SHORTENING THE TIME HORIZON

The most important resource that we possess is time. Time is a spiritual concept. Time is not something that can be objectively manufactured and everyone can get more time. It has been said that each of us get the same twenty four hours as everyone else is. This is an area of equality for us all. This means that the productive of society add value to their time. People get paid according to how valuable their time is. The vast majority of people get paid low wages because their time in not that valuable.

People with low job skills lack understanding of cause and effect. They are willing to work for low wages because they are too lazy to improve themselves spiritually. If they improved themselves spiritually, then their job performance would improve and their pay would correspondingly rise. People who do not improve their job skills waste their off time. Their free time is filled with one unproductive activity after another. They do not understand the wise use of time. If they did understand, they would use their time wisely, but since they do not, it objectively demonstrates that they lack understanding of the wise use of time.

Contrasting is an effective way of getting a point across. The principle is that if something is true the opposite is also true. Most writers, who view the world through the prism of the visible, do not give both sides of an issue. This is because they view the world through the lens of effects only. They do not and cannot see both sides because to see both sides requires that one thinks in terms of cause and effect.

People with high job skills get paid more because their output per hour is more valuable. The reason that their output is more valuable is because they have prepared themselves spiritually. To be prepared spiritually means that you possess understanding. In other words, you have figured out that things work based on cause and effect. High achievers are not content with where they are at. They need challenges.

The most effective way to use time is to schedule your time. You will waste your time unless you schedule it. This does not mean that you have to necessarily write down a schedule, unless this will help you. I keep my schedule in my head. My schedule drives my wife crazy at time. A schedule is effective because it is an absolute. Those who realize that the world is governed by absolutes will prosper and get the most out of their time. They add value to their time. Deadlines can only be met by keeping to a schedule.

Keeping to a schedule will enable you to get the most out of your time. A schedule is a systematic way of using time. A schedule can be likened to a step ladder. Each increment of scheduled time allows you to take steps toward a goal. In my vending business, with one exception, my stops are timed stops. This means I have to be able to check in the store, put up the product and get to the next stop in time to meet the time deadline. This requires rigid scheduling and efficient use of time. Time cannot be wasted with idle chatter. Scheduling of time keeps you going forward. Without a schedule, you will waste time. Scheduling enables you to shorten time horizons and makes time manageable.

IS IT PAYDAY?

Most people know when it is payday. Usually those who do are ones that are living from paycheck to paycheck. Living paycheck to paycheck is for those who are just beginning to work. Young workers have not built up reserves. They spend most of what they make on current needs. It takes time to build up reserves. Getting established takes time. Even young workers can begin to save some of what they earn if they learn the discipline of savings.

By setting aside something out of each paycheck, eventually a worker can build up enough reserves so that they are not living paycheck to paycheck. The first savings account to be established is an emergency fund. For any of us the future is uncertain. We do not know when an unplanned expenditure will come up. This is why it is wise to plan for the future by having at least an emergency fund in place.

What is sad to see is that older workers have never learned the discipline of savings. Many older workers are still living paycheck to paycheck. They are bad examples to younger workers. These older workers look forward to payday and ask others "Do you know what day it is?" You will hear them say that they are glad it is payday. They work, not to achieve any worthwhile goals, but for payday. They also have low job skills. They see money as the sole reason for having a job. They do not understand the principle of service as the way to increasing their earnings. Those living from payday to payday can see a paycheck. What they cannot see is the reason for a paycheck.

I had something happen to me recently that would have devastated someone living paycheck to paycheck. I own my own business. I am an independent operator of a bread vending route. I get paid 20% of net sales. I am a trained accountant, so I have an Excel spreadsheet where I track my weekly earnings. I know approximately how much my paycheck should be each week. My paycheck is directly deposited every Thursday. This past Thursday, I called my Credit Union to find out about my paycheck. There was no deposit. So I called on Friday and still no deposit. I knew at this point that something was wrong.

I printed out a settlement statement for the week ending 7/11/09. This one page summary sheet said I owed the company $3,651! No wonder I did not get a paycheck. I printed out the entire settlement sheet (about 15 pages) and found the error. I was being charged $4,800 for 2012 Cinnamon Raisin Bagels. I do not even order 2012 Cinnamon Raisin Bagels in a year! Someone had made a mistake. I called the settlement office and the matter is resolved and I will get my paycheck.

The lady at the settlement office told me that I was handling the matter better than she would. What she did not realize is that I was going to get my money and also that I do not live paycheck to paycheck. Though it would have been nice to have my paycheck arrive on time, waiting a week was no big deal. For those who live paycheck to paycheck, an incident like this could devastate them financially for a long time. If you have not established an emergency fund, begin now.

REINFORCING DEPENDENCE

There are some things in life that are what R.J. Rushdoony called inescapable concepts. One of those inescapable concepts is welfare. It is never a question of welfare, no welfare but who pays for welfare. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines welfare as, "Exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity, or evil: the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness." Welfare is a state of being that has its roots in economics.

Dependence is also an inescapable concept. It depends upon whom we want to be dependent upon. There are only two options. One is being dependent upon God and this is called providence and the other is being dependent upon the government. In modern vernacular, being dependent upon the government is called welfare. The government desires control over the citizenry. The way that this is done is twofold. The government has the power of coercion, so it extracts wealth from the productive citizens and gives this wealth to the unproductive. The unproductive in turn vote for those who will give them the most goodies. The unproductive outnumber the productive, so the productive are at a decided disadvantage.

A recent AP story is headlined as "In Philly schools, most students get a free lunch." When I was in college, an economics professor came to the first class with a sign that said that there was no such thing as a free lunch. The headline of this article should read, "In Philly schools, most students get a coercively based free lunch," or "In Philly schools, most students get a taxpayer funded free lunch." We know the media will never be accurate in their reporting and present both sides of the story. This is because the media’s thinking is based solely on effects. They do not understand the law of cause and effect.

Those in the Philly school system do not consider the consequences of giving most students free lunch. This has the opposite effect that is intended. It will never make these students independent and able to take care of themselves when they grow up. Instead, these free lunches will have the effect of making these students dependent upon the government. This is what the government really intends. The last thing that the government wants is a free and independent people. They cannot control that type of citizenry.

Those on assistance or welfare should feel stigmatized but when they are given these free lunches they will feel that they are entitled to them. Janet Hernandez was interviewed for this article. Hernandez said "Sometimes we need that extra little help as far as food goes." Sure she wants free lunches for her children. What parent would like not to have to pay for their children’s food? One thing that those who accept these welfare payments lack and this is the most important thing is, self respect.

Only those who are independent of the government but dependent upon providence have something that no amount of free lunches can supply, self respect. The independent get what they have by achievement and this makes them feel good about themselves. Those who have the entitlement mentality have no self respect and also have no sense of achievement. They are given things without earning them. They cannot and do not feel good about themselves.
　

OUTSMARTING THE BUREAUCRACY

It is astounding when the best and brightest of a nation’s citizens must use self defense tactics to protect their personal property. The way that it is supposed to work is that what you earn is yours and what someone else earns is theirs. Not in this country. What is yours is what has been legislated as yours. Now your neighbor has as much right to what you earn as you do and he does not have any qualms about using the civil government to extract your wealth from you.

There are consequences in rejecting God’s law. One of those consequences is envy. The wealthy are the constant targets of the lazy and shiftless. Those who have never accomplished anything in their lives want to take away from those who have achieved. The envious desire to destroy the successful or at least bring them down to the gutter where these losers reside. In our day, oil companies are derided for raising the price of their product. The envious talk much about how the oil companies are stealing from them.

Think for a minute about what oil companies do. Oil companies provide gasoline for people to put in their cars and trucks. In other words, they are producing something of value that people can use. How is this associated with robbery? The oil companies are not coercing anyone to purchase gasoline. The individual chooses to purchase this product at the price that it is currently selling at. If the individual thinks the price is too high or he is being gouged, he can refrain from purchasing the product. You never hear these envious people deriding any other industry that raises their prices, like the automobile industry.

The civil government in America does not know what it is doing. The government is clueless when it comes to economic law. In fact, the government does not believe that there is such a thing as economic law. So the civil government creates economic problems and then seeks to remedy what they have caused only making things worse never better. The market is a system that runs best when it is decentralized. Centralization ensures that the economy is run by the incompetent, the bureaucracy.

The bureaucracy is comprised of people who have never run a successful business and are not subject to the market. The thing the bureaucrat fears most is budget cuts. The best way to defend yourself against bureaucratic control is to remain a small enterprise. When you are a small enterprise, you can generally avoid detection by the regulators. When you get to a big size, you are an easier target to regulate.

Even if you become wealthy, it is wise not to show off your opulence. It is better to avoid being seen as wealthy. There are too many envious people in our culture who would love nothing more than to see the bureaucrats take everything away from you. It is better not to let others know what you are doing. Quietly acquire your assets without any fanfare. Stay out of the newspapers. Do not in anyway draw attention to yourself. Go about your business with focus and quietness. It is the safest way.

GETTING IN THE FLOW

The goal of all enterprises should be success. Few people think in terms of achievement but it is essential in all endeavors. This is the purpose of profit and loss statements. This statement is designed to demonstrate objectively success or failure. It is better to be in the black rather than the red. Red ink means that adjustments must be made in order for a business to be considered a going concern. Red ink cannot flow forever without serious ramifications i.e., death of the business. What was the cause of the death of the business? The answer would be it bled to death.

All endeavors begin with the learning curve. This is a period when someone learns about a business. This is where the individual is thinking and conscious of his actions. This is the pre-concept era. This is where the majority of mistakes take place. Mistakes take place because the individual believes that he is going to mess up and then he does confirming what he thought. This period of time is where the individual over thinks. He is overly conscious. In other words, he has not learned how to get in the zone.

Being in a zone is where the endeavor has been fully conceptualized. Zone thinking is characterized by intense focus. Focus is directed to the successful completion of any undertaking. Those in the zone are focused on one result, successful completion of the task. Zone thinking is the opposite of multitasking. Multitasking is trying to do to many things at one time. Those in a zone are single minded. They know what they want and then they go out and make it happen.

Zone thinkers have ice water running through their veins. These individuals have taken the emotion out of what they are doing. These individuals are in a hurry without being in a hurry. Zone thinking is detailed oriented. All details have to be covered for completion. When I was in the Navy, it was drilled into our heads pay attention to detail. Those in the zone have learned to pay attention to detail. Paying attention to detail means that mistakes are minimized. Making a lot of mistakes slows down your progress and you do not have time to make mistakes.

Zone thinkers are mentally prepared for the task at hand. They have seen in their mind’s eye the successful completion of the task. They have played the same video over and over again. They do not think in terms of failing, only succeeding. Zone thinkers are methodical in all that they do. They have developed a system that works every time. They put their system into play in the endeavor that they are currently working on. This system leaves out all superfluous details. The system works because it is based solely on essentials. All non essentials have been flushed out and discarded.

Tasks involve flows or a process. Tasks have steps that must be taken to succeed. Methodically taking the steps one at a time and not leaving out any steps allows one to develop skill and confidence. Trying to short cut the process will not end up good in the long run. Develop a system and then work the system over and over again. Working the system puts you in the zone and you are on your way to success.

THE INDIRECT METHOD

I was sent an e-mail recently where the writer calls himself a Christian agrarian. He believes that he has come up with a system that will overcome inflation. He is blinded by not understanding things spiritually. His example sounds good but it is a version of the direct method which is inefficient in supplying our needs. He thinks that all he has to do is go out to the chicken coop and get some eggs and if he has excess eggs, he can use those to barter.

We live in a complex economic age and barter is a primitive system of exchange. What this Christian agrarian is proposing is a return to the past. He is as all visible thinkers are, tied to the past. They are not forward looking. He is proposing the destruction of the division of labor. The division of labor is based upon a common medium of exchange that we call money. Money allows us to be free from the limitations of barter.

Visible thinkers look longingly backwards to what they think is a simpler life. Actually, past life was not easier, it was hard and arduous. The complex life we live in today is a simpler life than in the past. Today, there is less manual labor and more mental labor. Machinery allows man to build bigger institutions quicker and at less cost than his manual labor can. Manual labor without machinery is using the direct method. The Christian agrarian is proposing a system of poverty. Those who are past oriented are lower class. The future oriented are upper class.

The future belongs to those who believe in looking forward. The Christian agrarian is not relevant. Anything he says can be disregarded. While he may be able to eat eggs, is he also going to make his own shoes? His solution is to go barefoot, that is the direct method right out in the open. Who is going to make his clothing and provide other needs that he has? If he is going to be doing it all himself, he is going to run out of time and energy and he is going to be poorer.

The Christian agrarian does not understand economics nor the indirect method. The indirect method of production as defined by Bohm-Bawerk is using our minds to solve economic problems before going about working on them directly. In other words, the indirect method is another way of saying that the spiritual precedes the physical or the law of cause and effect. The indirect method is a complex way of thinking but one that delivers the goods.

A recent example of the direct method versus the indirect method was in trying to catch a cat to give to a family. We have been feeding feral cats for quite a few years. We are preparing to move and my wife wanted to see that two of these cats have a good home. A widow lady wanted two cats. I told her that we could get them for her. My wife and I tried to capture one of the cats using the direct method that is catch the cat and put her into the cage. We tried this method twice and failed twice.

My daughter had a better plan. Her plan was an indirect method. If animals are blinded they will not fight. This is the reason that a horse has blinders on him. What she did was to put an old t-shirt over the head of the cat so that the cat could not see the cage. The cat did not fight her and she was able to put the cat easily into the cage. When the widow lady arrived with her daughter, she did not think that we got the cat but I told her to look in the cage and there was the cat.

The indirect method worked where the direct method failed. While this example deals with catching a cat, the indirect method works in every situation where it is tried. The indirect method delivers the goods, the direct method is severely limited. The direct method leads to viewing the world with doom and gloom whereas, the indirect method allows us to overcome difficulties. The indirect method is used to fulfill the dominion mandate. The indirect method allows us to subdue the earth.

TAX RELIEF

Few things are more apparent than the economic ignorance of Americans. I did not learn about economics until I was in college. Most Americans do not attend college nor take a course in economics. The economics that are taught in our colleges and universities is Keynesian. They follow the idiocy of John Maynard Keynes. This form of economics is false and Keynes was a false prophet. He is a pariah. His contribution to economics and politics is bankruptcy i.e., running deficits. This is slow economic suicide for anyone that tries it and yet every government in the world is wedded to Keynesian economics.

Our political system is all about buying votes. The rich are outvoted by the parasites who want to steal from the productive. The attitude of these parasites is one of entitlement. The worst of the worst are our senior citizens. They have voted themselves an income in their old age from younger workers through Social Security and Medicare. I have lost respect for seniors. I resent them having access to money that I have earned. I do not go to work to support these parasites but I am forced by law which means by a gun placed to my temple forcing me to fork over my earnings.

Retirees lives consists of going to their next doctor’s appointment and they get in the way of those who are doing something useful with their lives. We are told that the seniors deserve these things. Why do they deserve it? What did they do that is so special? I have no problem if they earn these things but Social Security is not earned income. You do not have to work to get it. You just have to attain to a certain age. Social Security discriminates against younger workers.

I received sticker shock the other day when I went to license a truck I use for business. The overpaid clerk said that will be $645. I said what? I was not expecting to pay that much. That is because I forgot that I would have to pay sales tax on the purchase of this work truck. Think about this, this is the third time that sales tax has been paid on the same truck. Why should I have to pay sales tax on something that had sales tax paid when it was originally purchased?

What happens to economic activity when taxes are placed on everything. Let us take the $645 sales tax as an example. I handed this money over to the local government. What happens to this money? It goes to fund some government program and everyone knows that apart from law enforcement, these funds will be spend inefficiently. I could have used this $645 to purchase something that I needed or wanted.

What would have been the result of my purchasing something I wanted or needed? It would have stimulated demand in the private economy. It would have helped to employ someone in private industry. In other words, it would have created employment. With tax relief, employers would have to increase their payrolls. This would cause an increase in private employment and thus economic activity. It would also increase tax revenues because more people would be paying taxes. Do not tell the government this though. Our government is run by dolts.

MAKING MORE MONEY

You can always tell that someone does not understand something when they make a statement like, "If I made more money, I would not change a thing." Obviously, the person making this statement has not had a substantial increase in their monthly budget. Making more money is going to change the way that you view the world. Money will change you and that change will either be good or bad.

Making more money opens up more opportunities to do more of what you want to do. Making more money means that you are not bound by providing only for needs, you have now entered into the world of wants. You can purchase things that you want, not just what you need. Making more money means that you can purchase a nicer home and you do not have to settle for something that you do not want.

It is still wise to be frugal. Frugality has degrees. The principle of frugality is managing efficiently resources at one’s disposal. Frugality means wasting nothing. Frugality takes place at different levels for different people. Those who make more money are able to still be frugal but it is at a higher level. Proper management of our resources is applied wisdom. A frugal man will not spend more than he earns, no matter how much money he makes. The frugal understand the way to wealth.

While looking for bargains, those who make more money are not constrained to such a point that, if they have to pay a little more for something, it does not put a crimp in their budget. There is an important principle at work here. Those who have an abundance will increase in abundance as Matthew 25:29 says, "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Those who have an abundance understand the principles required in gaining this abundance. Those who have not have taken away even what they have because they failed to understand the way things work in God’s world.

Making more money means that you can go to a restaurant and get what you want and even have dessert. You do not have to worry about how you are going to pay for it. You can take out others and be glad to pay the bill. You can buy better home furnishings. Instead of buying the particle board furniture, you can purchase furniture that uses real wood. By buying better quality furnishings, they will last longer and can be passed on.

Making more money makes you feel better about yourself. You have the ability to be generous. If there is a need, you are able to contribute. Making these contributions opens up avenues for you to make even more money. It is amazing how that those who have money continually have new ways of making more money open up to them. Generosity is an admirable trait and making more money enables you to exhibit this trait. John Wesley instructed us to make as much as we can, to save as much as we can, and to give as much as we can. This is wise advice.

ECONOMICS AND ESCHATOLOGY

It is good to realize that life is not disjointed but connected together. All things in life have meaning and purpose because we live in a personal world. This means that things can be determined orderly. An impersonal world leads to a world of nonsense and yet the impersonal now pervades our culture. This has occurred through the acceptance of evolutionary presuppositions Atheism has consequences and these consequences are all bad.

Within the Christian community, eschatology has played a predominate role for the better part of 170 years. The major eschatological view is known as Pre-Millennialism. This has been in vogue for all these long years. It is true that what you believe about the future will determine what you do in the present. What is the future as proclaimed by Pre-Millennialism? They believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return any moment. They proclaim the imminent rapture. Their view of the future is extremely short term.

Even though they hold this view, what has been the objective result? Has Christ returned or have those who advocate this doctrine gone the way of all flesh? When it comes to belief, it becomes obvious that objective evidence will be wholly ignored. With the acceptance of Pre-Millennialism comes the rejection of God’s law. Law works itself out over a period of time based upon future actions. If there is no future, who needs any law? This view of the future leads to rampant antinomianism. Antinomianism leaves a vacuum that is filled with man’s law as expressed by the increasing control of a central government. Wherever Pre-Millennialism flourishes, so will statism.

Another eschatological view is Amillennialism. This is the proverbial no man’s land. Amillennialists believe that God’s kingdom is wholly spiritual and has no effect upon public policy. The Amillennialist makes the church as the only manifestation of the kingdom of God in the earth. They believe the religion is wholly a personal matter and should be excluded from the public square. The Amillennialist believes in neutrality. He does not believe in the millennium. This means that he does not believe in the future. In this regard, he does not differ from the Pre-Millennialist with regard to the future.

The final eschatological view is Post-Millennialism. The Post-Millennial looks for Christ to return after the millennium. The Pre-Millennial believes that Christ returns before the millennium and it physically present during the millennium. The Post-Millennial believes that the millennium takes place during history and in fulfillment of the Dominion Mandate and the Great Commission. In other words, the Post-Millennial is forward looking. He works presently for future gains.

Eschatology has consequences. The Post-Millennial believes that we subdue the earth and have dominion by the institution of God’s law. The Post-Millennial believes the church will be successful in the conversion of the nations to Christianity. To be successful in the economic world, it takes being future oriented. Being future oriented means having foresight and using wisdom in every facet in life. Economics flourishes best under Post-Millennialism.

CREDIT COUNSELING

I have not owned a television in 16 years. This is a blessing. I have been asked how I could live without a television. My response is how can you live with one? Television watching is a wholly passive exercise. It will make your mind turn into mush. I would rather listen to the radio. I like the radio because I have to use my imagination when processing information. Someone that is successful in life will not be a big television watcher.

Unfortunately, there are advertisements on the radio just like television. Fortunately, I do not have to see them. I only hear them. It is interesting to hear what is being advertised. Like a steady drum beat, the advertisements are for credit counseling. The advertisements are aimed at those who are deep in credit card debt. The reason that these advertisements are effective with these people is because they are desperate.

Those who are in over their head with debt lack foresight. The appeal of these credit advertisements is that something can be done now to alleviate their credit card debt. These individuals want their credit card debt to disappear magically without any effort on their part. They do not understand the way to pay off debt. These people are putting themselves in the hands of charlatans.

Those deep in credit card debt lack the essential to getting out of debt, self-discipline. They refuse to restrain their spending. Even if they can reduce their credit card debt through these credit counselors, they will be right back in the same position unless they learn self-restraint and based upon their past record, this is not going to happen. These people are marks. This is why there has been a proliferation of credit card counseling advertisements on the radio.

These credit card counselors are really thieves. They advertise that the credit card companies are trying to keep these people in debt. These advertisements take away the personal responsibility of these people to stay out of debt. They put the blame on the credit card companies. Question who charged up the credit cards in the first place? What we have here is misplaced responsibility on the part of the credit card counselors.

These credit card counselors business depends upon people’s financial stupidity. They are con men. They want to help you stiff the credit card companies. How convenient to max out credit cards and then not have to pay them off. This is theft. Those who do this are what the Bible calls wicked. Psalm 37:21 says that the wicked borrows money but does not repay his debt. These credit counselors are wicked and God will hold them accountable for their thievery. Be honest and pay off your just debts.

ECONOMICS AND TIME

Time is a non- renewable resource. Once it is gone, it cannot be gotten back. However, those who are Christians have eternal life. Their time is forever and blissful. The time that is being discussed here is what could be called physical time or historical time. This time could also be called temporal time. Once a day is gone, it is gone forever. It becomes a part of a record called history. Everyone is making their own historical record.

Most people do not think that they are making history. They think that it is only famous people who are historical figures. This is incorrect. If someone thinks that they are making history, it would hopefully ennoble them to be careful in their actions and yet there is an account of our actions being recorded in heaven. What we do with our allotted amount of temporal time tells us much about ourselves.

As always, there are two ways to view time. Time will be viewed childishly or maturely. These two different ways of viewing time will end up producing opposite results. A child has no concept of the future. To a child all that exists is the immediate moment. Children are impulsive. They lack the ability of restraint. In other words, they have not developed self discipline. Learning self discipline requires thinking about time, namely the future. Adults that are not future oriented are considered children spiritually.

Adults that are children spiritually have learned nothing from life. They do not know how the world operates. These adults do not understand time. These adults do not make provision for the future. Proverbs 6 has a message for these adults. The sluggard is told to go and learn from the ant. The ant uses her present time to make sure that she will have provision for the future and the ant does not need anyone to oversee her in this objective. Childish adults respond only to physical force. They have to have outward discipline placed on them to get them to do what they should do themselves. They lack internal self control.

The frugal man views time in a different fashion. He understands the relationship between economics and time. He makes the best use of his time in the immediate moment. He has an eye toward the future. He looks back on the historical record (the accounting statements) to help him to make progress in the future. The frugal man is future oriented and uses forethought. He is continually thinking about what he is going to do in the future. This is thinking in terms of cause and effect.

We work today for the future. We are made to move forward. Gary North said that time is linear. Time is progressive. Time is about the future. We are to be looking forward. By working today, we are taking care of our future needs. Buying quality products allows us to have something that will be of use for many years. Craftsmanship is related to time. It takes longer to make something of quality than something that is mass produced. Economics and time are inseparable.

BUYING AN INCOME STREAM

The goal of the frugal is to be wealthy. Wealth is a relative term. When we think of wealth, we think of a billionaire. Most people do not live in this kind of world. This is for an exclusive few. Most of us have to do the best we can with our limited resources. We can, however, build up our net worth from a small amount into a relatively large amount. Frugality, by definition, will ensure such is the case.

There are many ways of building wealth. Some ways will allow for building wealth quicker than others. Most people will end up working for wages. There is nothing wrong with this method because it is doing productive work and productive work is always virtuous. By limiting expenses, the wage worker will be able to build his net worth. He can then take his surplus and put it into an investment that brings additional returns on top of his wages.

Building one’s wealth is a good thing because it only comes by serving the needs of others. Productive work benefits both the supplier and the purchaser. Both get what they need in meeting their needs. Also, it helps to build cooperation and relationships. Wealth increases in times of peace, not war. Peace is brought about when people are focused on serving their neighbor rather than being at war with his neighbor.

Equity is a good way to increase wealth. With each payment that is made, the buyer owns more of what he has purchased, whether it be a personal residence or a business. The more that you own, the more wealthy you are. Being an owner changes your perspective towards material wealth. You will take care of your property better than if you were a renter or an employee. Equity means that property will be better maintained than otherwise.

I have just purchased a business that pays me 20% commission on net weekly sales. I have taken out three loans that means that the purchase is 100% financed. The interest expense is a business deduction. What I am essentially buying is an income stream. This is the way that I view it. With each week, I will be reducing the amount of the loans as the principal and interest of two of the loans are deducted from my weekly check.

I have purchased an income stream of an established brand. People recognize the name of what I sell. Some of this businesses’ products are the market leader. For instance, Thomas Original English Muffins are the market standard. This means that I have an established sales base. When purchasing an income stream, it is important to look at the numbers. The debt must be serviced and also provide for an income. If the numbers work out, then one should think about purchasing an income stream.

ECONOMICS AND THEOLOGY

There has been an attempt to separate what cannot be separated. This has been attempted in every branch of human knowledge. All knowledge has to have a base but we are living in an age when knowledge has been separated from its foundation. Thus, present day knowledge is without a foundation. This means that knowledge cannot be put together into a comprehensive whole. Knowledge will be fragmented. When knowledge is fragmented the world becomes fragmented and man’s policies will bear the same quality.

Modern education is not based upon the principle of unity and plurality. Unity and plurality are theological concepts. God created the world and He has defined the way that the world works. He has built into the fabric of creation unity and plurality. Unity and plurality are also expressed as the one and the many. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity explains unity and plurality. God is a unity and a plurality simultaneously. All three persons of the Godhead are equally God i.e., they are ontologically God and God’s personages all have different functions or the concept of the economical Trinity.

All knowledge is theologically based. Theology is the unity of knowledge. The different subject matters are the plurality. Thus, theology controls all knowledge. The analogy of a tree with its branches gives us a spiritual look at what knowledge should represent. All areas of knowledge come from the same source. This makes knowledge unified, not fragmented. Every separate area of knowledge has a similar source and thus can be traced back to its original source.

Economics is a branch of theology. Economics is permanently attached to its source and attempting to separate it will have disastrous results. Since God is Spirit, His word is spiritual. All of God’s word is law based. The law is spiritual. Therefore, all knowledge is spiritual and is law based. This makes economics a branch that is governed by particular laws. One of the most familiar of these laws is the law of supply and demand.

Two Commandments that are not mentioned in economic literature but apply anyway are "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not covet." If something is true, the opposite is also true. When someone steals what are they stealing? They are stealing private property. The Eighth Commandment prohibits stealing and at the same time enforces the right to enjoyment of private property. The prohibition against coveting has the same kind of idea behind it as stealing. You are prohibited from evilly desiring your neighbor’s personal property.

Modern education needs to be reformed. Reformation can only take place when the church realizes that the law of God governs His world that He created. Economics is not a science but it is applied wisdom. Frugality is a branch of wisdom and wisdom is a branch of theology. There is a hierarchy of knowledge. Being able to recognize this hierarchy will enable one to progress in God’s world. The Christian should never be ashamed to admit that economics is theologically based.

SURVIVAL OF THE WISEST

Today is Earth Day. What is Earth Day? Earth Day is the open admission that the religion of the world is worship of the creation rather than the Creator. It is worshiping the effect rather than the Cause. It is idolatry right out in the open. This is not surprising as the official religion of the government school system is evolutionary. This leads right into atheism. Man becomes his own god under this scenario.

It does not matter what man believes because he still lives in a world that has a Creator and He has established the laws that govern the world that man lives in. God’s government is based upon ethical cause and effect. This cause and effect proceeds from the spiritual to the physical. The condition of the heart determines the actions of the individual. An evil heart will produce evil actions and of course, a good heart will produce in accordance with its own kind.

What the atheist or idolater does not realize is how utterly devoid of understanding they are. Anyone who listens to these dolts will be led astray in how the world works. Man does not think that there are economic laws but there are and these laws are first subjective and work their way into the objective world. The evolutionist believes in survival of the fittest. This survival is based on physical strength. Physical strength is dependent upon the direct method in economics. The direct method is a world that is devoid of capital.

The wise or frugal man realizes that he needs capital and thus uses the indirect method in supplying his needs. The frugal understand the importance of Deuteronomy 4:5-6, "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."

Keeping God’s law will ensure the survival of the wisest. It is the wise who inherit, not the physically strong. The wise can outsmart the physically strong. The physically strong cannot think and therefore are limited in their abilities to effect right policy. The physically strong can only be employed in certain industries that do not require much mental thought. So the physically strong will eventually be working for the frugal, the ones who understand finance and economics.

The market system belongs to the wise, not to the physically strong. The market is the subjective decisions of all participants. The wise understand that all action begins mentally and actions in the market are ethically determined. The wise will get and control the upper hand. A good example is athletics. The owners buy the services of the physically strong. Athletics is more about physical skill than mental. When an athlete is no longer able to compete physically, his career is over. The wise never have to get out of their professions because they do not have to get out of the market. Their minds will carry them through.

DECLARING BANKRUPTCY

It is apparent to those who have eyes to see that there are more ignorant people than intelligent. When defining intelligence, I have in mind the use of wisdom. Another way to say this would be there are more fools than wise people. We are living in a day of foolishness. People, who should have learned the lessons of life by now, keep making the same mistakes over and over again. They are not only slow learners, they are non learners.

Those who are wise have understanding and the foolish have no understanding. This will always be the case. Some things in life are predictable. Listen to what someone says. Their words will betray them as to what they believe about the world in which they live. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." The Lord Jesus is talking about the law of identity. Wisdom comes out of the mouth of the wise and foolishness out of the mouth of fools.

What is in the heart of the individual precedes his actions. If a man’s heart is full of foolishness, then his actions will be of the same kind. The reverse is true of the wise man. There are only two possibilities of living, being wise or being a fool. There is not a third option available. Which is it going to be? The majority of people have chosen the way of foolishness because they lack understanding. They have been trained in idolatry in the government schools and it shows in their decisions.

Before someone legally declares bankruptcy , they are first spiritually bankrupt. They have violated the biblical principle of avoiding debt. They have sold their souls into slavery because they lack the ability to control their spending. When someone is a spendthrift, it demonstrates an inability of controlling one’s person. It is a lack of self control and thus, self government. The principle is always the same, "If you do not discipline yourself, someone else must discipline you." In this instance, the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction over you.

Someone who declares bankruptcy has demonstrated that he is unable of controlling his financial affairs. This is symptomatic of a heart of foolishness. During the present time of financial crisis bankruptcies are increasing despite it being harder to declare bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney complained that he is working seven days a week and has more business than he can handle. Being overextended is not wise but this over extension took place spiritually before it manifested itself openly.

Foolish people do not understand the principle of frugality. The wise know that the route to riches is to spend less than you earn. This means the wise will have a surplus. This means the wise have disciplined themselves to save. Not only to save but they save their funds systematically. Setting aside 10% of your income systematically i.e., every time you get paid will result in a good balance. The wise also tithe 10% of their income. They pay God first and God ensures that they are always taken care of. The foolish have no God watching out over them.

NOT SOUGHT AFTER

According to experts in writing, you are not to write your sentences using negatives. I obviously do not care much what experts have to say. If these supposed experts knew anything about thinking, they would recognize that if something is true, the opposite is true. When defining something in the negative, I am at the same time defining it in its positive form because the opposite would be the case.

What people go after is an indication of the way that they think. The rule is that the subjective comes before the objective. Thought or the lack of thought precedes actions. What people do is what they have thought about previously. Actions are not random. Even if the thought is in an instant, there was some thought prior to any action. This being the case, it is interesting what people will seek after.

In the current economic crisis, people are finding out that they are overextended in their budgets. It is apparent that they did not have a clue as to what a budget does and how to operate one. They did not want to be bound by any constraints. You hear much about how people have been reining in their spending. You mean that they were not doing this before? It is apparent that these people lack financial acumen and this is the reason why they are in the financial condition they are.

What is not sought after? Economic wisdom. Wisdom is what these people lack and yet they do not seek what they need. It is like the people who need to lose weight but do not because they haven’t a clue how to do it. We are living in an age where more money is spent on education and yet, stupidity reigns supreme. Wisdom is not a sought after commodity and yet it is the key to economic and financial success.

What is sought after? The lottery and unemployment benefits. If someone loses their job, their new job is to find a job. What unemployment does is take away the incentive to find another job. Why try to seek a job if you are already getting paid? Those who play the lottery are looking for a quick way to become rich through no effort of their own. Lottery players and those on unemployment have no ambition and no initiative. They make poor employees and this may be the reason why they lost their jobs in the first place.

When economic hard times come, the first to lose their jobs are the marginal performers. Producers do not lose their jobs and if they do, they make it their ambition to secure another position as soon as possible, even if it means taking a job that pays less than their previous one. Economic wisdom comes from listening to good advice. In the multitude of counselors there is wisdom the Proverbs say. Those having difficult financial times seek advice from all the wrong sources. They do not seek economic wisdom, just government handouts and another lottery ticket.

PRICING A PRODUCT

It never dawns on us just how much knowledge we possess. I hear a lot about simplifying our lives. The thought is that by becoming less civilized that our lives will be made simpler. However, your life does not become simpler, it becomes more arduous. Civilization actually makes life simpler and more enjoyable. It becomes simpler because of the division of labor. Within the division of labor, the complexities are worked out and we benefit from this and our lives are enriched.

We do not need to possess exhaustive knowledge just true knowledge as Cornelius Van Til said. This means that we are made wealthy by the knowledge of others. I do not have to know how to manufacture an automobile. All that I need to know is how to operate it. Since I am an end user of the automobile, all that I care about it is that it does what it is supposed to do, provide transportation.

There are many factors that go into making a decision. Each factor must be weighed accordingly. A decision is a unity and the factors comprising the decision are the plurality. Thus, all decisions are based upon the Christian doctrine of the Trinity of unity and plurality. This makes thinking complex by nature. The ability to think in terms of complexity is something that God has gifted us with because we are made in His image.

Being made in God’s image has an effect in the economic world known as the market. Pricing is a phenomenon of the market. Economic decisions cannot be made without prices. Prices are to be rational expressions of the law of supply and demand. Prices have to be determined before offering a product for sale. Prices are an essential feature of the market system. Prices lead to an orderly functioning of the market. Prices allow you to know how much to allocate in your budget for the products that you need.

Prices are established where value is established, subjectively. Prices are objectively based but subjectively determined. The essential point of pricing is what the market will bear. In other words, those in charge of establishing prices do so based upon what they think they can get for their product. Those who establish prices have to have a feel for the market they are servicing. They have to be aware of the market conditions in which they operate. Pricing can be considered an art rather than a hard science. Production costs establish a starting price. Production costs are objective but they are not the final price.

Entrepreneurs operate more based upon their gut instincts rather than any hard science. Entrepreneurs are not academics. They are doers and accomplishers and market makers. They do not follow text books. Entrepreneurs have their money on the line. Therefore, their pricing must reflect the market conditions in which they operate. If they set the price too low, they will sell a lot but not make money and if they set the price to high, they will not sell enough. This is why when determining price, there are many factor to consider, making it complex. Consumers benefit from entrepreneurs dealing with complexities and offering a price for their product. This simplifies things for the consumer.

GETTING GOOD ADVICE

Advice is something that most people give us for free. We get it whether we asked for it or not. However, advice is not something that is a zero priced good. Advice is spiritual in nature but it translates into the visible world. Advice is wisdom put into action. There are two types of advice, good and bad. Most people will take bad advice because they do not have to pay for it. Most people do not consider that paying for advice can end up saving them money in the long run. This is what most people do not consider, the long run, and thus, the reason for them not seeking good advice.

We live in a world with a highly specialized division of labor. We have to realize that we are limited in our abilities. We cannot be everywhere all at one time, nor can we do all things at one time. We are so limited that multi-tasking is a misnomer. We can only think of one thing at one time and since our attention is limited, we can effectively only perform one task at a time. This is why it is imperative to narrow our attention to becoming proficient in a minimum amount of tasks.

It is wise to recognize our limitations. We simply cannot do everything. There are things that belong to God alone and man must recognize who he is. Living in an age when God is relegated out of His universe that He created has allowed man to attempt the impossible of playing God. Of course, man has failed and demonstrated foolishness rather than wisdom. This condition is not going to change any time soon.

There are reasons why people cannot get ahead. While everyone has an opinion on the recent AIG bonuses (which I do not care anything about), they do not stop to consider their own financial house. They demonstrate their envy rather than trying to get their lives in order and advancing their cause. They want to pull others down rather than expending the effort to raise themselves up.

One of the main reasons people do not get ahead is because they do not seek good advice. Good advice usually comes at a price. People want good advice. The catch is is that they want it without having to pay for it. A situation where this is so is being a doctor. When someone finds out you are a doctor, they want free medical advice. The same for an attorney or accountant. Of course, the proper response would be, "I would be glad to give you advice. Here is my secretary’s phone number. Call her and set up an appointment." This would stop free advice seekers.

Good advice is not a zero priced good. The old adage that you pay for what you get is still true today. The wealthy have a bevy of advisors. They realize that they cannot know everything and that it is wise to seek good advisors. Those who could use the services of advisors do not. They get their advice from co-workers, family, and friends. Not that some of these may have good advice at times, just remember that you may not be getting the specific advice that you need. Advisors have answers that others do not possess and you must pay them for what they know.

CHOOSING THE PRACTICAL

Economics boils down to one word, choice. We all face a world of choice. The key is making the right choice. Making right choices allows us to be satisfied with those choices. Making right choices allows one to sleep at night. Choices will be based upon two premises. One premise is too make choices randomly, and the other is to make choices based upon principle. One leads in one direction and the other leads in the opposite direction.

When it comes to choice, one has to realize that choice is limited. We have more choices than we do budget. There are limits to the amount of money that we can spend. The principle is always the same that, if you want to be wealthy, you must spend less than you earn. This principle is never taught in school, yet it is the heart of the market system. Those who save money are the key to the capitalistic system. They provide the necessary capital that will fund future economic growth.

Savers are future oriented. They are a small minority. The vast majority of people are present oriented and they demonstrate this daily by their choices. The saver saves his income systematically and at a set rate, such as 10%. Combined with interest, the saver will have a surplus for the future. The present oriented person does not save and spends all that he earns and when an emergency occurs he is left with nothing. So he turns to the government to steal from the saver. The present oriented person is a thief at heart and in the voting booth. He votes himself an income from the productive.

Those who understand limitations are wise. It is those who do not understand these limitations that are dolts. The wise plan their income and expenses. The wise realize that they must secure a living and control their expenses. One way to control expenses is through the concept of substitution. When something rises in price, it wise to find an alternative that is lower in price. This requires an individual to be aware of prices.

Take for example steak. A few years ago, you could purchase T-Bone Steak for $3.99 a pound. Now, T-Bone Steaks sell for $5.99 a pound on sale. Even though I could afford to buy steak at $5.99 a pound, I choose not to. To me it is overpriced and I refuse to pay their price. As I say, they are proud of their steak and they are going to keep it. They will sell it because most people see steak and they buy it without considering an alternative. There is no thought process in their choice.

This week, Kroger is selling Sirloin Tip Roast for $1.99 a pound. It comes in a 12-14 lb. package. You can ask the butcher to cut it into three roasts. While it may not be a steak, a roast in my mind is satisfactory, especially the price. I am saving $4.00 a pound. If I bought 14lbs of steak, it would cost me $83.86 plus sales tax of 8.25%. 14lbs of roast costs me $27.86 plus sales tax. In this case, by buying roast instead of steak, I end up saving $60.62. If you are interested in saving money, buy roast instead of steak.

BIG PICTURE ECONOMICS

For those who are guided by principles it is a good thing that they use perspective when looking at a particular situation. Perspective is spiritual. It is a way of viewing things. If things are not put into perspective, the result will be an over or an under emphasis upon the matter at hand. Balance can only be obtained by putting things into their proper perspective. Perspective requires being able to mentally assemble all the pieces and putting them into a whole. Perspective is thus, thinking in terms of unity and plurality.

Views of things can either be clearly seen or they can be obstructed. Much more can be seen from a mountaintop than from a valley. From the mountaintop, one can view more territory because the perspective is greater. The view from the valley is limited because the perspective is limited. Thus, if one wants to gain a greater perspective, he would want to go to the mountaintop to gain his perspective rather than the valley.

Yet, most people are content to get their perspective from the valley rather than the mountaintop. This is because climbing the mountain requires effort and the valley dweller is content with his present view. The risk for the valley dweller is too great. He deals only in safety and security. The man on the mountaintop is not satisfied with the view the valley gives him, so he scales the mountain.

Much has been made of what is called the Peter Principle which basically assets that an individual will rise to his level of incompetence. I have read this book and to my knowledge the author does not state the reason for this eventual incompetence. All tasks are comprised of unity and plurality. Unity has to do with the purpose of a task and plurality is the details associated with bringing about the unity.

What happens is that some people are good with details. They excel in mastering detail. They make excellent workers. They get tasks done and done correctly. They must be kept in these positions without promoting them. When these same individuals are put into a supervisory capacity, they cannot function because they do not have the proper perspective. They are used to viewing things from the valley and now they are asked to have a mountaintop view. Disaster awaits. They are so lost in detail that they do not understand the purpose of their function. They excel in plurality and lack in unity.

How about those who are unity oriented to the exclusion of plurality? This is where many owners of companies fail. They more than anyone understand the purpose of their business. However, when the details i.e. numbers do not add up, they seek to ignore the objective results of their operations and focus solely upon the mission of the company rather than attending to the details. The ship must be kept afloat despite the evidence of the gaping hole in the side. The objective evidence of the details must be dealt with for the unity to continue.

The perspective that is needed at all times and in all places is the big picture. The big picture does not get lost in either the ditch of unity or the ditch of plurality exclusively. The big picture encompasses the necessity of both unity and plurality. Each balances out the other. When someone loses perspective of an issue, they are focusing narrowly and getting lost. They then keep getting more entangled by continuing to struggle in the same direction.

What is required is getting outside the situation to gain some perspective. It is a time of stepping back and seeking to get the big picture. Big picture economics is sticking with what works. What works is work. Investing our time in productive enterprises is where we can gain the biggest return. Many want to make money in a supposedly easy way i.e., without effort or due diligence on their part.

Seeing the big picture is the key to all supervisory positions. Those who have this perspective should be promoted. This is where companies have failed. They do not understand the principle of unity and plurality when it comes to the workplace. Thus, those who were competent at one level are overwhelmed at the next and rendered incompetent. Seeing the big picture is spiritual and is necessary to promotion in any and every endeavor.

FINANCIAL PRIORITY

One day it dawns on some people that they cannot do everything and therefore, they must rein in their activities to what is the most important. The Apostle Paul stated this priority in two verses that have the same theme. One is located at Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." Redeeming the time means that a person has wisdom regarding priorities. Redeeming the time further means that you are buying up opportunities. We need to be aware of opportunities and take advantage of them.

What is the best way to get a return on our time? Through gainful employment. Most of us will make more money by working than by any other means available to us. This means that we must develop skills that can fulfill a market need. Being skilled or competent is essential in keeping work or staying in business. There will always be a market for those who have developed competency in a marketable skill. There is not much competition in the arena of competence. The majority of workers are satisfied with getting by with marginal work.

Gary North has done an economic commentary on the book of Proverbs and he called it a success manual. This is true as Proverbs 22:29 proves out, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." This verse says that someone who is skillful or competent in his occupation will work for royalty, not work for obscure men or men that do not matter.

The highly skilled attract attention and those who have means will seek to hire him. As likes beget likes, the best will attract the best. This means that the competent spend their time perfecting their craft. They have narrowed their focus down to a particular skill. Our minds are designed to think of only one thing at a time. If our attention is divided, our focus will be also. This means that we will not be thinking straightforward and we will be distracted when it comes to the task at hand. Trying too juggle to many things shows a lack of prioritizing. The old saying is a jack of all trades and a master of none means that someone has accomplished mediocrity. Mediocrity results from people not redeeming the time.

Most people do not live in the real world. They fantasize about prosperity without understanding the cause of prosperity. This is because they do not understand success because success starts in the spiritual realm, not the visible realm. Some people get it and others never do. If you are wanting to be successful, figure out what you are best at and develop that skill until you are the best you can be at that skill. This will open doors for you. Even though I do not believe in luck, you make your own luck. Redeeming the time means taking advantage of opportunities. Opportunities appear when you are competent.

THE FLOW OF LIFE

Most people do not think of life as being a flow. This is because they do not think philosophically. Philosophers cannot think in any other terms. Those who do not think philosophically benefit by what philosophers write. The philosopher’s thoughts can penetrate their thinking and become a part of them. This is the purpose of writing, to influence other’s thinking. Cornelius Van Til said we are to think God’s thoughts after Him. In the same way, thinking is shaped philosophically or ultimately theologically.

If we look at time, we see that time is linear that is it moves in a straight line. Time never reverts but progresses. An axiom should state that with the progression of time people should be freer and have less government intrusion in their lives. When a people are wholly dependent upon the government, what we have is an attempt to regress and turn the clock back. The goal should forever be self government under the law of God. This is where time or if you will, history is taking us. We are headed for a decentralized system. Centralization is a system that has collapsed under its bankrupt theology. We are now witnessing the visible reality of this spiritual bankruptcy.

In the flow of life, we have unsatisfied needs. What needs are satisfied currently will have to be satisfied in the future. The future is an area of unsatisfied needs. Thus, when we think in financial terms, we must think in terms of flows and stocks. Income is a flow and thus why we call it cash flow. This incoming flow is designed to satisfy our current needs. By controlling our needs (spending or expenses), our incoming flow of funds will become a stock or surplus.

This stock or surplus is designed to meet future unsatisfied needs. The stock or surplus is not a flow but an accumulation. Income can be likened to a stream that fills a beaver pond. The beaver pond is the accumulator of the flow. At the other end of the beaver pond is an outlet, where funds are released to meet needs. What is not good is not having a beaver pond or an accumulation of the flow.

No beaver pond means that it is all flow and no accumulation. The income is flowing in and flowing out with no accumulating point. The beaver is an industrious animal and knows by instinct to create an accumulating point. This benefits many other types of life in the natural. In the same way, having a stock or surplus benefits the furtherance of life. Knowing what to do with a flow is wise.

In accounting, there are two statements that measure the amount of flow that a business has and one statement that measures the surplus of the company. The two flow statements are the Income Statement and the Cash Flow Statement. The stock statement is called the Balance Sheet. From what has been written, it should be easier to mentally see what a flow and a stock are and their significance to the flow of life.

PRESERVATION OF LIFE

When it comes to money and finance, the majority of people either do not get it or they do not know how to express their emotions about the situation. While some do not get it, I would tend to think that people get some of it but do not think deeply enough about it to put it into words. To make this point clear, most people do not think in terms of causes. They do not understand why things happen the way that they do. They feel helpless when it comes to money management.

There are two states of life, one is spiritual and the other physical. Money is to be used to further our physical well being. We have built into our nature, self preservation. Self preservation is the preservation of physical life. Death is an abnormality and no one in their right mind desires to die. The norm is to seek to preserve our life. This is why vast amounts of money are expended annually for medical services.

The main preservation of physical life is food consumption. Our food contains the necessary vitamins and minerals that give us energy and physical strength. Without food, we cannot earn a living. Food is an absolute necessity. Life in the earth would end without the ability to produce food. Nutritious food is essential for the preservation of physical life. Food is thus, foundational to the maintenance of physical life.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines preservation as, "The act of preserving or keeping safe; the act of keeping from injury, destruction or decay." Preservation is a form of wisdom. The frugal think in terms of preservation of life. To this end, the frugal understand that savings has to do with preservation of life. Savings has the future in mind. This means that savings is a means of preserving future life.

Savings, by definition, demonstrates that someone is future oriented. By contrast, a spendthrift is present oriented. The spendthrift does not regard the future preservation of life. This is anathema to him. The spendthrift does think about the future because he has no hope and no future. He is spiritually dead and demonstrates this spiritual condition by his present orientation. The wise think in terms of life and its preservation. They adjust their spending to be less than their income and thus, they have a surplus that can be used in the future against future expenses to preserve their lives.

Being future oriented is applied wisdom. Being present oriented is applied foolishness and yet, we are living in a time where people are present oriented. They live from paycheck to paycheck. They have made no provision for the preservation of life. John Maynard Keynes is reported to have said, "In the long run, we are all dead." To him it did not matter whether you were wise or foolish. This is the statement of a fool. The frugal are wise and save for the preservation of life in the future.

USING WISDOM

In our day and age having a piece of paper is considered wise and yet those with these pieces of papers have generated nothing but financial disaster. Certification is never granted academically but by results and results are determined by the market. The numbers do not lie. Results are objectively determined. They are visible for anyone to see. An income statement is either in the black or it is bleeding red.

What is wisdom? Wisdom is the application of the law of God. Application is objective. The law of God is spiritual and therefore subjective. The subjective precedes the objective. Therefore, wisdom begins subjectively but is demonstrable in the visible world. The most important thing then is to be wise in the use of knowledge. For knowledge to be usable, it must be applied.

Frugality is applied wisdom. Frugality means not spending more money than you earn. This means staying out of debt. Debt is something to be avoided, not embraced. When someone goes in debt, they are mortgaging their future for present consumption. It is better to save money before purchasing a product. Most people are impulsive and want something now. They lack self discipline and will not delay gratification.

The wise have learned the principle of delayed gratification. They are willing to do without in the present that they may have what they want in the future. This is the opposite of the debt encumbered. The debt minded think only about the present and not the future. The wise think about the future more than the present. The wise do what the Lord Jesus Christ said we must do, count the cost.

Counting the cost is a principle of wisdom. Counting the cost is taking all matters into consideration prior to making a decision. When considering whether or not to go into debt, some questions should be asked. Some would be, Do I really need this? How I am going to pay for this item? Is this product worth purchasing? Does this product have special maintenance issues? How long will this product last before I have to replace it?

Wisdom thinks ahead before making a decision. Before going into debt, it is wise to count the cost. Most people are emotionally based rather than wisdom based. This is why they get into financial binds. They did not count the cost. When the results of their decision come home to roost, they do not like the situation. What they do not think about is that is was their poor foresight that got them into this bind. They will blame everyone but themselves. This means that they do not intend on changing their behavior.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SALES

The key to being wealthy is planning ahead. Planning ahead is also known as foresight. Foresight is an attribute of the frugal. It is a wise course of action to look ahead. It is also wise to have a system in place. A system is the balance between unity and plurality. All successful things are based upon the principle of systems. Thinking in systematic terms is complex thinking. The unwise think simply and suffer accordingly.

Planning ahead means that actions taken are purposeful. Actions taken are by design. Those who do not plan ahead actions are on the spur of the moment without any forethought. Results correspond to the amount of thought put into an action. Short term thinking will be disastrous in the long term and long term thinking may not be as effective in the short term. However, it is the long term that matters most at the end of the day.

Businesses must be inviting to customers not only for the immediate sale but for the more important repeat sales. A business does not stay in business on one time sales but on repeat business. This is why it is important for businesses to do whatever is necessary to make a customer’s experience in their store worthwhile. Most people are interested in the way things look in the store rather than the prices of the goods.

Only those using lists and knowing the prices of goods have prepared in advance to get out of the store and keep in budget. These individual’s names are not legion but few and far between. One of the inviting items of businesses is to provide incentives. One incentive is to put certain items on sales. The frugal love to buy sale items. When items are on sale, it is a good time to stock up with as many sale items as is practicable.

For instance, Kroger is having what they call a Mega Event Sale. If you purchase ten items that have been designated as Mega Event Sale items, then you will get $5 off the purchase. This means that you save .$50 on the purchase of each item. Kroger is running a special on Starbucks Coffee for $6.99. The same coffee sells at Walmart for $8.34. By purchasing 10 bags of Starbucks, the price drops to $6.49. The savings is $19.98 from purchasing the same quantity from Walmart. This is your classic no thinker.

Now that you have saved $19.98, you can use this savings to spend on something else. This is what is important about saving money on purchases. Most people never consider these things because they do not think about such things. They are too busy talking on their cell phones to be concerned with the price of the items they are purchasing, so they end up overspending. They do not like to think. This is why they are perpetually talking on the phone. They do not want to be alone with their thoughts because there are no thoughts.

HAVING PLENTY

There are two ways to go through life. One is having plenty and the other is always being in want. Wealth and poverty are opposed to each other. Wealth and poverty are relative in that there are degrees of each. Wealth is to be desired over poverty at each level. Having an abundance of necessities is good and the opposite is also true. When someone is lacking an abundance of necessities, they need to find out why it is that way.

The reason that people are in poverty is that they do not understand how to be wealthy. This is obvious. People in poverty lack understanding of the way things work. Thus, their situation is self perpetuating. Parents do not teach their children any financial skills because they have nothing to pass on in the way of knowledge. People in poverty are unsuccessful financially. All that they can pass on is how to fail.

Wealth is associated with life and poverty with death. This is why it is important to further life by generating wealth. Wealth is good and poverty is bad. Securing an income is essential in building wealth and having plenty. However, just having an income is not enough. Income is to be used to buy goods and services that are essential to life. Securing an income presupposes being productive. Gainful employment is the foundation of wealth building.

Production is the world of activity. The main reason that people are in poverty is because they are lazy. Poverty stricken people do not like to labor. They hate work with all their heart and then they wonder why they cannot get ahead. They blame it on the man or the system rather than looking within why they are lazy. To secure themselves a living, they will seek to have the civil government stick the gun in the belly of the productive and force them to pay their earnings to the indolent.

These indolent have no sense of pride in themselves. While they may be able to survive, it is a meager existence. It is really a subhuman existence. There whole life is wrapped up in living hand to mouth. This is a miserable state. Those who are ambitious are able to direct their lives into life sustaining paths. They live in a high state. They are living above the minimal. They have more options in life and are able to enjoy the good things of life.

The diligent can choose what they want to eat, not be at the mercy of whatever is available. The diligent can look in the freezer or refrigerator and choose steak, chicken, fish, salad, hamburger etc. for dinner. The lazy do not have this advantage. They do not have the ability to choose. The frugal are well stocked up in foodstuffs. They have used a list when going grocery shopping because they have planned ahead what meals they are having that week. Those in poverty do not have this ability because, they do not plan ahead. They are incapable of forming plans. This is why they are in and will remain in poverty.

INCREASING NET WORTH

Understanding some accounting principles will be beneficial in making sound financial decisions. One does not need to be an accountant to make good financial decisions, but understanding the way that financial statements work will help in analyzing the current financial condition of an individual or business. It is essential in making economic calculations. Running a household is no different conceptually than running a business. Both have inflows and outflows. The key to success is to ensure that the outflows do not exceed the inflows. This is the role of good record keeping.

Financial statements capture historical data. They show if a household or a business has been successful in managing their resources. To sustain viability, the household or business should be seeking to increase its equity position. This equity position or net worth is calculated by taking the assets minus the liabilities. This leaves a residual known as net worth or equity. This residual shows how much ownership of the assets a household or business has.

Net worth or equity has to do with ownership. This ownership position should be increasing on a monthly basis. The only way that this can take place is to have a stream of income and then control spending, so that income exceeds expenses. This will, by definition, leave a surplus. This is the way to the accumulation of wealth. This also demonstrates successful financial management.

Financial management includes the production process i.e. the gaining of income. This whole process has to be properly managed and controlled to have success. When someone does not know where their money goes, they are headed for disaster. Keeping accurate financial records can never be stressed enough. All income and expenses must be accounted for. There is no way to know what one owns without objective proof.

When making a large purchase such as a home, most people do not have the resources available to purchase it outright, so they make monthly payments. With every months payment on a mortgage, the purchasers equity will be increasing that is, their ownership of that home. The same is true of any other asset. The net worth increases when liabilities or debts decrease. The result of increasing net worth is ownership and ownership means that one has been financially successful.

Increasing net worth is the same thing as increasing wealth. Wealth is objectively proved by the things that you own. We need material products to take care of our physical needs. Wealth, thus sustains our physical life. However, this is understood spiritually. Net worth is conceptual in that it has to do with the ownership of life sustaining objects. An increasing net worth is essential in being able to meet future needs.

GETTING AHEAD

There is no getting around the fact that we are going to incur costs in our daily living. Sometimes those costs are not planned for. For example, a lady who attends the church where I pastor had her transmission go out on her. Anyone that has had a transmission worked on knows how expensive this is to repair. It is an unexpected expense. It is not something that you can plan specifically for because we obviously do not know the future.

Sometimes it seems hard to get ahead when our costs rise to repair broken items. It seems that something is always breaking down. Break downs are inevitable. What we have to realize is that we are on this earth temporarily. This is not a permanent stay and nothing lasts forever here. Thus, we should anticipate that we are going to have repairs and have to replace worn out items. We should expect it rather than be surprised by it.

The key to getting ahead despite these unforeseen expenses is to establish an emergency fund. Emergency funds also cover the inevitability of job losses. Most people do not have a job that they keep for thirty years, retire and get their gold watch. In our day and age, this rarely happens. Competition is such that industries are changing. What looked as though it would be a going concern for years and years suddenly disappears and people are having to look for work. Also, government intervention into the market assures that people will lose their jobs.

It is hard to get ahead with a job loss. Most financial planners recommend keeping 6 months of monthly expenses in an emergency fund. This will give you a cushion until another job can be found. One financial planner recommends putting 60% in savings, 20% in an emergency fund, and the other 20% in a discretionary spending account of money that is being budgeted for savings. The only way to establish an emergency fund is to spend less than you earn.

By systematically adding to your emergency fund on a monthly basis, any unforseen event will not be a stressful one. When people do not prepare for the future and its inevitable unexpected expenses, they are put into a stressful situation of not knowing what to do and will go to the government to seek assistance. They become a charity case. It used to be a shame to be on assistance, but not anymore. Lack of preparation for the future is the norm, not the exception.

The frugal realize that unforseen expenses are going to happen and they are prepared for them when they occur. They do not get stressed out because they know that they should have adequate funds to cover these costs because they have been preparing for it. The key to all financial planning is foresight. Looking ahead to the future and preparing for it puts the frugal in the upper class. Those who do not prepare for it will find themselves having to beg.