Are you burning cash?

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,

but whoever gains little by little will increase it.”

Proverbs 13:11

Are We Insane or Just Naive?

We would think it’s pure insanity to pay $21.19 for a gallon of water. Yet we don’t hesitate to pay $1.49 for a nine-ounce bottle of Evian spring water. It’s the same number…check my math. It’s labeled as spring water, and most buyers don’t even know the source of the spring. Evian spelled backward is Naïve. Americans spend nearly $100 billion per year on bottled water, when most of the water is no different than tap water.

Americans think a car payment is a way of life. The average American car payment is now $745 per month. Avoiding car payments and interest can have a tremendous impact on our Financial "F" if we take advantage of the power of compounded interest over time. If you were to invest $745 each month for 40 years in a conservative investment that yields 8%, you would have almost $2,500,000.

My Conversations

I’ve been blessed to have had breakfast with a lot of MD5 men over the last decade, and I’ve learned a lot from all of them. Decisions around finances have been the No. 1 topic, and I would struggle to tell you what topic would be in second place. We are living in challenging times economically, but we make it much more difficult when we spend more than we make by trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Make Interest, Don't Pay It

God calls us to be wise stewards of our finances and avoid debt. Money is mentioned over 800 times in the Bible, and never once is debt described in a positive way. Avoid debt, invest wisely, and let the power of compounded interest work for you over long periods of time.

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else.”

- Dave Ramsey

Roger Smithson

MD5 Facilitator