I know a majority of you have heard these 3 words and probably even know who they came from. I have grown up my whole life hearing them over, and over, and OVER. Good ole Darryl (my father) raised my brother and me on these words. These words are the reason I was able to pay for half of my first vehicle at 15. These words are why almost every Christmas I am able to give a child who is less fortunate than me a Christmas present. These words are the reason I already have a retirement fund set up at 18, and one day will hopefully be able to support my future family. The words are why my parents have been so able to give my brother and me a financially stable life. The words are why I am able to attend college without loans and debt. None of what I say in this blog post is to brag or boast about money, but to share why these words are so important to me, and why I hope you will find them important to you as well.
Well if you don't know who these words come from it's Dave Ramsey. My dad is crazy about the man. He is a very strong believer in saving money, and in general handling money wisely. Growing up my dad would give my brother and me a monthly chore sheet. This sheet had items on it like make the bed, clean the dishes, take the trash out, wash the parents' cars, mop the floors, etc. Each chore was not mandatory. However, if we did a chore we put a check mark next to it and the day we did it. Each chore was worth a different amount of money. Making our bed would have been like $0.50. Then washing our parents' cars would be like $10. Every month my goal was to get more money than my brother. I am a very competitive person. At the end of the month my dad would add everything up and give us the money we earned. It didn't stop there though. We couldn't simply take all the money and go have fun with it. That would be way too easy. We each had 3 envelopes labeled GIVE, SAVE, and SPEND. My dad instructed us to put at least 10% of our earnings into give, for our tithes. Our give could also be used for something like I mentioned above, supplying a child with a christmas present. Then we put at least 15% into our save. Every so often my dad would take our save and put it into the bank for later use. This money was for saving up for our first car or any other big item we couldn't buy right away. The rest of our money we could put into spend, and we could use this any time we pleased. We did this for years. Eventually we stopped with the chore sheets as we got older. The money we separate out now is from holidays or the jobs we have. No matter what though, if we get money we always separate it out.
Growing up this way got on my nerves a lot of times. If I earned $30 I didn't want to only end up being able to spend at max $22.50. I felt like if I earned the whole $30 I should get the whole $30. As I got older though I have realized the importance of this method. Although part of this method was because my dad wanted what was best for us and wanted us financially secure, but doing this has so much more meaning as well.
In the Old Testament God tells us to tithe, to give him 10% of everything we earn. Then in the New Testament Jesus instructs us to give as much as we are able, and that's exactly what my father was teaching us. Giving doesn't just mean with money. We are to give our time; to the church, to the needy, to our loved ones. My father wanted us to realize everything we receive ultimately comes from God, and God just trusts us to be good stewards with it. He wanted us to realize even if we are the poorest of poor or the richest of riches we owe something to God. Nothing is possible without him.
By saving money I began feeling accomplished. I was able to see my hard work unfold before my eyes. My parents told my brother and me we could have any car we wanted; if we could afford half of it. Whatever money we decided we could spend on a car our parents would match it. At 15 I was able to do this, and I felt on top of the world. There is so much joy in getting something you worked hard for, and that was my dads point. He didn't tell us we had to save money just because he didn't want us to go broke. He did it to teach us when we work hard and we are diligent about something we get rewarded. That could be in money, academics, working, etc. He has never wanted us to be people who get handed everything. It has always been important to him that we are independent, strong, hardworking, and able to support ourselves. Now these things are very important to me, and I hope one day to pass them onto my children.
It is always important to not get wrapped up in the worldly view of money. Money is not everything. Money doesn't bring you happiness. Yes, money is very important in life, but it is not everything. If you have the mindset of becoming the richest man alive and doing anything and everything possible to get there, you will fail. Ultimately my father wanted to teach us how to be rich in happiness, successfulness, helpfulness, obedience, and so much more. And by following these 3 words that was all possible. It's not just about the money; it's about learning from the money.
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