The Economy is in the news all day long. Which Bank is going under today? How is the Government going to step in and Solve our Problems? Wait a minute - How is the Government going to Solve OUR Problems? Is the government really responsible for us -or are We responsible for ourselves?

For the past 4 years, I have had a "Solve the World's Problems" Summit during lunch at least once a week with a buddy of mine where we ussually divide this discussion into 3 topics:

How can my Personal Budget keep me from Feeling the Pain of this Economy?

How  can I Lessen the Pain of this Economy for others?

How does my Faith affect my Perception of these times?

If anyone was to listen to our converstion, they may think we were a combination of Grumpy Old Men, Dave Ramsey, and Slingblade Carl (just because we enjoy saying "Mmmm hmmmmm" like him to make our points).

Anyway, back to our story - let's take this by the numbers:

1. How can my Personal Budget keep me from Feeling the Pain of this Economy? Now some of you are already scratching your head and asking, "What is a Personal Budget?" Well the down and dirty of it is this: - you write down how much money is coming in after taxes every month and you subtract every monthly expense that comes out from large to small - ussually starting with your mortgage or rent - down to gas for the car and money for food & entertainment. Dave Ramsey and other Financial Advisors actually advize us to write the 1st check every month based on 10% of your Income to charity (Church, United Way, etc.),  the  2nd check should be 10% of your Income to your Personal Savings Account (to save for the unexpected expenses), with the rest divided up between  your monthly debts & expenses from big to small -  purposefully beginning to pay off your debt from small to large debts (Dave Ramsey calls this your Debt Snowball).                        Okay -here is where we start our weekly discussion during our Summits: If most people (including me) started following Financial Advisors advice our country would be full of citizens who are giving to charities, have Savings for emergencies (so they won't have to use their credit cards), and have begun to pay off their debt. I think it begins with something my Grandparents called Delayed Gratification - if you are not familiar with this term, click on the link. In our society we are bombarded with commercials that play songs like "I WANT IT ALL & I WANT IT NOW" which promote our Instant Gratification culture - we want what we want when we want it and we want it NOW. That kind of mindset increases our Credit Card Debt, defeats any kind of Personal Savings Plan , and sometimes forces us to tap into our home's equity (read Broker Bryant's post about Your Home is your Castle,  NOT an ATM Machine!)
2. How  can I Lessen the Pain of this Economy for Others? Remember up there in #1 where I told you that Financial Advisors  say it is best to write your first check every month to Charity? That's because the old Proverbs of Widom are true - Don't let the flow of money stop with you, let it flow thru you - If you were a body of water, do you want to be a stagnant pond where the water just stands still or do you want to be a River where there is a fresh supply of water everyday? These Charities -Churches, United Way, Red Cross, and countless others - help the less fortunate everyday. You could even take it a step further and tell your family that this Holiday Season during Thanksgiving and Christmas you'll be joining others in Adopting less fortunate families so they can have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. The possibilities are endless when we -Not the Government -help each other.
3. How does my Faith affect my Perception of these Economic Times? I am a believer that God is in Control no matter what is happening around me. Your Faith may help you as well. If I am completely focused on the Nightly News and I believe everything that comes from it - then I am going to perceive that everything is Doom & Gloom; however, if I am anxiously awaiting how God is going to grow my character thru these times and I am following His Wisdom - I can make it thru anything. How does your Faith help you thru these times? 

So back to my Title question: How are You Allowing this Economy Affect You? Are you cutting back on wants and just taking care of needs for your family so that you can still easily afford your monthly debts? Are you still helping others? Are you still saving for emergencies? (I know -some of you are already in an emergency - but what if you had saved for it before all this mess happened? You can contact some of those charities others give to to help.) Are you relying on yourself and your Faith to bring you thru this  -or are you sitting and waiting for the government to solve your problems?

Are we going to allow this Doom and Gloom mentality anymore or are we going to revive this economy by taking care of ourselves and helping others? 

Or do you think it is too far gone to do anything?