How to Get Out of Debt, Part 5
Larry Burkett in week three of his Money Map Coach discusses the dangers of debt. ”Each year more than one million individuals in our country file bankruptcy.” He quotes a Gallup Poll that indicates that couples who go through divorce named financial tension as part of the reason for that horrendous experience.
Larry defines debt as “Money that one person is obligated to pay to another.” Debt costs people in two ways: fiscal and physical. The example of a person owing $5,560 in credit card debt at 18% will cost that person $1,000 each year in interest. But there is a physical cost as well. The burden of debt enslaves the person causing stress and all of its accompanying physical issues. Larry refers to the bumper sticker: “I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go” as a reminder.
Scripture does not say that debt is sin but Scripture discourages debt. For example, Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.”
HOW TO GET OUT OF DEBT
1. Pray (see 2 Kings 4:1-7)
2. Establish a budget (A budget helps control the biggest budget buster: impulse spending)
3. List your assets—everything you own (Some of which can be sold to get out of debt)
4. List your liabilities—everything you owe (Also find out how much interest your creditors are charging for each debt)
5. Establish a debt repayment plan for each creditor (Focus on paying off smaller debts first or the debts with the highest interest)
6. Do not give up (The freedom of becoming debt free will be worth it all)
