Credit

Essentially, yes, that is what it is saying. I think a number of people make exceptions (and I can sure understand this!) for homes and cars. It's really hard to go cash out on these two items. But ideally saving for what you wish to have and paying for it immediately is the best, leaving you free.

That being said, there are some mighty tempting temptations now that we all need to beware of.

The ads saying "buy your bedroom set now and no interest until 2004!" and such things can get you into a dreadful position in 2004 unless you KNOW for sure your rich uncle is on his deathbed and you are the primary inheritor! In other words, if there is no expected change in your income, there should be no expected change in your outgo! In fact, because of unexpected problems, having a savings account for when your car quits, emergency medical or dental bills, etc., is a wise idea.

The other side of that 'no interest until....' is that it is deceitful. You think you will be saving money, but you won't be. You will be paying a higher sales price than if you could pay in thirty days.

That being said, we have two credit cards: one gives us free airline miles and so we charge everything from food to gas to clothes to the phone bill....AND pay it off fully at the end of each month. Having trips to take and a husband who lives in Australia a good part of the time, this has been a real boon. Our second credit card is for emergencies only -- like last week when I (for the first time in my LIFE) lost our primary credit card and we had to cancel and ask for a new one!

The other thing we have done recently is apply for a line of credit on our home. With this, we pay nothing until we actually use some of the money. It will be used to fix up 15 years of kid marks and dents and such, so we can sell now most of them are gone and move into a smaller place. This will be paid back from the sale of the house (whatever we use of it -- unlike a mortgage, the bank keeps the money themselves until we write a check off of that special account for some of the work, etc.), so we know where the money is coming from. This will enable us to get a significantly higher selling price for the house, so it is like an investment where we know we will have a good return.

In the long run, however, anyone who reads Proverbs will find that borrowing is strongly warned against (and that is what credit cards really are, and your interest and fees will be quite high if you don't pay it off each month), as is putting up security for another person borrowing.

If one was to take a general lesson from the Bible where money handling is concerned, it is that we should not be a slave to it by over-spending, but should be extremely conservative. This gives us all more with which to both help others and cushion emergencies.

 

Good words, Dr Bob!!!

 

Dr. Bob Griffin, Rufus says AMEN!!

Rufus

 

I also agree with Bob for the most part.

 

The bible tells us to avoid borrowing and even lending.

This is what I believe and what I try to do. In truth I have one major compromise; my house is bought with a mortgage.

The standard excuse for that is that it is an appreciating asset; thus you could sell it and redeem the loan. This is not always true; houses do sink in value.

Other than the house we buy what we can afford; it is a simple but effective manner of budgeting.

Now we do have credit-cards; I have quite a few; but I pay them off each month. I just like the conveniance and safety of plastic over carrying huge wads of bills around.

DAB

 

Seriously, Olive, you have moved before. Move to Oklahoma, and the house you live in can generally be purchased for less than $35,000. One of my friends lives in an older, kept-up well neighborhood in my town, in a house she bought for less than $15,000. It has 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms. And yes, four walls and a roof.
And I live in one of the more expensive towns in OK.

Karen

 

If it makes you feel any better: A 100 year old 2 bedroom 700sq ft home in Cambridge UK (my college town) works out at around $500K.

We bought our apartment for $100K in 1989 (the year we got married) it sold for $60K in 1994 ... you can indeed become a slave to the mortgage.

On the other side we bought a house in 1994 for 140K which is now worth around 400K.

To me it is one of those decisions a Christian has to make. Are you getting into the "capital" business. If you -are- then I'm not sure it is possible (at least where I lived) without borrowing.

DAB

 

Just don't move to the bay area. A two bedroom will cost you 300k, and anything bigger will put you in 500s.

 

The average cost of a home in the Los Angeles area is not floating around the $340,000 mark. It appears I'll never be able to dump my condo!!!

 

I don't consider a home morgage to be a debt any more than a long term lease would be. I've found the costs are similar and the morgage is a better investment. In other areas of buying, I am earnestly trying not to borrow our use my credit card for anything I can't pay off in full when the first credit card payment is due. In my experience, I'm learning that faith is much harder when I have a credit card. It's too easy to trust my own ability to budget rather than to trust God to meet my needs. Looking back, I wonder how often I have paid for things that God would have provided freely had I had the faith to wait on His provision instead of using my credit card.