22 but there's also the cost to maintain it over the course
04:25 of the next two year contract.
04:27 So now you are making $1, 750 for the summer
04:31 and you don't realize there are residual costs,
04:33 monthly costs to maintain
04:36 that smartphone.
04:38 And then you are talking about your tablet,
04:40 and then we are talking about driving or going somewhere,
04:44 and we are talking about of variety of thing in summer.
04:46 And I can tell you that the $1750 that you've allocated
04:52 to buy these items, which is a great thing,
04:55 you have actually budgeted for what you be going to get.
04:59 But how many of us
05:03 actually think through the actual costs of items?
05:09 So look at a budget this year
05:12 as we are going to talk through this specific element.
05:16 And let's think about how we can better utilize
05:20 this contentment and forget about or put aside
05:25 this being caught up in being a consumer,
05:28 being someone that likes to buy things,
05:30 being someone that likes to go out
05:32 and listen to what the media is telling you
05:34 about the buying things.
05:35 Because, did you know,
05:37 they want you to go into the stores
05:41 at the times that they want you to go into the sores,
05:46 and they want you to buy things
05:50 in the stores that they want you to buy.
05:52 They are very intriguing about how they proceed.
05:56 They put teasers in there, they put lead deals in there,
05:58 they put something in there
06:00 that's not likely to be available when you get there.
06:04 You see that happened all during the winter season,
06:08 specifically up to the holidays.
06:09 And we know about like, Friday deals,
06:11 you know about Christmas deals,
06:13 you know about all these holiday deals,
06:14 but did you know
06:16 that there are better times to buy many of these products?
06:19 Did you know that if we haven't spend.--
06:22 a plan for our expenditures
06:24 we are very likely to overspend during that time of year.
06:29 Because, realistically, when you go to a great deal
06:33 and many people wait outside for hours,
06:36 camp out in front of these retail stores
06:39 to get the best deals,
06:40 and you hear about people being trampled,
06:42 these are not content people,
06:43 they are really anxious about getting these product
06:47 that are available at specific prices.
06:51 But when you look at the products
06:53 they've actually mark the products up
06:56 and cut the prices
06:57 because there are better times of year
07:00 to buy some of these products.
07:01 Let's talk about some of them.
07:02 We have laptops,
07:04 a new laptop and a computer
07:07 is better buying during the summer,
07:10 summer-fall season.
07:12 Why is that?
07:14 Because the new models
07:16 for laptops are typically coming out
07:19 towards the end of the year,
07:21 and they're already trying to get rid of
07:23 some of the older models.
07:25 The best time of year
07:26 to probably buy some of these laptops
07:28 would be waiting until the January/February timeframe
07:31 early on in the year
07:33 for the purchase of these type of products.
07:36 When they emphasize buying vehicles
07:38 around Christmas, not Christmas but around
07:41 thanks giving time
07:43 it's also another thing
07:44 in reference to vehicle purchase.
07:45 The best time to buy a new vehicle
07:49 is towards the end of the year,
07:50 seven days to two weeks prior to the New Year.
07:54 That's when you're probably apt to get the best deal.
07:58 But in many difference scenarios
08:00 do you know that wealthy individuals
08:02 think differently about
08:03 a car purchases in most instances?
08:06 You hear about the younger
08:08 and wealthy type of individual
08:10 but the true thought process of a wealthy person
08:13 has to do with,
08:14 'Hey, did you know
08:16 that if I buy a car above this type of price
08:18 there is luxury tax, a new car,
08:21 there is a luxury tax I have to pay?
08:23 But if I wait and buy that same car
08:26 as a two year new car
08:27 I can avoid luxury taxes
08:29 and I still get benefits of driving that type of car.'
08:32 Thinking about things from that prospect is can change
08:36 your overall outlook of
08:39 how we make decisions on a purchase habits,
08:42 but it comes actually down to this thing called budgeting.
08:46 This thing called budgeting
08:48 is one of the most important elements of your life
08:50 and it can change the direction and the contentment
08:54 that you can have along with your Godliness.
08:58 Follow what God wants you to do is one of the essential parts,
09:01 and one of the essential parts
09:02 of doing what He wants you to do
09:03 has to do with setting up a budget.
09:05 I believe that,
09:07 because you can only plan if you have that budget.
09:12 You can only begin the process of making long-term
09:16 and mid-term plans
09:18 if you have something established
09:20 that can tell you where your money is going,
09:22 how much money you have in savings,
09:24 and how much money you can allocate
09:25 towards specific projects,
09:27 and giving to other type of organizations.
09:31 And that's the essential part
09:32 that I'd like to communicate here today.
09:34 So a budget review,
09:36 why is it so important?
09:38 Because,
09:39 where the budget review comes the analysis of
09:41 where we make our purchases,
09:45 puts together in an analysis of where we can make savings,
09:48 where we can cut back, what we can do
09:50 to make other funds available
09:54 so we can give away.
09:55 In 1 Timothy 6,
09:57 and if look at verse 17 and through 18
10:02 it says "Command them to do good."
10:06 And he's talking about commanding the rich.
10:08 So he says "Command those who are rich
10:09 in this present world not to be arrogant,
10:11 nor to put their hope in wealth,
10:13 which is so uncertain, but put their hope in God."
10:15 So having the faith in God is essential,
10:18 who richly provides to us.
10:19 But then 18 it says, "Teach them to do good,
10:22 to be rich in good deeds,
10:25 and to be generous
10:27 and willing to share."
10:29 We did a study or we analyze this study
10:34 that they did on happiness.
10:36 There is a movie, you can go online
10:38 and look at it's called Happy Movie.
10:40 And I would take you to look at it
10:42 because it talks about what makes people happy.
10:44 Who are the most happy people in the world?
10:46 Who are most,
10:48 what's the most happy county in the world
10:50 and why are they happy?
10:51 Happiness and a sense of peace comes from
10:54 looking at something bigger than yourself.
10:57 Wealth is not happiness.
11:00 Showing that you're wealthy is not happiness.
11:02 When I was asked, you know, "How much do you worth?
11:04 What is it about you
11:06 and why is it that this thing is so important?"
11:09 Well, wealthy people are not gonna share
11:12 how wealthy they are.
11:14 That's just they are.
11:15 You don't share that type of information
11:16 because you become a magnet.
11:18 I remember, in college there was a person that went,
11:22 attainted the same school
11:23 and he got a basketball contract.
11:27 And I remember, he came back to same town
11:29 with his new expensive vehicle and he dove it
11:32 into the car dealership to get it serviced.
11:34 But what was interesting about this whole experience
11:37 is when he was in school and just a student,
11:40 he didn't have his great entourage following him,
11:43 what he had was he was just
11:45 an individual going to school
11:46 and happen to have a talent for this specific sport.
11:49 But when he came back after getting that contract
11:53 he had an entourage that followed him.
11:55 And if you go and study this whole industry of sports
11:58 you find that individuals who are coming out of poverty
12:03 or coming out of underserved communities
12:07 and they get this big contracts they become targets.
12:10 Did you know there have been websites
12:12 that are set up to target these individuals?
12:17 People who are interested in these sports individuals
12:22 are willing to setup websites
12:26 that target these individuals.
12:30 And some of these websites are just for women
12:34 and other individuals who are interested
12:36 in associating with these individuals.
12:39 And you began to see stories out there
12:41 of professional athletics that are getting caught-up
12:45 paying $5,000 every evening or on weekly basis
12:51 for an entourage
12:52 that follows him around to different restaurants,
12:55 flying them wherever he goes
12:56 because they have that expectation
12:58 that 'He will just help out.
12:59 Now, he's come from where we've been
13:01 and he is just gonna help us out.'
13:02 There ones that will tell you that
13:04 'I come out of my professional game
13:06 and I go back to my car and go home
13:08 and their people leaning up against my car
13:10 and saying, "Hey, you know what,
13:11 I'm short on funds this month
13:13 can you help me out with my rent?"
13:14 " They are targets.
13:15 Did you know that they have websites setup
13:17 that you can find out the exact income
13:20 for each one of these individuals?
13:23 And then you began to understand
13:24 why they are so stressed, why they are pressed,
13:26 and why many of them end up broke,
13:29 because they have no idea
13:32 that they need to be taking those funds,
13:35 planning for how they utilize it.
13:36 Here's one example,
13:38 think one of these individuals had a major contract
13:41 and he got a lot of money.
13:43 His initial check was sent to him,
13:45 he didn't even know,
13:47 he'd never open a bank account,
13:48 he never done anything with banking.
13:51 And so that check,
13:53 initial check was taken and framed.
13:55 He put it on the wall.
13:57 He didn't realize that
13:58 actual physical piece of paper had monetary value.
14:02 And then the
14:05 accounting department gave him a call
14:06 from the origination say "Hey, you know what,
14:09 we sent you a form of a check,
14:11 a payment for your initial, for your contract
14:13 and we haven't seen it clearing your account as yet.
14:16 We're wondering have you cashed it yet?" "Cashed it?"
14:20 Questions come up about cashing and bank.
14:24 "You must mean that piece of paper
14:25 you sent me that I have framed on the wall?"
14:28 A piece of paper that has monitory value,
14:30 this individual had no clue
14:32 and no financial literacy training to understand
14:35 that that have monitory value.
14:36 And then you get into the fact
14:38 that over the course of their lifetime
14:40 they are planning to make about
14:41 you know, 50, 60 million dollars
14:44 so they start spending
14:46 like they are going to make 60 million dollars,
14:49 and they forget that they have to account for taxes.
14:51 So that 60 million is actually 30 million
14:53 and then you have a problem.
14:56 Because, now I am living that 60 million dollar lifestyle
14:59 and making only 30 million,
15:01 therefore, endorsements and other type of
15:04 revenue based or income based activates have to take place
15:07 where they write books and do other things.
15:09 Now you began to understand the stress that happens
15:11 when you're given a certain sense of responsibility.
15:14 God is telling you not be arrogant,
15:17 don't tell everybody what you have,
15:19 but share, give, do.
15:24 And it's in that giving
15:25 that you begin to see the blessings.
15:28 You don't have to be arrogant, nobody needs to know.
15:30 In fact, they say that the wealthy
15:33 don't actually, now, many of the wealthy
15:35 that are Gen-x and millennials
15:37 don't actually dress like they are wealthy.
15:39 You can be beside a wealthy individual
15:42 and never know it because they dress down,
15:44 they are in jeans, they are in t-shirts,
15:46 they work their life style,
15:48 they do it what they need to do,
15:49 they utilize the business practices
15:51 but they come out and be a part of.
15:53 They don't show their wealth in what they drive,
15:56 they don't show their wealth in how they dress,
15:58 and they may what they may take
16:00 really well-planned and exotic vacations.
16:02 That's how they spend their money
16:04 as oppose to spending their money on things.
16:08 And you begin to see that these--
16:10 this generation which is being studied,
16:12 the data that's coming in about the data,
16:15 and the data is very important
16:18 because it gives a context to how they behave.
16:21 They are more likely now to participate
16:24 in philanthropic type of things,
16:26 trying to make the world a better place.
16:28 They begin to feel better about themselves
16:31 when they give, which is what the study says.
16:34 I'm a happier person
16:35 if I spend money on somebody else
16:38 and not on myself.
16:40 And so as we begin to dialogue
16:43 about this thing called a budget,
16:45 and what's about a budget,
16:47 and getting to a better budget.
16:49 I want to give you six--
16:52 five or six steps to getting to a better budget,
16:55 and understanding that
16:56 you don't need to caught up in being a consumer
17:00 but you can become more so an individual
17:02 that manage their funds
17:04 and becomes happier in the wealth that they have
17:07 because you're giving it away.
17:08 That you're giving and making it better for somebody else.
17:14 So lets take a moment.
17:17 And think about a couple of things.
17:23 One of the things that are essential
17:26 to understand a budget is this:
17:32 there isn't
17:34 anything out there that you have to have.
17:36 There is a lot of technology, there are a lot of things,
17:38 and they're going to make changes.
17:40 So I have a specific smartphone
17:43 that's I have for two years,
17:45 I don't need to get new one.
17:46 It does the same things that other smartphones do.
17:49 Why do I need to get a new one every year?
17:51 Did you know that
17:53 if the technology is already there
17:55 that they can put into all of these smartphones
17:57 to give you everything now but they don't do it now.
18:00 Why?
18:01 Because they want to develop their market place
18:03 and the study that they have done
18:05 upon the consumes of this products
18:07 says that they like new things, new gadgets,
18:09 new things that they can accomplish with these gadgets
18:14 they have in their hand.
18:15 So you get location devices,
18:17 you can get pictures taken, video taken,
18:20 you can do so many different things,
18:22 you can now organize your own wallet
18:24 on one of these smartphones.
18:27 Some of the essential issues that we should talk about
18:29 from the stand point of a budget reviews
18:31 is to take a look at
18:34 getting to a better budget
18:35 and understanding how we can accomplish those goals.
18:38 So number one,
18:40 is emergency funding.
18:44 What is emergency fund?
18:49 How many months worth of funds should you have to cover
18:54 any type of emergency,
18:56 and what do you conceder
18:57 something that can be very disconcerting in your life?
19:00 One of the big things is loosing your job
19:03 or a medical expense that you aren't expecting,
19:06 or a breakdown of your vehicle at wrong time.
19:11 Do you have the funds necessary
19:13 to tap in to get your vehicle repaired?
19:15 Do you have the taps--
19:16 the funds to tap into
19:19 if you happen to lose your job?
19:21 How long
19:23 does it necessary take to find a new job?
19:28 You can talk to many different individuals,
19:30 but what I've heard
19:31 is it can take well over six to eighteen months.
19:35 And I have heard of some 24 months
19:37 that haven't been able to find a positions yet.
19:40 So what is a correct number?
19:42 I can't tell you a correct number
19:43 but I can tell you this is that if you have a budget
19:46 and you're putting money away
19:47 it becomes an easier process in crisis.
19:49 When you look at your budget you know what things,
19:51 what line items you can cut out
19:54 in a tense situations,
19:55 such as do you really need the cable?
19:57 I can look at that line item
19:59 and I can tell how much money I spent
20:01 for this specific type of services on monthly biases.
20:04 Do I really need all of these aspects to the smartphone?
20:09 Can I cut my usage of it from 1,400 minutes a month
20:12 to 600-700 minutes a month?
20:15 What is it that constitutes an emergency?
20:18 And we all know what that can be.
20:21 But what I ask people to do is to build your emergency fund
20:25 and build it as quickly as possible.
20:27 Begin the process of paying down debt
20:30 because you know, when you lose the job
20:33 and you don't have the funds to pay back
20:35 some of the debtors that you have,
20:37 that becomes a critical situation
20:39 and can become a crisis.
20:42 And its difficult to try to handle that,
20:46 handle the job search,
20:47 handle all of the other aspects of your life
20:50 when you still have all of these debts coming in.
20:52 And if you don't have the budget,
20:53 you don't know where to go to,
20:55 to look at to figure out what you need--
20:57 maybe I can get rid of the newspaper,
20:59 maybe I can get rid of the dog walker,
21:00 maybe I can get rid of a verity of things in my life.
21:02 Maybe I can get rid of a couple of things
21:05 that I never knew I was doing
21:09 when I develop that budget.
21:12 One of the things is when you get a budget in place
21:17 and you have an emergency funds set up
21:20 and you know where things are at,
21:22 I would suggest that you begin to downsize and substitute.
21:28 There are a lot of substitutes that are out there
21:31 that we can share with you.
21:33 I just came across a unique site--
21:38 and I can give that to you on our website.
21:40 But you can actually, if it's your
21:42 first pair of glasses that you want to buy,
21:44 you can get them for free, just pay shipping and handling
21:46 if you need that new set of glasses.
21:47 In an emergency type of setting,
21:50 those kind of things help out a lot more
21:53 if you break a glasses and you don't have--
21:57 and you don't have the funds necessary
21:59 to go and buy a new set of glasses.
22:01 Substitute certain things for other things.
22:04 Do you need the big brand item
22:07 or can something else provide a better service?
22:10 I can see some retailers
22:12 that are offering some smartphone services
22:16 at a discounted rate or for even half the price
22:19 of what major brands of smartphones
22:22 are charging consumers.
22:24 So you start going through your budget and seeing,
22:26 do I really need all this?
22:28 Can I downsize? Can I substitute?
22:30 And you know, when you get into that type of behavior pattern
22:33 you began to get a little more comfortable
22:36 about how you deal with buying new
22:42 or taking on new debt, new type of expenses.
22:46 And what I found is that when you cut out something
22:49 you find that you never really needed it.
22:51 I, you know, having two kids and not having
22:54 any really cable or satellite type of television service,
22:58 hasn't really bothered them or me that much.
23:01 And we find different ways to fill our time.
23:07 And now I'm finding a lot more
23:09 special time with the young people
23:10 as we take then to the park, we ran around with him,
23:12 we go out and engage in different things.
23:14 Take my daughter out to--
23:16 to ice cream, we have special dates,
23:18 special times we do things.
23:20 We read more, we do more,
23:22 we expect more of our time.
23:24 And that's what trying to teach
23:27 my son from that stand of point
23:28 about the aspect of professionalism
23:31 that he should have as well as a business mindset,
23:34 'what can he do to generate revenue?
23:37 And you know, what's exciting this past year is
23:39 that little man of mine wanted to go
23:43 with his cousins to Europe.
23:47 It is very intimating to me, should I,
23:50 can I send that little boy over with people that we trust,
23:54 we do trust them inherently.
23:55 But send him to a far country for him to experience it?
23:58 Well, he's been studying about Europe,
24:00 specifically Spain and France in his studies in history
24:03 and he decided, I really want to go.
24:05 After we've talked through we said, "Okay,
24:07 if you want to go we would like you to save the money
24:11 that you can make to go on that trip."
24:14 Did you know what came out that?
24:16 He developed this creative concept
24:20 of a unique holder, a bottle holder.
24:25 And he use the concept
24:27 and began manufacturing at it
24:30 and selling it to his friends and family and counterparts,
24:33 people at church, and at the bank
24:35 when he opened up his bank account.
24:37 Yes, he started putting money aside for this trips so much so
24:41 that he was able to pay himself a trip,
24:44 pay for himself for trip over Europe
24:46 and experienced Italy and France on a unique basis
24:52 and see some of the things
24:53 that he'd been studying in his history class.
24:57 So a lot of things can come out of downsizing, substituting,
25:02 thinking through things in different ways,
25:03 strategizing, and just doing and accomplishing
25:08 those types of things.
25:10 Number three is something that's essential,
25:14 I call it focusing on the reward aspect of things.
25:16 And I can probably shift the statement by saying,
25:21 focus on you goals.
25:23 When you get through a goal, reward yourself.
25:27 I was asked at the turn of every year,
25:29 you set up certain resolutions and you set up certain things
25:32 you're going to change in your life.
25:34 I say, you know what,
25:36 don't worry about the resolutions,
25:38 set up tangible goals that you like to get to
25:40 and set up the different levels
25:42 you're going to utilize to get there.
25:44 And you'll find that there are a lot of resources available
25:48 in getting to those goals.
25:51 The goal that some have set up is paying off their debt.
25:55 Did you know there is an app too?
25:58 You can put in all of your debts
26:01 and the app will assess how much time it will take
26:04 to pay it off.
26:05 And there you go,
26:06 it will take you two years to pay off this debt
26:09 and there is the goal you set for yourself
26:11 to get debt free.
26:13 So using technology,
26:15 using substituting and downsizing
26:19 can provide the opportunities to think in a different way,
26:24 to think in a way that God would have you to think.
26:28 And then, once you have focused on the rewards
26:32 and gotten to those objectives--
26:38 I ask you to assess where you are at,
26:43 take a look at what you want to accomplish
26:45 and then find new resources, new areas
26:50 that you can provide of income, find a second position.
26:53 You know music, teach somebody music.
26:56 Find some other resources of income
26:58 because that's what you can take
27:01 to help pay off that debt quicker.
27:03 So once you found an emergency fund things--
27:06 the necessary worry of things go away,
27:09 you can have a better chance
27:12 of getting a real world connection
27:17 with your financers, with your family,
27:20 and you can better adopt to the difference stresses
27:22 that can come into your life.
27:24 And then, once you able to have your budget
27:27 that you're spending less then you make
27:30 and that you've downsize and that you're now encouraged
27:33 by reaching some of those goals that you set for yourself,
27:37 take a step back and see what other venues of income
27:42 you can develop for yourself.
27:45 Godliness with contentment is great gain.
27:51 What God wants you to do is to spend less than you make,
27:55 that's wealth.
27:57 So take that to the bank and save.
28:00 God bless.


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Revised 2016-06-02