The first talk was by Elder Robert D. Hales called, "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually". I really liked this quote about being a provident provider. "To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others." How true is that? You cannot provide for others if you do not have the means because you are overrun with debt and have not learned how to save.
President James E Faust gave the second talk titled "Opening the Windows of Heaven". Who doesn't want blessings? Who doesn't want to be successful? I would be surprised if anyone you spoke to said no to either of those questions. President Faust tells us we may obtain blessings by paying our tithing and offerings. For those that have not lived this law it is quite difficult to "give away" your money when you feel you are barely making ends me. But if you live the law of tithing, not only will you make ends meet miraculously you will have more than you need, you will be blessed, maybe not just financially, but spiritually and temporally and emotionally. Honestly, I don't know how people can afford NOT to pay their tithing.
The last talk was by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin called "Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts". Elder Wirthlin talks about the five steps to financial freedom.
- Pay your tithing
- Spend less than you earn
- Learn to save
- Honor your financial obligations
- Teach your children to follow your example
These steps are also covered in the Self-Reliance program The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has put out and also by Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University.
While I believe we have gotten the majority of our personal debt under control, we have one credit card left to pay off and our house. We are lucky enough to not have a car payment and have been able to pay off almost $34k in debt over the past year. Our personal debt does not weigh me down like it used to. Even with quitting my part-time job, I know we will be okay. I know somehow we will make enough money to cover our bills, finish paying off our debt and be able to financially be self-reliant.
However, our business is another story. We have two mortgages on the rental properties and because there were far more repairs than we realized on the new property we purchased, we have been saving and doing our best to try to get the repairs done without going into debt. But then we found out that two of the three units the renters are going to be moving out within a month of each other and if we have two properties without renters then we will have to come up with the money to pay the mortgages on those properties and it could be a huge disaster. So we have decided to put the supplies for the repairs on the credit card and then hopefully we will get the units rented quickly and will not suffer loss of rental income. I hope and pray that once we get through these three repairs that have to be done then there will just be small maintenance to keep up with it and we can quickly pay off the credit card we put the supplies on. Owning your own business is stressful as the debts still weigh heavily on your mind. I hope that we can use the Dave Ramsey method in our business going forward as much as we do in our personal lives.
For my $100 Challenge business things are going really well. I used my $20 capital money to purchase ingredients and supplies for my bread business. I made a batch of each kinds of bread to take to my friend's house for a bread party. I had my first bread party on Wednesday and I sold all the bread I had taken with me (6 loaves) and have orders for 4 more loaves. We also set up a day to have another bread party the first part of June. So far I have not yet made a profit as I had to use the majority of what I made with these sales to buy additional ingredients. But I think these ingredients will help me start turning a profit on my business. Time will tell.
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