money Archives - Live Debt Free

Is God OK with Me Receiving Money from My Aging Parents?

11.12.2021 by Harry //

Of course, God forbids us to steal, so He would not support you stealing from your aging parents. If the money is offered as a gift and you intend to use it righteously, that is a different story.

Financial struggles are difficult to manage. With that being said, we are also promised in the scriptures that “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

This promise and the world’s needs can make it difficult to know how best to handle money. It becomes even more complicated when family members are involved.

How Should We Treat Our Parents?

God commanded us to honor our parents. This means doing good in their name, thanking them for what they have given you, and acting righteously towards them.

Furthermore, in Mark chapter 7, Jesus stresses how taking care of one’s parents is crucial for all. This is especially important as your parents’ age and will need extra help and assistance.

When financially able, you should provide support to your parents as they age. If you cannot offer financial aid, see if you can help with items around the house such as cooking or cleaning that may be difficult to do with an aging body.

Why Are You Taking the Money?

Taking money from parents — Elderly father lends money to his adult son. Is this permissible by God?

God considers our intentions behind our actions. It is essential to look at your intentions when taking money from your aging parents. There are two very different scenarios in which you may take money from your aging parents.

1. Your parents are aging and cannot remember things as well as they used to. You take money behind their back without telling them.

2. Your parents offer you money as a gift, and you accept it.

Taking Money Behind Your Parents’ Backs

If your parents are aging and losing some memory, they may not notice if you take some money.

However, just because they do not remember it does not mean that you received permission. Taking money without permission is considered stealing.

We are counseled multiple times in the scriptures, notably in Exodus 20:15, to avoid stealing. Furthermore, in Proverbs 12:22, we learn that “The Lord detests lying lips,” and taking money behind your parents’ backs is akin to lying. If you take money from your aging parents without their permission or knowledge, God is not OK with it.

Accepting a Gift from Your Aging Parents

God commands us throughout the scriptures to be humble. Humbly accepting a gift can be a great way to show gratitude, which we are also commanded to do throughout the Bible.

We are also commanded throughout the scriptures to give freely to those around us. If no one accepts the freely given and offered gifts, we limit their opportunity to share and be blessed for that generosity.

For those reasons, God is OK with you taking money from your aging parents if they freely offer it as a gift. You should keep in mind, however, that you should use the money righteously and prudently.

What Should You Do with the Money Your Parents Give You?

If your parents give you a financial gift, God still offers directions on treating your money righteously. Matthew 6:24 warns against the danger of treating money as an idol and worshiping it.

With that in mind, you should always consider why you are accepting a gift of money. Do you plan on using it to help your family, friends, or neighbors? Or do you plan on using it to purchase unnecessary, frivolous material possessions that may make you more popular? If you still want to accept the gift but do not require it, you can donate the money to a worthy charity.

When given a financial gift or any increase, you should also remember that He owns everything as God directs in Exodus. Everything you gain comes from Him and will return to Him. It does not come from your power and to serve your praise.

Throughout the scriptures, we are regularly commanded to care for the poor, sick, and needy. It is always righteous and wise to use your excess money to help those less fortunate than you are.

Furthermore, a gift given to you to help you pay off debt can be a righteous way to spend the money. In Ecclesiastes 5:4, the Lord cautions against collecting unnecessary debt and advises us to pay back the owed money quickly. For these reasons, using a monetary gift from your aging parents to pay off debt can be a moral choice.

In Luke 14, the Lord shares a parable about planning when beginning projects such as building a tower or house. This can be important whenever you look at an option for how to spend your money.

Consider before beginning the expense how long it will take, how much it will cost, and if you can afford it. It would help if you also considered the effect of that expenditure on those around you. We should always seek to bring more kindness into the world, and wise purchases are no exception to this rule.

Always seek to use your money wisely as the Lord has commanded.

Image Credit: Robert Kneschke

Five Signs You Have A Debt Problem

01.14.2013 by Kevin Mercadante //

When you’re managing your debt payments it’s easy to ignore the fact that you have too much debt. The purpose of debt – from a sales standpoint – is to spread the payment out over many years so that what isn’t affordable suddenly is. It’s all about the payment!

With all of the focus on monthly payment, the total amount owed – which is the number that really matters – can sort of disappear. After all, when it comes to debt and expenses, we don’t like big, ugly numbers. Small numbers are so much less disturbing.

Here are five signs that you may be carrying too much debt.

1. You don’t bother to total up how much you owe

Most of us know that we have debt, and usually about how much. When you’re getting in over your head there’s often a reluctance to spend much time dwelling on it. Specific numbers provide frightening confirmation of what we suspect – and prefer to avoid.

One of the best indications that you have too much debt is when you’re reluctant to find out just how much you have. You know that you owe on Credit Cards X, Y and Z, but you try not to pay too much attention to how much you owe on each. And you never bother to add up all the balances either.

Your attention centers instead on the monthly payments for each account, because they look much more reasonable than the combined balances on all accounts.

2. There’s little or no money for savings

Cars and appliances break down or need to be replaced, homes need to be repaired and medical episodes and auto accidents require co-payments. There has to be money sitting somewhere in reserve to pay for those.

If you typically don’t have savings to cover contingencies, there’s a very good chance that the cause is either excess spending or too much debt. The two are closely related, so it’s probably some of both.

Credit card bills and other loan payments are a quiet drain on monthly income. Not only do they leave little room for a regular savings plan, but they can also force you to reduce retirement plan contributions.

A sure sign that you have too much debt is when you come to view your credit lines as your emergency savings.

3. Debt payments – excluding mortgage – are one of your top two expenses

Add up all of your monthly debt payments – student loans, auto loans, credit cards, installment loans – every loan except your mortgage. How does that total monthly payment look compared to other expense categories in your budget? If it’s one of the top two expenses in your budget, you almost certainly have too much debt.

In most households, the monthly house payment will be the largest single expense. In second place might be groceries (if you have a family), health insurance or even combined utility payments (especially if you live in an area with severe weather).

If debt payments are second only to your house payment – or if they’re your number one budget outlay – you’re carrying way too much debt. In that situation, you won’t be able to make any financial progress until your debt is brought under control.

4. You can’t buy extras without using a credit card

Because of the combination of high monthly credit card bills and the lack of savings, there’s never quite enough money to pay for extras. A weekend away, a trip to the dentist, or even a night on the town are covered by a credit card.

Although it may be normal, it’s not acceptable if you want to win with money.

5. You’re shopping for a consolidation loan

For the most part, consolidation loans are about lowering the monthly payment. You’ll still owe the same amount as you did before the consolidation, it’ll just look neater in a single package. And it’s a strong indication that you have too much debt.

It’s not that a lower payment doesn’t have merit. The problem is that the lower payment makes debt easier to live with, rather than making it go away. And the lower payment could also clear the way for more borrowing. After all, if you’re comfortable with the new consolidated payment, it’s often easy to slip back into bad habits.

Note: Matt consolidated his credit cards and auto loans using Lending Club, and he recommends it, but only if you’re going to pay it off as fast as possible and are committed to taking on zero additional debt.

Getting out when you have too much debt

If you’re experiencing one or more of these situation there’s no alternative to taking action against your debt. It’s always better to deal with it while you still have control of the situation – before it reaches the crisis stage.

Here are some tips:

pay close attention to your outstanding balances – that’s your real debt situation, not monthly payments
do whatever it takes to stop using credit immediately
cut back on non-essential spending
sell as many possessions as you can
increase your income with overtime, a part-time job or some type of side gig
get some money in the bank (from steps 3, 4 and 5) so you won’t rely on credit
start the Debt Snowball of paying off your debts from the smallest to the largest.

It’ll take time and a good bit of effort, but soon enough you’ll get to the point where you won’t mind looking at your loan balances any more.

And that’s good news!

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Image : Vectorportal via Flickr

How To Save Money (at least $100) Fast

11.30.2011 by Matt Jabs //

I wrote this article to help people save $100 quickly so they could afford to attend Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

Whether you’re in need of financial help or just trying to save money fast, these strategies will help make you successful. Read through them with an open mind.

Saving money takes purpose and action so be ready to change and ready to work hard – your effort will be rewarded.

How to save $100 fast

Let’s define “fast” as occurring within one month from today. Follow these steps and 30 days from now you should have at least $100 saved.

1. Spending moratorium.

A moratorium is nothing more than a suspension of activity. Stop spending money. Period. Make sure the basic necessities of life are covered (food, shelter, warmth, etc.) then stop spending.

2. Freelance or land some other temporary job.

Nothing makes saving easier than earning additional money outside your normal budget. If you have skills of some sort you should be able to land a few gigs/month which will enable you to save at least $100. w00t!

3. Cancel TV and/or Internet service.

If you tell me you cannot save $100 and I come over to your house to find you watching Entourage, I’m gonna put the smack down. Quit whining and cancel your cable/satellite TV service. While you’re at it, cancel your Internet service too… unless you depend on it for income, or something else that is necessary to the functioning of your household.

As mentioned above… you can save money on entertainment every month by signing up for a Netflix free-trial for TV shows & movies, and a Gamefly free-trial for video games rather than renting at a local video store and paying late fees.

4. Stop drinking/smoking.

Much the same, if you’re partaking in either of these expensive and potentially destructive pastimes while complaining that you can’t save $100… smack down. Get your priorities in order and knock it off.

5. Stop eating out and/or going to the movie theater.

One of the first things me and my wife did after embarking upon our debt free adventure, was to eliminate our seemingly insatiable appetite for dinner and a movie nights. After calculating it out we discovered this dirty little habit was costing us around $500/month. Ridiculous. How much are you spending? Write it down, and stop doing it. (Tip by @ericabiz)

6. Start liking beans, rice, and tuna fish.

Rice and beans actually taste really good, and tuna fish is considered a luxury by some, and it’s all quite good for you to boot. How much do you spend on groceries/month? I’m guessing you could save $100 easily by adopting this little nugget of wisdom. For good measure, go ahead and throw and apple in there once/week.

7. Stop buying gifts for others.

If you cannot save $100 in a month then the last thing you need to do is buy gifts for other people. Trust me, they’ll understand.

8. Apply the Pareto Principle to your possessions.

The Pareto Principle suggests that we use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time, and if you’re anything like me you have entirely too many clothes and other possessions. I’m willing to bet that you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time, and the ratio of use is probably similar with your other possessions. Instead of storing a bunch of stuff you don’t need, take the clothes to a consignment shop and trade ’em in for a cool Benjamin – hundred dolla bills y’all! (Tip by @2CFC)

9. Sell something on eBay, CraigsList, or Amazon.

Take some of the other non-clothing stuff from step 7 and sell it online. Even if you don’t think you own anything worth selling, go through your entire house, I guarantee you’ll find something.

10. Cancel your home phone.

Unless you need it for business or emergencies, cancel it. Especially if you have or someone in the household with a mobile phone.

11. Lower your mobile plan and/or drop your data plan.

I know, it’s nearly impossible to live without “your precious” but if Schmiegel can do it, so can you. Again, do not cancel the service if you need it for business.

12. Drop your gym membership.

Whether you bought your membership and never go, or if you go every day, cancel it. There are plenty of work out routines you can do around the house for free. Don’t worry, your pecs, abs, and delts will be fine with push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups respectively. (Tip by @amabaie)

13. Ride your bike for a month.

If you’re a wuss you can take a break on days when it rains, just kidding, you don’t have to be a freak about it and ride your bike every day, but do ride it whenever possible. Doing this will help give you the exercise you lost by canceling your gym membership while helping you save money and save the environment – what a deal!

14. Donate sperm and/or plasma.

Personally there is no way I would sell my sperm, I don’t believe in it and I don’t want a bunch of my offspring running around out there without me knowing anything about them. But if this sounds like something you could do… I heard there is decent money in selling the lil’ fella’s. Selling plasma is a little less controversial, and while it might not pay as well as sperm, you can still make decent money parting w/this life giving fluid.

15. Go couchsurfing on business trips.

Go couchsurfing when on business trips instead of paying for hotels. Sure, people might consider you weird if you tell ’em about it, but who cares? If you believe in it, the for Pete’s Sake… do it! It won’t work out every time, but it will to work out sometimes; and the more you travel the more you stand to save. What a blessing.

Have you tried all these ideas?

Chances are there is at least one idea above you could use to save $100 fast so what are you waiting for? Without sacrifice there is no reward so muster the courage, step outside your comfort zone, and start saving ASAP.

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photo by rachdian