Living Within Your Means

I was assigned to give a talk today.  I worked on it for a long time, especially yesterday.  Then when I got to church today, I found out that the Bishopric forgot it was the High Council speaker today, and I didn't have to give my talk.  But it is a great talk, so when you need to read a sermon, here it is...

The Blessings Of Living Within Our Means

“Brothers and sisters, peace and contentment come into our hearts when we live within our means.”  This was the promise from President Benson in 1987.

Through my life I have experienced that this is true.  It is hard at times to live within our means, especially in the world we live in.  

My talk is going to be quite personal.  I am going to first give you a overview of our financial experiences and share with you some of the things we have learned from it all.  The Lord has blessed us greatly in this.  He has always provided what we need, even when I couldn’t see where it would come from.  He hasn’t always given me what I wanted, but what I need, and usually just enough, just in time.  

I am a bit of a tight wad I like financial security.  T is a bit of a spend thrift and likes nice stuff.  Before we got married I balanced my check book to the penny every month and T had a box of unopened bank statements, (he justifies this by saying that he just didn’t spend any money).  I had never been in debt before and never wanted to be and T had student loans.  When we got married T was still in school and we lived on about $800 per month and borrowed his parents old VW bug.  At one point there was an electrical problem that blew all the lights out in the car. Fortunately, it was in the summer because we drove it around for a few weeks using hand signals until we could afford to get the lights fixed.  We didn’t really budget at that time in our marriage, but we didn’t spend money we didn’t have.  

When T graduated we moved back to the Seattle area, were I grew up.  T got a job at Boeing just about the time we were wondering how we were going to keep paying our rent.  We bought a computer and a car.  Paid them both off and paid off his student loans.  Our family started to grow.  T changed jobs and we move to the Fremont neighborhood.  We paid our tithing and offerings and felt very blessed.  It was the dot com boom, and software was the industry you wanted to be in.  T had stock options worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, on paper.  And the stock price just kept going up and up. It was very fun to dream about what we were going to do with our money when the options vested.  I am so glad we didn’t act on those promises of future wealth, because the bottom fell out of tech stocks.  By the time our shares started vested, we still had enough money for a down payment on our first house and more in savings than we had ever had before, but it was not hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

Six months after buying our first house T was laid off, our options were now worthless and I was pregnant.  With unemployment payments and food storage our savings lasted us the 8 months until he found another job, but just barely.  

Around this time, T decided to go back to school and I put a hair salon in our house. His last year of school, he quit his job so he could take daytime classes and get reacquainted with our 4 kids, this time there was no unemployment insurance.  We lived on our savings, what I was able to earn and more student loans.  We survived that time too, but just barely.  His next job brought us back to Seattle.  Here T makes a good income.  We are very blessed in that way, but we still have challenges striving to live within our means.  That happens when you have 7 kids, a house that needs a lot of work and a big van that averages 12 miles per gallon.

So some of the things that we have learned along the way are:

First, Pay your tithing and offerings.  I have seen time and again that the Lord can stretch 90% of our income farther than I would be able to stretch 100% of it.  Trust him.  One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  

In the 2004 April conference Joseph B. Worthin said, “Do you want the windows of heaven opened to you? Do you wish to receive blessings so great there is not room enough to receive them? 7 Always pay your tithing and leave the outcome in the hands of the Lord.

Obedience to God’s commandments is the foundation for a happy life. Surely we will be blessed with the gifts of heaven for our obedience. Failure to pay tithing by those who know the principle can lead to heartache in this life and perhaps sorrow in the next.”

Second, everyone’s means are different and your means will be different at different times in your life.  There was a time in my married life when I couldn’t imagine having $20 of extra money to spend on something that wasn’t absolutely necessary.  Now I can.

In his same talk, Elder Worthin also said,

“One day a man approached the Savior and asked Him to intervene in a family dispute. “Master, speak to my brother,” he pleaded, “that he divide the inheritance with me.”

The Savior refused to take sides on this issue, but He did teach an important lesson. “Beware of covetousness,” He told him, “for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” 1

Brothers and sisters, beware of covetousness. It is one of the great afflictions of these latter days. It creates greed and resentment. Often it leads to bondage, heartbreak, and crushing, grinding debt.”

Third, Make a budget and discipline yourself to stay in your budget.  I am the budgeter in our family and when we want to buy something I often ask myself or T, “where is the money going to come from?”  With a budget you can see clearly where it comes from.  It is all accounted for.  I have to confess that I do get very creative with our accounting sometimes.  Diapers are like a utility, right?  If they weren’t using the diaper, then they would be using water and the sewer. 

I think it would be impossible to live within my means without knowing how much money is coming in, how much needs to go out and how much I have already spent.  

There is a great article in the February 2011 Ensign by KATE STRONGIN titled “How We Broke the Chains of Debt”  It is about her experiences struggling for 18 months after her husband graduated from college before he found a job.  She gives 3 financial principals that were ingrained in them during that time of struggle.  

One of them is live by a budget.  She said, “Another startling realization was that much of our debt (that they acquired while in school) could have been avoided if we had lived by a budget. Previously, when my husband had pressed for a budget, I refused. I was overwhelmed with school and work and thought budgeting would just be one more burden. I thought simply trying to live frugally was enough. Now I saw how wrong I was and we immediately set up a budget to identify needs and track our spending. I was surprised at how much freedom and peace of mind it gave me. My stress level actually decreased! It was easier to live within our means when I knew exactly how much was coming in and how much was going out.”

Fourth, get out of debt and stay out of debt as much as you can.  Elder Worthin also said, “Some debt—such as for a modest home, expenses for education, perhaps for a needed first car—may be necessary. But never should we enter into financial bondage through consumer debt without carefully weighing the costs.”

There is so much counsel on this topic alone.  In Doctrine and Covenants 19:35 The Lord equates debt with bondage.

“President Thomas S. Monson has warned against excessive debt. He says it is commonly accepted in today’s culture, but we will be happier by living within our means than we would be if we were “constantly worrying about how to make the next payment on nonessential debt.”1 -Ensign July 2011 GETTING OUT OF DEBT—FOR GOOD

We really felt this when we experience times of unemployment.  We were desperate to reduce our monthly outflow of money or our “burn rate” as we called it.  And it wasn’t just for debt, but also for payments we were obligated to make, like our cell phone contracts.  Any time someone offers to let me pay over time, or wants me to sign a 2 year contract, I really weigh whether I want that hanging over my head or not.

Heber J Grant spoke about debt from personal experience.  In the Teachings of the presidents of the church- Heber J Grant manual it tells us:

“An economic crisis swept across much of the United States in 1893, leaving hundreds of banks, railroads, mines, and other businesses in financial ruin. That crisis, called the Panic of 1893, caught Elder Heber J. Grant and many others by surprise. It saddled Elder Grant, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with debts that took him years to repay. In an address he gave during that time he said: “I want to confess to you that I and many others have done wrong. Why? Because we have been so very anxious to make a dollar that we have run in debt, and now we cannot promptly pay our honest debts.… For the first time in my life I have had people come to me and ask me to pay money that I owed them, and I have had to ask for an extension of time. If the Lord will only forgive me this once I will never be caught again. I have been a borrower of money since I was eighteen; but if I can only get paid off what I owe now, I shall be content, I believe, with the blessings of the Lord, whatever they may be, be it much or little.” 1

Later speaking at a general Relief Society conference in 1932 “He referred to a time many years earlier when he went into debt to buy stock in the Salt Lake Theatre, hoping to save the building from being torn down: (He said)

“I want all the people within the sound of my voice to benefit by my experience in buying theatre stock. [For] 32 years of my life.… every dollar I made was lost before I made it. It is a great burden, figuratively speaking, to have a dead horse, and to have to carry the horse for 32 years before you can put it under the ground. It is a terrible condition, and all on account of debt. Since that time I have always lived within my means.…

“… If there is any man living who is entitled to say, ‘Keep out of debt,’ his name is Heber J. Grant. Thank the Lord that I was able to pay [all my debt], and pay it all without asking a dollar discount from anyone. I do not believe I ever would have paid it if I had not been absolutely honest with the Lord. When I made any money, the first debt I paid was to the Lord, ...” 2  

Again from Elder Worthlin, he said, “We are a people of integrity. We believe in honoring our debts and being honest in our dealings with our fellow men.”

Fifth, save for the future.  I personally love to see money pile up.  When T was unemployed and we were living on unemployment insurance payments, I saved 10% of it, even though we were also drawing from our savings each month.  By the time that our original savings were gone, we still had the new savings to carry us through.  There have been many times when we have finally built up our emergency savings to a comfortable level, and guess what, that is just when an emergency come up.  I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed us that way.  

You also need to save for retirement.  I have know amazing people that were still active and spry in their 80’s.  One of my favorites is Burke Waldron.  He did some remodeling work for us in Bremerton.  But he did mention to me once that it would be nice if he didn’t have to work.    

Elder Worthlin also tells us, “The wise understand the importance of saving today for a rainy day tomorrow. They have adequate insurance that will provide for them in case of illness or death. Where possible, they store a year’s supply of food, water, and other basic necessities of life. They set aside money in savings and investment accounts. They work diligently to reduce the debt they owe to others and strive to become debt free.

Brothers and sisters, the preparations you make today may one day be to you as the stored food was to the Egyptians and to Joseph’s father’s family.”  -Joseph B Worthlin April 2004 addresses EARTHLY DEBTS, HEAVENLY DEBTS

Sixth, pray for guidance and trust the Lord.  Back to my favorite scripture of Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  

Sometimes, The Lord asks me to do things that go against my understanding.  I am a frugal person, and I like to have financial security.  I would never have bought our house when we did for the price paid for it, if it had been up to me.  We were pretty sure that the housing market was going down and if we waited longer, we could get a better price on a house in better shape, but that wasn’t God’s plan.  We prayed a lot about buying our house and the timing of it and we both believe that it was what the Lord wanted us to do and regardless of the outcome of it, it would be his will.  

You have to be careful with this principle though and you have to be willing to live with the out come what ever it may be.  Sometimes, The Lord uses these times as teaching and growing experiences, often accompanied by growing pains.  But when we trust Him and turn our hearts to Him, he will support us through our trials.  

Seventh, always be grateful for what we have, even if it is less that what we want.

In the December 1989 Ensign, there is a great article titled “How Many Loaves Have Ye?”  It goes through the parable of Christ feeding the 5,000 and pulls principles from that parable that can be applied to our financial life. It says:

“When Jesus fed the five thousand, he “gave thanks” for the food he had, even though it wasn’t enough. (See Matt. 15:36.) In our anxiety over financial problems, sometimes we become bitter and ungrateful. But we will handle our problems better if we humble ourselves and thank God for what we have rather than worry about what we don’t have. The Savior literally did “count his blessings,” and the people were surprised at what the Lord had done.”  

Eighth, Give yourself an allowance that you can spend however you want, even if it is just a few dollars a week.  It is much easier to stay in you budget if you have a little “mad money”.  

And Last of all, it is really important to have yummy food in your food storage. 

I know that as we trust the Lord and follow his counsel to Live within our means, he will open the way for us to be able to do it and we will receive the blessings that he has promised. 

President Heber J Grant said: ‘If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means....’ (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111). --President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) “To the Boys and to the Men,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53–54.

And in closing I want to leave you with the words of President Benson from June 1987 

“Brothers and sisters, peace and contentment come into our hearts when we live within our means. God grant us the wisdom and the faith to heed the inspired counsel of the priesthood to get out of debt, to live within our means, and to pay as we go—in short, to “pay thy debt, and live.” -President Benson JUNE 1987 PAY THY DEBT, AND LIVE