Passive Income

When I was in college, I simply had to have a new truck. It did not matter that I could not really afford it. It did not even matter that the $220 a month payment would be about 50% of my take home pay. Add in over-priced auto insurance, and I was a walking time bomb. It still amazes me to this day that the dealership would give me a loan at all, not to mention 100% financing to a 19-year old kid.

Last night I got to thinking about what that truck said about me as an individual. Sure, I could have bought some broken down beater that would get me to and from school just fine. My friends did not care what kind of vehicle I drove, so what was the motivation behind that purchase? I am not sure, but I felt really, really good behind the wheel of that truck. Looking back on it now, that truck wasn’t all that great. It wasn’t a particularly big truck. It did not even have large tires or custom rims. No. The more I think about it, the more I come to understand that was the selfish child in me screaming for attention.

When I look around society today, I see hundreds of adult children just like the old me. They can barely put food on the table, yet they drive, or even worse, lease a car that is entirely out of their income bracket. I am not saying that people should not have nice things, I am just saying that the things you choose to buy really speaks volumes as to what you truly value.

Where are you spending your money? What does that tell you about the things that you value most in life?

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If seems like every day, someone calls Dave Ramsey’s Show complaining about the amount of debt that they have. Usually, the first thing Dave asks is ‘how much do you owe on the car’? Nine times out of ten, the amount is absolutely ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, you need reliable transportation. You just don’t need to spend $475 a month for the privilege of doing so.

It is virtually impossible to get wealthy purchasing assets that go down in value. You would never buys stocks if you knew they were going to go down in value, would you? When you finance a new car this is exactly what you are doing. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to sell anything that you cannot realistically pay off in 18 months or less. Honestly, I just do not understand how anyone can justify spending $475 a month for a car when you can save for a few months and buy a decent used car in 6 to 10 months. My wife and I cannot afford to spend $475 a month on food, much less a car that is becoming less valuable every single day.

If you are in debt and cannot afford to pay your mortgage, sell the car. If you are late on paying your electric bills, sell the car. If you want the life you deserve, sell the car. Millions of American’s debt issues could be solved by following three simple words – SELL THE CAR!

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Some days I feel like our world is falling apart. The United States has accumulated almost $10 trillion in debt, our stock market is dropping like a brick, and my 401(k) has hit all-time lows. Many people may be wondering if there is any structure or logic to life. I believe there is, but my beliefs are based upon faith, not proof that I can provide to you – other than His Word.

Colossians 1: 15 – 17 documents the Preeminence of Christ.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

This passage has always fascinated me. Up until today, I always felt like all things were held together by having faith in Jesus. As it turns out, Paul knew the truth more literally than anyone could have imaged at that time.

It is my belief that God leaves signs for us to see, reminding us of his love. With all of the scientific advancements being discovered almost daily, some people may miss these signs and chose to believe in science. Today, I stumbled across yet another possible sign on snopes.Wikipedia defines Laminin as being vital to making sure overall body structures hold together. It’s structure appears as such:

The glue that holds the human body together has the shape of a cross. This simply reconfirms, in my opinion, the notion that the Bible is the Word of God. Paul was given the words to write so that one day our scientist would see it and be reminded that there is something bigger than science.

It gives us hope when our economy is falling deeper and deeper into a recession. It gives us hope when our children cannot even watch TV on Saturday afternoon due the violent and graphic nature of the commercials being aired. It gives us hope when there should be no hope.

There are two things in this world that I know to be facts!

1. There is a God!
2. I am not him!

Don’t give up hope! He has not given up on you!

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