Were you paying attention 10 years ago?


NeuroTypical
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Anyone remember Pres. Hinckley's original 1998 "To the Boys and To the Men" talk? I've carried it with me for the better part of a decade.

Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

He went on to talk about the pitiful state of consumer debt, how debt enslaves us, how the average American is up to his knees in credit card debt.

I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.

No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.

We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.

In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.

I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.

President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.

I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.

Gee - let's think a minute. One out of every ten mortgages in America is in default. We're in the middle of the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. The govt is considering unprecidented bailouts that will significantly increase our national debt, and may or may not end the crisis. Yelling about it now will do no good. Wouldn't it have been nice if someone, say a prophet, had spoken strongly on the subject a decade ago?

If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

Ten years ago. (Well, 9 years, 11 months, and 2 weeks ago to be specific.)

LM

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I'm getting there. Trying to get my car paid off and hope it lasts another 5 years. It's already 7 years old. Couple of other small debts and then I'm debt free. Well except for the usual, utilities etc. By this time next year I should be sitting pretty good. Plus have been slowly building up some food storage and putting some money away. I'd like a year's worth of money to cover any expenditures should anything happen socked away.

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Seven years old? I remember when you bought it. Yikes.

Ben Raines

Nahhh this one I've only had for 3 years. I think you are thinking of the one I bought from my parents. That would have been about 7 years ago. I seem to only be able to afford used these days.
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Nice Loudmouth! I knew you'd come around! Those that are out of debt and living within their means are now paying for the lavishness of others through the debasement of our currency. What does that mean? Higher prices.

Oil prices surge after bailout gets $700B price tag - Sep. 22, 2008

This is not a time to panic. This is not a time to run. This is a time to remember what frugality means. If you have not yet shredded the cards and started to go debt free, START NOW! It is going to get a lot more difficult to have extra cash to pay off debts as prices continue to rise and wages stagnate. This is not a message of fear or doubt. This is a message of freedom!

To be honest, while I am completely bummed about what our government is doing, I am also excited and hopeful that most of America will wake up. We need sound money and financing, as a nation, and as families.

-a-train

Edited by a-train
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Nice Loudmouth! I knew you'd come around! Those that are out of debt and living within their means are now paying for the lavishness of others through the debasement of our currency. What does that mean? Higher prices.

Oil prices surge after bailout gets $700B price tag - Sep. 22, 2008

This is not a time to panic. This is not a time to run. This is a time to remember what frugality means. If you have not yet shredded the cards and started to go debt free, START NOW! It is going to get a lot more difficult to have extra cash to pay off debts as prices continue to rise and wages stagnate. This is not a message of fear or doubt. This is a message of freedom!

To be honest, while I am completely bummed about what our government is doing, I am also excited and hopeful that most of America will wake up. We need sound money and financing, as a nation, and as families.

-a-train

A-train just so you know. I have not owned a credit card in probably 8 years. And I have not missed it nor have I needed it...Even for an emergency. Things always seem to work out without them.

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It ain't about the world ending, rastler. It's about protecting yourself and your family from the periodic downswings and unfortunate happenstances that befall us from time to time.

Again, here's what Pres. Hinckley had to say about it:

No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.

...

We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.

...

I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.

...

If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

You don't have to be an end-times apocalypse-prophecying doomsday screamer to appreciate his words.

LM

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Great book, Another a good source is Jim Rohn Audio's on itunes. I am currently reading 'trump university: wealth building 101'. Really Good straightforward advice on debt elimination plans, building investments for your future and protecting yourself and family from financial disaster. Not just glancing over ideas, but showing you how to do it.

I just implemented my new debt elimination plan based on the book, and I will be absolutely debt free in no time at all.

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Anyone remember Pres. Hinckley's original 1998 "To the Boys and To the Men" talk? I've carried it with me for the better part of a decade. He went on to talk about the pitiful state of consumer debt, how debt enslaves us, how the average American is up to his knees in credit card debt.Gee - let's think a minute. One out of every ten mortgages in America is in default. We're in the middle of the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. The govt is considering unprecidented bailouts that will significantly increase our national debt, and may or may not end the crisis. Yelling about it now will do no good. Wouldn't it have been nice if someone, say a prophet, had spoken strongly on the subject a decade ago?Ten years ago. (Well, 9 years, 11 months, and 2 weeks ago to be specific.)

LM

I've been speaking about this, in specific terms, with real solutions, for decades now.

The current crisis, down to the specifics, was predicted by me over 4years ago (to which I have witnesses).

The solution will never change. It is all about the money.

We have none. We have fiat. It is manipulated by ( oh my gosh, should I say the word? ) CONSPIRING men / women, to their gain. The cycle of boom / bust will accelerate until the final bust occurs from which there will be no possible bail-out.

If we are to save our financial future, we must return to the God-inspired Constitution and follow it. We must have real money. We must not allow a few, unelected people to control and manipulate our financial health.

No obviously, we can't return to a precious-metals money overnight. It would have to be done in a reasonable fashion. But, it must be done.

Fiat never works. It never will. It always devalues, over time, the labor of the common man.

Again, let us return to our Constitution.

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It ain't about the world ending, rastler. It's about protecting yourself and your family from the periodic downswings and unfortunate happenstances that befall us from time to time.

Again, here's what Pres. Hinckley had to say about it:

You don't have to be an end-times apocalypse-prophecying doomsday screamer to appreciate his words.

LM

I agree with you on this. This isn't about the "end" at which point your food-storage will mean nothing.

It is about a very dire time. Perhaps a time when we will wish we were in the Great Depression.

In America, there will be no solution if we continue to ignore our Constitutional mandate for real money. Things will only get worse, in an accelerate fashion...

But I think it is not wise to yell "the sky is falling"...we are way, way, far away from that, I believe...

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