Sustainable, Self Sufficiency - The Third Phase of the Revolution, Part 1

My financial journey has been a scenic one.  It has taken many twists and turns.  Some of the views have been breath taking.  Others have been rather terrifying.  But I have enjoyed every minute.  I love sharing my story and my vision for universal financial freedom with anyone who will stay still long enough to listen. 

Now that we are debt free (except mortgage, but that will be soon enough), I have turned my attention to what it means to live a 'debt free lifestyle'.  I thought I would move down a path of 'wealth building', but that one is well worn, having been travelled by many who are far more knowledgable than I.  Two of the great ones are: Dave Ramsey and David Bach.  I love their wealth building ideas.  Since they've already done the heavy lifting, and since my name isn't Dave, I took another path.  Fortunately for me, my bride has been willing to walk this new trail with me.  I am a lucky man.

As you might guess from the title of this weblog, I call it "Recession Proof Living".  The website will be, www.recessionproofworld.com.  The space is reserved, but not yet built.

If you read IOU NO MORE, you know I introduced the subject of putting your finances on 'Cruise Control'.  If you haven't read the book, get a copy right away.  If you can't afford a copy of your own, borrow one.  I'm serious.  The plan will change your life.

Turns out that for and ADD charged, Type A male, like me, 'Cruise Control' was boring.  Smart, but not satisfying.  So I began to investigate why I was feeling unsatisfied.  I came up with several answers. Some  were spiritual, some were political, some were personal.

Politically, I am very concerned about the direction of this country.  Both parties worry me.  I see Govt. getting bigger and the American wallet getting smaller.  My 401k hit the tank like everyone else's did.  I have no confidence in the future of Social Security nor in taxation.  I began to ask myself what would happen if this country had a total meltdown.  What would life look like?  Would a 3 to 6 month emergency fund be enough?  Were others wondering the same thing?

Personally, I am a control freak.  I need to be in control of my own destiny.  And I felt at the mercy of the Government, my employer and the big industries that dominate supply, demand and pricing of commodities and other necessary goods and services.  I look down the road and am bothered about what I see.

I'm not a Global Warming believer.  I hate fear mongering politics disguised as concern for the earth.  Bah.  Humbug!  But I do have some things in common with the environmentalist fringe.  I don't like the way we're mishandling resources.  Traditional farming methods are destroying the soil quality of our planet at an alarming rate.  We are washing tons of chemical fertilizer waste into rivers and streams, poisoning the water and the life dependent on those waters.  And whatever you do, don't get me started about commercial animal production....Oh, by the way, have you looked at the label on a can of pretty much anything we put in our shopping carts on a weekly basis.  We are pretty much ingesting the entire periodic table.  I'm thinking that might not be a good thing.  And we're paying for the privilege. 

On a final personal note, I was born to live in the country.  I need room to roam.  I need to work in the soil with my hands.  I need the fresh air, the livestock....the manure.  Green Acres is the place to be.  Living in the suburbs, spending hours of my day in commuter traffic, punching the clock, is not 'cruise control'.  It's torture.

But it was reading the Bible that changed my whole perspective.  God has a way of grabbing hold of me, shaking me like a rag doll and pointing out my obvious blindness.  What I discovered about saving and giving was life altering.  It was also liberating.  Phase two of the Revolution came directly as a result of my Bible study.  Phase three is, I believe, a natural consequence of phase 2.  I'll start explaining myself next time.

Is it the Economy Turning Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde?

They are calling them, "Familycides". According to the press, it seems there has been an increase of them lately. The typical script goes: a man kills his wife and children, then kills himself. Neighbors, colleagues or family members discover the grisly scene and the authorities try and unravel the mess while the newswires feed the tragedy to the world.

Underlying an overwhelming majority of these familycides are serious financial issues. Usually a mountain of debt and often there is a hint of financial impropriety somewhere in the background.

We expect suicides to go up during economicly challenged times. In 1932, the height, or depth, of the 'great depression' suicides dramatically spiked. I remember at least one suicide that resulted from the Enron scandal a few years back. And just this past week, a leading financial officer of Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage company, took his own life.

But now, we have these extremists, who not only kill themselves in a moment of shame and distress, but take those they love with them. How could anyone sink that far down the pit of depravity?

The media would spin this into a demonstration that we 'are in the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression'. I say, "Poppycock!"

First, we are NOT in the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression. So far, it's not even the worst in my lifetime. I remember some pretty bad times in the 70s and 80s, when interest rates and unemployment rates were considerably higher than today. When we leave emotions and hype out of the mix and put our present situation into historic perspective, we see an entirely different story.

One of the differences now is the amount of debt held both individually and corporately. Never in our past have so many owed so much to so many more. America and the world have leveraged ourselves to the breaking point. As the old parable reminds us, when a house is built on a foundation of sand, it will never withstand the strain of stormy weather, regardless of how lovely it might be. And for many families, businesses and nations, our financial houses are built on just such sandy places.

Back to our premise, for just a moment; it is not the economy that is turning peaceful family men into mass murderers. In Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, it was a potion that brought the evil, decadent Edward Hyde out of meek Dr. Jekyll, but the potion was just the catalyst. Henry Jekyll knew, or at least suspected, that he (we all) had a dark side. What surprised him was the immensity and strength of evil inside.

In the same way, financial crashes are not the root of familycides, or even suicides, but are merely the potions consumed that allow an inner dark side to emerge.

I would argue that the way to fix our economy is quite simple. Not very easy, but quite simple. We do it the same way we fix our personal economies, we spend less than we earn. We live within our means. There will be pain, embarrassment and frustration involved, but that's how we get there. I say no institution is too big to fail. In fact, for us to regain sound footing, some instutions MUST fail.... or reorganize and live again.

But we'll address that another day. Today, let's examine a solution to the rampage of murder and suicide that fills our daily news reports. First, not all of them are financially related. Many have to do with broken relationships. But all have one common denominator: despair!

Often there is anger, depression, fear and panic. Then hopelessness takes over and Mr Hyde is loosed. He inevitably leaves devastation in his wake.

The individuals who perform these dasdardly acts, have one piece correct, in a twisted sort of way. The only way to eliminate Edward Hyde, is to kill him. But that doesn't mean Dr. Jekyll must perish as well. And it certainly doesn't mean that the entire Jekyll household must be exterminated.

The Bible calls our Mr Hyde, "the old man". And he truly does live in all of us. When left to our own devices we are all capable of great corruption. Fortunately most don't take things to the ultimate extreme that family killers and mass murderers do. But we all have ugliness inside. The Bible reminds us that the "old man" must be put to death. He cannot be controlled, tamed or domesticated. He must be destroyed.

We do that by handing over the keys of our lives to Jesus of Nazareth and letting Him drive. It's called, 'repentance.' Repentance sounds like some kind of a demand, but it's really an invitation; Jesus said it this way, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

An economic turnaround will not repair the darkness inside us. But Jesus can. Just like we need to build our finances on new foundations, we need to rebuild our lives on a new foundation. It won't always be easy. And the stormy weather will still come, but just like in the old parable, a house built on the rock, will STAND.

My heart aches for the millions in fear and despair right now. I know the answer. I've experienced it. It works. HE works. I encourge you to read the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. If you don't have a New Testament, go online to www.biblegateway.com and read it there. Talk about becoming DEBT FREE! It's even better than IOU NO MORE.

First Things First

It the definition paragraph of this blog, I openly admit that this space will, from time to time pursue musings on faith matters. This is one of those times.

Today is Good Friday. I do not have the words to express what today means to me. On this day we remember when Jesus of Nazareth was tortured beyond measure and brutally executed, though innocent of either crime or sin. Over the years volumes have been written about who actually killed him. Was it the Jews? Was it the Romans? Was it Judas Iscariot? Was it a conspiracy?

Let me end the debate once and for all. If you need to find a villain behind the most heinous crime of all time, you need look no further than the author of this blog. It was me. I am guilty. I am responsible. For reasons I can't explain, other than an outrageous love, He took my place on the torture rack and on the cross. I should have been crucified. But He refused to allow me to pay my own debt. He knew I could never do it.

How do you thank One who would make a choice like that? How can you ever really demonstrate your appreciation? I owe Him everything. Every smile, every sunrise, every bird I hear sing, every joy I experience is all because of Jesus, the Christ. Sometimes I let Him down. Sometimes, maybe I make Him smile. But let all the world know this, I love Him beyond measure. He is my strength and my hope. Someday He will wrap His nail scared arms around me and I will hold him tight and thank Him personally. Until then, I'll just remain content to tell you about it.

Have a blessed Good Friday. And.......... Sunday's comin'. I'll can't wait to tell you bout that.