Giving or Bribing?

I never cease to be amazed by the number of conversations I've had over the years with people who have given a gift to someone or some organization and are disappointed or offended by the shortage of new influence the gift has purchased. Millions of us appear to give with strings attached. We expect something in return. Isn't that called a 'bribe'?

Why do we give? Is it to bless or is it to improve our standing? One is noble, the other is a form of greed, not to mention self centeredness.

I can't count the times I've heard, "After all I've given, he still......" or "I gave her __________ and she hasn't even..... how ungrateful is that?"

What am I supposed to do with comments like that? Sympathize?

I would like to submit that those kinds of comments demonstrate a weakness in the giver more than the recipient. Giving with expectations is not giving at all. Call it a loan. Call it an investment. Call it a bribe. But what ever you call it, if it has strings attached, it is certainly not a gift.

If I understand the Bible at all, I understand that the blessing we receive from giving comes entirely from the giving and is not impacted at all by the appreciativeness (or perceived appreciativeness) of the receiver.

One time, Jesus encountered 10 lepers on the roadside. He immediately had compassion on them and healed them. Nine of them went happily on their way, totally absorbed in their good fortune. One was compelled to return and thank Him. Was Jesus less blessed because 90% of those healed simply kept walking? I don't see any indication of that? His satisfaction came from their new found healing. The fact that one came back was merely icing on an already tasty cake.

I wonder how many of the people shouting, "Crucify Him!" at Jesus' trial were among those multitudes who feasted on His bread and fish miracle by the lake some months before? Did Jesus threaten to skip Calvary because of their lack of appreciation? No, their need, our need, drove Him to keep giving despite potential, and often real, rejection.

Giving is about blessing others. It's about showing our appreciation. It's about many things, but it's never about getting. Whether it's my tithe, a Christmas gift, a card in the mail or helping someone carry a bag of groceries, I always want to check my heart and motives. And when I start feeling aggrieved by the lack of appreciation I'm being shown for all I do, it's time to check MY heart rather than the motive of those to whom I give.

The Lord still loves a "cheerful giver".

Thanks for your patience

Thanks everyone for being patient during these last couple weeks of silence. Brittan and I have been in the process of moving from Maine to Georgia and there has been little time to do any website maintenance. We didn't have web access until two days ago, so even if I'd had time, it would have been impossible to update.

Speaking of moving....wow is it ever expensive! Besides buying a house, all the stuff you need just to get set up is outrageous. Fortunately we started planning early and have had the cash to take care of everything. Back in the old days it would have created credit card payments for years to come.

Georgia is very nice, but winter seems to have followed us down. It was in the teens last night. Brittan and I were feeling really chilly until we checked the weather report for Maine and saw that it's -11 there with wind chill of -28. Brrrrr! Makes me realize that even cold weather in the South is warm.

New Year's Resolution and TV Scams

Have you noticed all the usual diet, fitness and financial solution TV commercials? Tis the season. It's hard to separate the legitimate ads from the scams.

Millions of people look at New Year as a fresh start and want to lose weight, get fit and/or put their financial houses in order. And... most of us need some help. Enter the wolves.

As a fatty, I won't comment on the diet and fitness products at this time, but I will certainly add my 2c regarding the companies offering to "fix your credit", "wipe out your debt legally" and the like. Most of them will do much more harm than good. Besides, they don't do anything for you that you can't do yourself for far less money. And isn't saving money part of what we're trying to accomplish?

ATTN: Shameless product plug ahead!

Most of the "fix your finances" companies on TV will either charge huge fees (sometimes up front, sometimes well hidden in the fine print), or will really just stretch your payments out over a longer period causing you to spend MORE in the long run. That just doesn't make sense. Before you sign up, please research the company thoroughly. That's what search engines are for.

IOU NO MORE, on the other hand, will cost you about $10 (About $30 if you buy the whole kit). Inside, you will find everything you need to get started eliminating debt. The plan works. Brittan and I are living proof.

Murphy Time

Talk about Murphy's Law! Ol' Murph has taken up residence in the Burton household the last couple of weeks. First, the refrigerator went out and we had to have a repair man come and fix it. The ink wasn't even dry on the check when the heater went out on my truck. We had to get a new thermostat and assorted other repairs. The very next day, a latch on the car door went bad and a whole new unit had to be installed. In the midst of these annoyances, our snow blower broke down. And in Northern Maine that's a bad thing. The warranty was up 10 days before the problem. We had to get it repaired on a Saturday during a snow storm. Now, the battery in my truck is dead!

Any one of these things is a nuisance, and has the potential to be a budget buster. But all of them together would have spelled disaster just a few short years ago. But, thankfully, we have an emergency fund and they were just a pain in the tootie.

While I will never look forward to these little blips on the radar, and while I will always hate spending money on repairs and inconveniences, because we've planned ahead I don't have to panic.

Please, start the new year right! Get on the IOU NO MORE plan today. Read the book. Start an emergency fund. Begin a spending plan. Make 08 great!

Happy New Year to all. Except Murphy.

A Frightening and Important Lesson

I had an identify theft scare this week that really put me on my toes. As it turns out, it was just a scare, with a little card # theft for dessert.

As has been my lot of late, I was in Georgia on business for the week. On Wednesday morning, when I went online to balance my account (if you've read my book you know I do that every day), I noticed an unusual charge. It was for $29.95. The amount was innocuous enough, but I didn't recognize it nor the company name associated with it. The name sounded like a Sports Bar or an online betting name, so I decided to google it. Turns out, it was a porn company. Needless to say, I immediately contacted the bank and got the charge removed. I canceled my debit card and ordered a new one.

A few things about the incident really jumped out at me that I want to pass on. First, my experience shows that things like this can happen to anyone. That's why it's important to check your accounts regularly and to check your credit report annually. It's free, so there's no excuse. Secondly, I was surprised at the stereotypical nature of the fraudulent charge. The person used my card number to order PORN. How very unimaginative!

The third item of note, was how unsurprised the customer service agent was when I told her my story. I was, like, out of my mind with panic and outrage. I was afraid charges were going to start popping up like dandelions in the Spring. But the dear lady said, "Don't worry, it happens all the time." All the time? Holy Smokes!

Debit cards are convenient and useful. But they have their risks. Cards can be lost or stolen. Numbers can be retrieved from trash cans and computers. It is critical that we pay attention to where and how we use our cards and how we dispose of receipts. Remember to do computer virus and spyware scans regularly, as well.

In the end, I only had the one charge come through and I caught it within a few hours of the charge, while it was still a pending transaction so no real harm was done, other than to my adrenal system. Be warned. Be vigilant. Be prepared.

Just Some Musings

I saw an article on Yahoo Money earlier this week that said if your household income if $40k you are in the top 50% of the country. That's a pretty impressive number on many fronts. First, it demonstrates why things like high gas and oil prices affect things like the retail sector so badly. When half the country has to choose between heating their homes, getting to and from work/school and buying things like movies, music or toys, there is going to be a loser.

We have to break our dependence on foreign oil. It won't be cheaper at first, but we'll be better off in the long run. Besides, the nations we buy oil from, hate us. They want us to die. What is the upside in that business relationship?

I am a firm believer in bio fuels. I have read the pros, I have read the cons and the pros outweigh the cons in my book. 1. We have a renewable resource. 2. Bio fuels are fairly easy to produce. 3. Farming becomes viable again. Especially in places like the tobacco belt where farmers who can no longer subsist on tobacco can switch to things like soy beans, corn and hemp.

Brazil in an excellent example of a country who understands the issue. They have bio fuel plants everywhere and I believe there are bio fuel pumps at gas stations all over the country. They haven't eliminated the need for petroleum and fossil fuels, but they are reducing the need. That's where we start.

Now, I'm really going to get controversial. If we want to actually reduce heating and energy costs in the long run, we need to look at nuclear energy. This is the 21st century. Nuclear energy is not new, it's not science fiction and it's not going to turn us all into mutants. It's clean, it's safe, it's effective and it's cheap in the long run. France gets most of it's energy from nuclear powered sources.

I know I sound conflicted by promoting both Bio and Nuclear fuels. But I'm not conflicted. I'm a pragmatist. I'm all about making the best choices for the present and for the future.

And don't even get me started about medical costs..............

The Great Starter Kit Give Away

As a way of saying thank you to readers for offering testimonials about IOU NO MORE, we will be giving away 3 Starter Kits at the end of November. The Kits include the notebook, mechanical pencil, one paper set of IOU NO MORE forms, one IOU NO MORE FORMS LIBRARY cd with all our forms in both customizable and .pdf formats and one envelope/receipt folder.

To be eligible, simply submit a testimonial (review) of the book on Amazon.com and email a copy of the testimonial to info@iounomore.com. Use the word, 'Testimonial' in the heading. Please include your name in the email. You don't need to include a mailing address. We respect your privacy. On Nov 30, we will draw three names randomly from the entries. At that time, we'll announce the names of the winners and we will ask only those individuals drawn to send us addresses where we can mail the Kits. If you haven't read the book yet, this would be a great month to join the revolution!