WWW.TheDavidAlliance.com

DebtI dare you to google or use your favorite Bible app and search the word “debt”. It shows up so manytimes your thumb will get tired from scrolling. You’ll find articles, philosophies and strategies from well-known secular and Christian Financial Guru’s alike. People have written entire books on the subject andI’ve only got 10 minutes to provide you some take-aways that you can relate to and apply regardless ofthe season and situation of life you’re in.My name is Tony Bolstorff and I’m a Senior Wealth Advisor with Mariner Wealth Advisors. I’m acertified financial planner with close to 15 years of experience as a financial advisor that works withindividuals and families creating holistic financial plans…not just investment plans. More importantly Iimperfectly try to be a Christ follower. Married for close to 18 years with 4 kids ranging from 6 – 13 myhope is I can provide some gems of info.Full disclosure I’m not a theologian but I do try to understand the context of scripture I will reference.Money is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible so God obviously thinks it’s important to leavesome important guidance around this topic.But what does the Bible say specifically about debt? It doesn’t say avoid debt completely, but it doeswarn about the dangers of debt. The Creator knows the created best and provided us an instructionbook how to think and behave. From the book of wisdom, Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor,And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” You and Jesus know yourself and situation best. Askyourself do you have the discipline to say no to wants before they start to pile up and you become aslave to VISA, Mastercard, or Discover? Go google Visa stock right now and you’ll see they are preyingoff our inabilities to pay back money on time. Since Visa became public stock in early 2008 it has grownmore than 910% compare to the S&P 500’s growth of 100% since the same time. That’s about a 91%growth per year over the last 10 years. Mastercard has done even better at 1120% growth since sameperiod. 112% per year growth over the last 10 years!!Avoiding becoming a slave to a lender would mean no mortgage, no emergency medical payments, nosmall business owner loan to keep a business afloat or started and no use of 0% financing offers whichseems unrealistic. So when making financial decisions I’m always talking with my clients about thebehavioral vs. financial side of things. Not that one is better than the other. We just want toacknowledge and discuss both side before making an informed decision.Simple old sayings keep you safe if you want to completely avoid debt by “don’t spend more than youmake”. But it’s hard to avoid those 0% offers and brand-new toys or vacations when all you have to dois swipe the card and put it off until later. See, it all starts with our decisions of buy or not buy. So manyinfluences consciously and subconsciously feed into that important moment. Our upbringing,personalities, peer/spousal/children pressure and last but not least advertising/marketing.

So as men, leaders and Christ followers what are we supposed to do? If you’re lacking in the disciplinedepartment own up and find an accountability partner. A spouse, a pastor, a respected leader at yourchurch, a trusted friend or simply go attend Dave Ramsey’s financial peace University…you’ll find peoplein the same boat. After years of kicking the can down the road my wife and I recently finished his classand are doing life with other couples we met and that helps long term. Why would a 15-year financialplanning vet need to attend another financial planners’ program you ask? Because it’s not just aboutme. For the married guys out there going from me to we takes time and effort, and this was an overduepiece of the puzzle. We are working better together on debt and money management. Dave Ramsey’smessage is in alignment with mine about getting your house in order and being a good steward of thegifts God has given you.If you have found yourself in a mountain of debt and looking for practical ways to get out:1. Stop adding new debta. Pay with cash vs credit cardb. Don’t trade in your car for a lower monthly payment in exchange for longer termc. Don’t fall for the retail credit card incentivesd. Work on being content!2. Take an inventory of debt including total amount owed, interest rates and monthly payments3. Implement one of a couple well known strategies:a. Snowball method says pay off your smallest balance first, and when that is done, takethose payments and put it toward the next smallest balance. This method gives you theemotional boost to keep going as you see those debts paid offb. The more financial method is called the avalanche method which says focus on thehigher interest debt first, but this could take awhile to pay off, so do the snowballmethod if you think you’ll get discouraged

4. Take the next bonus or increase in pay and apply towards debt vs. family vacation. Soundsboring but God asks us men to be good stewards of money and our family. Which choice is bestfor your money and family?5. Create an expense list and put them into needs vs. wants categories and start applying some ofthe wants towards debt.I’ll leave you with God’s word I think strikes at the heart of the decisions we face everyday of buy or notbuy. Contentment!Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money will never have enough money. Whoever loves luxury will notbe content with abundance. This also is pointlessAny questions or want to continue discussions feel free to contact me 651-212-0832 or my emailaddress: [email protected]