FINANCES

It costs more to buy the average new car in the U.S. today than it cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake his maiden voyage to the New World.

David Louis, Fascinating Facts, 1981.

Credit is what keeps you from knowing how far past broke you are.

Statistics

Personal debt in the U.S. increased at the rate of $1000 per second and consumer installment debt has mushroomed to a point where it takes approximately $1 out of every $4 that consumers earn after taxes to keep up the payments--not including the home mortgage. For over 250,000 Americans, the burden of debt is so great that he/she declares bankruptcy. There are even more serious consequences of this financial tension created by debt: 56% of all divorces are a result of financial tension in the home.

Howard Dayton, in Homemade, June 1986. 

"The wise man saves for the future but the foolish man spends whatever he gets." Proverbs 21:20. Since statistics show that the average American consumer has installment payments equal to 17 to 18 percent of his take-home pay, obviously large numbers of persons are overspending. An increase in bankruptcies of over 50% more each year than the previous year, would indicate that such overspending is leading many into financial disasters. And the Bible calls such spenders fools! I don't know many people who deliberately choose to be foolish. When it comes to money, the way to be wise is to be a saver. Here are four simple rules given by the late financier, J.P. Morgan, for saving money. 1. Start early. Today is the day to start your savings program. 2. Save a definite amount. 3. Save regularly and systematically. 4. Employ your savings productively.

George Fooshee, Homemade, Vol. 11, No. 4, (April 1987).