The Man With Two First Names

I’m terrible with names.  Heck, I’m terrible with anything requiring memory these days, but I’m especially bad with names.  Having said that, I’ll likely remember the name, Oliver Chester, for a long time to come.

Frankly, I never should have met the man.  I owe the introductions to my beloved bride who has a soft heart and the ‘gift of hospitality’.

Last evening, after a particularly stressful day at work, I arrived home and we sat down to a quick dinner before B would have to rush out to a neighborhood Bible Study she attends on Tuesday nights.  We had just finished the blessing, when the doorbell rang.  I sighed and made a face.  I was quite prepared to ignore the intrusion and do what I do best, eat.

Brittan, normally the shy one, said, “I’ll get it,” and disappeared.  

For the next ten minutes or so, I grumbled into my plate while muffled voices wafted my direction from our front porch.  The door was open and I could tell the visitor was male.  The tone and cadence suggested the conversation was pleasant and non threatening.  So I remained in my chair and pouted.

Hunger finally overcame my patience and I was just about to get up and dispel the interloper when I heard, “Sam, we have a guest for dinner.  We need to set another place.”  You cannot begin to guess my innermost reaction.  At least I hope you can’t.

Enter Oliver Chester; single father, door to door salesman, dinner guest.

Oliver is unremarkable in appearance.  He is average height and marginally above average in weight.  He is soft spoken, enjoys laughing and wears his after shave a little too heavy.  I noticed that his finger nails could use a trim and that he loves his daughter very much.  He demonstrated a gentle spirit and was somewhat apprehensive about sharing our table.  He is a fairly new Believer in Christ and in case it needs to me mentioned, he is African American.

As his story unfolded, I was smitten afresh with the magnitude of the Grace of God.  God’s grace in Oliver’s life, and in mine.

Oliver was taught to cook, cut and sell drugs when he was seven years old.  His teacher was his own father who also advised him that school was a waste of time and that he needed to make money.

Needless to say, his slope was slippery and facing decidedly downhill.  His slide ended him in jail.  It was there that grace worked its strange magic. 

As a reward for his good behavior, our penal system allowed Oliver conjugal visits from his drug addicted girl friend.  Those visits rewarded him with a daughter, whose name I believe is, Olivia.  The drugs took the life of the girl’s mother and Oliver became a single dad.  A single dad behind bars.

Fatherhood, despite his incarceration, was Oliver’s wake up call.  There, in the bowels of the gray bar hotel,  he became a man.  And along the journey to manhood, he met Jesus.  Between the brown eyes of his baby girl and the nail scars of his Savior, Oliver’s fate was sealed.  He is a man redeemed.  He is not in search of redemption, he has arrived.

We listened has he described his sales job, which he is using to get on his feet.  His dream is to open a BBQ restaurant, “OC’s”  where he will cook up ribs slathered with his own signature sauce.  I have a sneaking suspicion his dream just might come true.  And I hope one day to have a dollop of OC bbq sauce stuck to my own chin.

After supper, my soft hearted wife looked at me doe eyed and convinced me to grossly overpay for subscriptions to two magazines we will never read so that the Chesters can chase their dreams.  Then she loaded our guest down with doggie bags of stew, rolls and diet Doctor Pepper (with cherry). I signed a copy of "IOU NO MORE" and stuck it in his hand as well.  I have no idea why, it just seemed right.

As he left, Oliver said, “It’s going to take me all evening to wipe this smile off my face.  Please remember OC and pray for the Chesters.”  I will not quickly forget.

The book of Hebrews says, “Remember to welcome strangers.  By doing so, some have entertained strangers, unawares.”  I don’t know whether or not Oliver Chester is an angel, but I’m pretty sure he has one on his shoulder.  And I’m darned certain I am married to one.

Amazing Grace.  How sweet the sound.

Sustainable, Self Sufficiency - The Third Phase of the Revolution, Part 2

During our last chat, more of a monologue, really, I described some of the thought processes that have been driving some of my decision making during the two years since the release of IOU NO MORE.  The fact is, I have changed a great deal since then.  The principles and outline for becoming debt free have not changed, my thoughts on "Life After Debt", have changed dramatically.  I will probably elaborate on that a little in my upcoming e-book, "Debt Beat Dads".  But I'll introduce the subject here, in hopes of stimulating some thought.  BTW, we always love it when you share your thoughts.

I finished the last entry, with the fact that it was my Bible reading that has changed my views of wealth building and preparing for the future.  Specifically, my new thinking comes from the first 5 books of the Old Testament.  Even more specifically, from the latter chapters of Genesis and from the book of Leviticus.

Before I go into any detail, I might as well address all my Christian friends who will say, "We're not under the Old Testament Law, anymore.  We're under Grace."  You are exactly right.  If you will stay with me long enough, you'll see that I'm not advocating a return to Mt. Sinai, but rather I'm adapting some PRINCIPLES gleaned from Joseph and Moses, that I believe give us insight into the heart of God and provide some COMMON SENSE approaches to our own times and finances.

Phase two of the Revolution most profoundly impacts the categories of 'Giving' and 'Saving'.  Ok, I'll backtrack.  In IOU NO MORE, I conclude that money is really only good for three things; Giving, Saving and Spending.  That's it.  That's the list.  You could maybe add, burning, but the coins don't do that well.  The 'Cruise Control' spending plan is divided into those three categories.  You can see the plan in the Appendix of the book and it's available as a part of our 'Complete Forms Library' in the store.

In 2007, when I released IOU NO MORE, I promoted the traditional concept of giving 10% (tithe) and saving 10% (to 15%) of income.  I still believe that's a great place to start. My Bible reading, however, has caused me to raise the bar. Note: If you are trying to get out of debt, I still recommend saving up a $1,000 emergency fund and putting all other saving on hold until after you're debt free.

As I was reading through the Old Testament last summer, as part of my daily devotional time, I was struck by the fact that the Israeli's gave much more than a 10th of all they had.  While it's true that the tithe was the starting point, by the time you add up all the various offerings and sacrifices, the Israeli people were giving a minimum of 20% of their resources to God.  How interesting.  Most of us are not aware of that, because we rarely read the book of Leviticus.  I freely admit, it's not a page turner, but it sure was an eye opener this time through.

Similarly, the same book, affected my views on savings.  In several places, Moses describes the "interest rate" for buying back property, etc. as being 20%.  That made me go, 'hmmmm....'  The real kicker, though, for upgrading my views on savings came from the story of Joseph.  In Genesis 41(first book of the Bible), Joseph, of 'Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat' fame, after a series of dramatic events, becomes a prominent leader in Egypt.  He advises Pharoah to 'tax' the people 20% of their harvest for 7 years to prepare for disaster.  When the disaster (famine) came, Egypt had enough for her people and surplus to sell to neighboring nations. 

The implications of all those Bible passages was not lost on me.  Common sense, a rare commodity in the 21st century, said that 20% saving and giving was not in the Bible by accident.  God doesn't work that way.  To me, they have come to symbolize wisdom and generosity.  Wisdom, by saving 20% in order to be prepared for whatever comes our way, and to build wealth.  Generosity, by giving 20% to relieve the suffering of others and to advance the Kingdom of God.  I got very excited about it.

Here's how Brittan and I are working out phase 2 in our lives:  We began by increasing our giving.  We raised our weekly contributions to our local Church and we are giving to other causes, as well, mostly Christian Mission organizations.  Our goal is to raise our giving to 20% of our income.  We are at approx 15% now.

As for saving, we're doing that two ways.  1.  We are saving from our income via 401k and a money market account.  Our goal is to have at least 6 months living expenses in a money market account with easy access.  This is not an investment, it's insurance.  We're not trying to get rich off of the emergency fund, we're trying to make sure we have some security in time of crisis.

Additionally, we are storing up a minimum of 6 months (eventually, 1 year worth) of basic household supplies, like dried beans, rice, soap, toilet paper, etc.  We don't make a big deal about it.  We're not 'survivalists' or doomsayers.  We're trying to be wise.  We are not doing it all at once.  We buy a few items each time we go to the store.  We only buy things that have a long shelf life, and we buy basic or generic brands for our 'emergency store house'.  We also have a 'rotation' plan that uses up things that are getting close to shelf life and replacing them with fresh.  Again, our goal, through various methods of saving money and storing goods is to save 20% of our income.

I know it sounds crazy; give 20%, save 20% and live on 60%.  But you'd be surprised what you can do when you are DEBT FREE.  Can you imagine how the world would change if the debt free revolution really catches fire.  Just think about how much cash would flood the economy, how much money would be out there for charitable causes and how much less stress would be felt by the average family.  The pressure taken off of Government agencies would be enormous. I believe.  Oh, yes, I believe.  And I'm doing my best to live out my convictions. 

Coming up:  Phase 3, "The Road to Self Sufficiency".  Stay tuned.

Coping With Rising Unemployment

Unemployment is set to hit 9.7% nationally.  Many places are already in double digits.  There are no signs of imminent turnaround in those numbers which means stress levels on millions of American families is going to remain at code red levels for a while.  I know how it feels.  I have experienced two long stretches of unemployment in my life.  I remember the frustration, the hopelessness, the helplessness and the bewilderment.  It's difficult to describe the attack on one's self esteem. 

Here are some coping tips for those facing or experiencing unemployment:

• Trust.  First, trust in God.  He has you in the palm of His hand, even when it feels like you're free falling.  Secondly, trust in yourself.  You have skills.  You matter. You have strengths.  You offer value.  Far from worthless, you are a priceless treasure, created in the image of almighty God.  But you may have to remind yourself of that from time to time. 
• Abandon Credit Cards.  Statistically, many people use credit cards in times of unemployment for many basics like groceries and utilities.  In the end, it makes the financial hole bigger.  Credit Cards are not for emergencies.  They create them.
• Get on a written budget.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Now more than ever, you need to make every dime count.  For budget help www.iounomore.com.
• Create a routine.  The despair from unemployment can easily turn even the most stout hearted individual into a couch potato.  Face each day with a plan.  Write it down just like you would if you were creating your task list at work.  Formalize your schedule with set times for job hunting, resume work, exercise (I treated exercise like a part time job and got very fit. My only regret was not keeping that up after I found employment), yard work, house work, prayer time.  Don't let life happen to you.  Make life happen FOR you.
• Get creative.  Look at your skills and talents rather than just your resume as you seek the next phase in your career path.  There are multiple options for you to pursue outside of 'what you've always done'.  You can find some great tips, tools and resources at www.48days.com.
• Make a game out of bargain hunting and finding ways to cut costs.  Even after all this time, I still get a thrill out of finding a way to save a buck on anything, especially things like utility bills.
• Stay focused.  You will have times of great hope and times of deep hopelessness. Make sure you work your plan rather than allow yourself to be carried along by your emotions.  
• Help others.  Nothing will help you take your mind off your own problems better than assisting another person with his/hers.  Volunteer at a nursing home.  Help out at Habitat for Humanity.  Help out at your Church office.  The opportunities are endless.

You will find work.  Maybe it will take a while, maybe it won't.  And you may find out that the next job is better than the last one, so don't assume that you will have to settle for less.  That's exactly what happened for me.  After a long period of unemployment, I found a job that put me on a career path that has been fruitful in more ways than I can count.  It ain't over till it's over.  You can win!