A Personal Finance Guide

Money Myths to Know For 2010

Arguments over money are the number one reason for divorce in the United States. I want to share three money myths that are crucial to having financial peace. Coming to honest terms about your beliefs about money will be one of the healthiest things you can do for your relationships and your life.

The Apostle Paul stated, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11, emphasis added). Spiritually, wealth is found in giving to others, not just materially but emotionally of ourselves. This is hard to do when we are drowning in debt.

Gene Appel once shared a lecture about some common beliefs people have about money, beliefs that are false though widely held. Let me briefly share three of them.

1) All I need is just a little bit more.

Different studies suggest a scale of debt that people carry on their credit cards, but most estimate the average to be around $9000. If a person or a couple paid only the minimum payment on their card, it would take thirty years and end up costing $29,000 to pay it off! Many people use their cards to purchase the next big thing, believing that having the newest gadget will give them happiness. When their purchase fails to bring fulfillment, many simply go shopping again to try something else. This crippling belief is the cause of tremendous debt in our culture, both financially and spiritually.

Imagine, in 2007 there were more bankruptcies than college graduates! This year is shaping up to be even worse. We need to realize a little bit less, not more is what we really need. Indeed, as George S. Clason shared in The Richest Man in Babylon, when we learn to let go of the need for more money and instead learn to give more to those in need, we are teaching our brain that there is enough. So let us be wise with what we have, not with what we don’t have.

2) It will all work out somehow.

Incredibly 80% of Americans reach the age of retirement with less than $250.00 in savings! One fourth of us believe that the lottery is the best chance for retirement. Others simply try the next get rich scheme. Ruth Carter was one person who made money selling products to friends and friends of friends. In her book Smoke and Mirrors she shares that in 40 years of these gimmicks only 1% of the people made a profit, and about 1/10 of a percent made large profits.

A much wiser way to look at money is to realize that over time small things make a big difference. Millions of people have found that their lives were changed when they began to give away 10% of their income, save 10%, and learn to live well below the remaining 80%. Following a common sense plan like this one is far wiser than simply leaving things to chance.

3) I have plenty of time.

As has been often shared, time is the most precious commodity we have, and none of us knows what tomorrow holds. In the New Testament one man makes grand and selfish plans, only to be told by God, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (Luke 12:20).

Putting off until another time decisions that need to be made today will benefit no one. Rather than waiting until it is too late, or until we are forced to change due to some emergency, may we instead begin today making better decisions with how we use money, pay off debt and perhaps most importantly, believe about finances.

A former pastor, Tobin holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in theology. Having traveled widely in the Marine Corps and as a graduate student, Tobin has spent the past 15 years gathering some of the world’s most powerful life-changing truths. He’s the author of The Life That Is Really Life: How Biblical Truth Can Transform Your Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Relational Health.