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The Buck Starts Here

Here is a recap of some of the verses we looked at this past Sunday as a part of the last message in the series In God We Trust.

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has. (Proverbs 21:20, NIV)

This verse reminds us how foolish it is for us to spend every penny we make, rather than to save. I really like the way it reads in the New Living Translation:

The wise have wealth and luxury,
but fools spend whatever they get. (Proverbs 21:20, NLT)

Ouch!

We also talked about learning to invest so that our money works for us. Jesus gave us this principle in the parable of the talents.

The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. (Matthew 25:16, NIV)

In fact, Jesus said that the master had some harsh words for the servant who hid his talent. Notice what he says to him.

His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. (Matthew 25:26, NIV)

May we learn a lesson from the ant who knows how to save for the future.

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,

yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)

Comments

A few money saving tips to help us all:

Shop for bread at the bread store on Sherwood Way on Wednesday. That's 10% off day.

Buy a gift card at Wal-Mart and save 3 cents a gallon. Over the course of a year (at current gas prices) that's over $100 savings

Buy generics. A lot of folks have brand loyalty but for the most part generics are either an exact match or very close.

Ladies check out the second hand store on Concho right next to Western Mattress. They have some really great clothes that are slightly used and even some that have never been worn. It used to be called Encore but now I have no idea what their name is. My wife says it's called Deja Vu.

When you are looking for appliances check out Kuntz (pronounced coonts) Appliance store. They have great deals on scratch and dent appliances. I bought a great stove there that was dented on the side (which can't be seen) and I saved a few $100.

Don't forget to buy in bulk when possible. Remember there's never too much toilet paper!

AFR

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