Occasionally, some well-intentioned soul makes the argument that having an emergency fund or planning for retirement means that you’re “a pessimist” or that you “don’t have enough faith,” and you “just need to trust God more.” Now I can appreciate people’s varying points of view. But there are times that I just want to say “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” Of course I don’t actually yell at them…that would be rude…but I do think it.
With all my heart, I want you to be debt free and prepared for the future, which includes a 3-6 month emergency fund and a solid retirement plan. Would that mean you don’t have enough faith or that you’re a worry-wart? I don’t think so!
Consider this famous story from Aesop’s Fables, circa 600 B.C. You may have read it before, but its’ wisdom is worth revisiting. You may remember that Aesop also gave us the morals of such stories as The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Tortoise and the Hare. I think he was on to something!
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew...
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
Of course, this concept of preparing for the future goes back even farther. Consider the words of the wise King Solomon, circa 1,000 B.C.:
Go watch the ants, you lazy person.
Watch what they do and be wise.
Ants have no commander,
no leader or ruler,
but they store up food in the summer
and gather their supplies at harvest.
-Proverbs 6:6-8
The moral of the story:
Become debt free, stay debt free, save up a 3-6 month emergency fund and plan for future expenses and your retirement. That’s just good ol’ common sense!
Yours In Freedom,
Clint
The original post can be found here: Debt Free
August 25th, 2011 at 09:27 pm 1314307674
August 25th, 2011 at 09:29 pm 1314307765
Ironically, it was only in the last few months or so (I am 35) that someone said to me directly - "You live in fear." HA!! It just never occured to me in the least that I put out that perception. Anyway, I can't help but see the irony that the reality is very opposite. We've faced many general financial hardships that everyone else does, but it always seems to impact us far less, with our tendency to forward think and plan. It seems to me that to live beyond your means, to have no savings, to have no retirement plan, and to have no ambition, has a lot more to do with living in fear. Even if you can get by blissfully unaware, it will catch up to you at some point...
Great post, as always!
August 25th, 2011 at 09:31 pm 1314307891
August 25th, 2011 at 09:51 pm 1314309093
A city was flooding and a man went to the top of a hill. The flood waters were about four feet deep and another man in a row boat came by and said, "Get in, I'll take you to safety."
The man turned his head to the heavens and said firmly, "No thank you, God will save me."
The flood waters continued to rise, leaving the man about five feet between himself and danger. A coast guard motorboat came along and said, "Get in, I will save you."
The man said, "No, thank you, God will save me," and stubbornly remained on his hill.
As the waters rose higher, the man found himself waist deep in water. A helicopter came by with a chain link ladder and the rescuers tried to get him to climb on, but he refused saying yet again that God would save him.
The man drowned and when he got to the pearly gates and finally met God he said, "I waited for you to save me, God. Why didn't you save me?"
God looked at him and said, "I sent you a row boat, a motor boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?"
Moral of the story? God believes in common sense.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:07 pm 1314310068
Thanks for the reply. I couldn't agree more. Planning ahead and being prepared don't have anything to do with fear. It's just a reality of the world we live in that things don't always go the way we'd like them to. You have to be prepared! That's why debt is so dangerous...it presumes that everything will go according to plan. But we all know that's rarely the case. And going on in blissful ignorance is a sure-fire way to end up bankrupt or living in your kids' basement!
Thanks again!
August 25th, 2011 at 10:09 pm 1314310143
That's AWESOME! I'm proud that you are taking the first steps to build up an emergency fund! Keep it up..even if it's slow. Think about another one of Aesop's fables...The Tortoise and the Hare. "Slow and steady wins the race." Very proud of you...keep at it! Thanks for sharing with us!
August 25th, 2011 at 10:10 pm 1314310257
August 25th, 2011 at 10:48 pm 1314312488
August 26th, 2011 at 02:53 am 1314327185
September 2nd, 2011 at 09:00 pm 1314997256
Jerry