Post # 107  Personal Finances- for Self-Reliance 8 

Dear Family and Friends

In this post we will be discussing ways to get ourselves out of debt. It is from the manual and from our self-reliance group. I have learned and been reminded of so many things with each session I have been able to attend. You know that old phrase ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it’? I kind of think the things we learn in our life are like that in some ways. Like we can learn something that works well for us and then we stop doing it for a while and we start doing something different in our routine and what we were doing that worked well for us and was good for us becomes lost in the shuffle of our lives☹

Lesson # 8 Getting Out of Debt

LAST WEEK’S COMMITMENTS: MY COMMITMENTS

Ⓐ I will practice and share this week’s My Foundation principle. Show Integrity

Financial Principles and Skills: 1. Understand debt. 2. Understand your debt realities. 3. Desire to get out of debt. 4. Overcome the ‘natural man.’

Ⓑ I will inventory my debt using the example above.

Ⓒ I will discuss my debt inventory and ways to overcome and prevent “natural man” tendencies with my family or an accountability partner.

Ⓓ I will contact and support my action partner. This would be your spouse or other financial partner.

We discussed the following questions about our last week’s commitments: ○ What experiences did you have practicing or sharing the My Foundation principle? ○ What did you learn from creating a debt elimination plan? ○ What are you now doing differently to eliminate debt in your family?

MY FOUNDATION for this week is: COMMUNICATE

 We were asked to ponder these questions and then we watched a video: When has Heavenly Father answered my prayers? Watch: “Creating Lift,” available at srs.lds.org/videos. I found the video here: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-06-1180-creating-lift?lang=eng&_r=1

How can we recognize answers to our prayers? Why is listening an essential part of prayer?

We were asked to read Doctrine and Covenants 8:2 and a quote by President Russell M. Nelson: I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” D &C 8:2

“Your soul will be blessed as you learn to listen, then listen to learn from children, parents, partners, neighbors, and Church leaders, all of which will heighten capacity to hear counsel from on high.” RUSSELL M. NELSON, “Listen to Learn,”  Ensign, May 1991, 24

 Why is listening an essential skill? How can careful listening help us in our work?

I wanted to share this activity with each one of you, so that you could do it with me this week:

Step 1: In this step we were asked to read the steps below and briefly discuss them as a group.

Step 2: Ask one or two members of the group to tell the others about a challenge or question they have. Everyone else should try to listen, following these steps.

➊ CONCENTRATE ○ Focus on the speaker’s words and body language. ○ Don’t interrupt. ○ Don’t read or send messages on your phone.

➋ APPRECIATE ○ Look at the speaker. ○ Use small words like “yes” or “okay.” ○ Thank the speaker.➌ REVIEW ○ Say, “So, you are saying . . .” ○ Then repeat what you heard.

➍ ASK ○ Ask, “Did I understand?” ○ Listen, and wait for an answer.

Step 3: When finished, ask the group members who spoke how they felt when the group really tried to listen.

“Our Heavenly Father hears the prayers of His children across the earth pleading for food to eat, for clothes to cover their bodies, and for the dignity that would come from being able to provide for themselves.” HENRY B. EYRING,  “Opportunities to Do Good,” Ensign or  Liahona, May 2011, 22

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“We must ask for help from our Heavenly Father and seek strength through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ. In both temporal and spiritual things, [this] enables us to become provident providers for ourselves and others.” ROBERT D. HALES, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually,”  Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 7–8

Commit to do the following actions during the week.

□ Pray individually and as a family each morning and night. Spend time after each prayer reverently listening for guidance.

□ Share what you’ve learned today about communication with your family or friends.

CREATING LIFT If you are unable to watch the video, read this script.

PRESIDENT DIETER F. UCHTDORF: In order to get an airplane off the ground, you must create lift. In aerodynamics, lift happens when air passes over the wings of an airplane in such a way that the pressure underneath the wing is greater than the pressure above the wing. When the upward lift exceeds the downward pull of gravity, the plane rises from the ground and achieves flight. In a similar way, we can create lift in our spiritual life. When the force that is pushing us heavenward is greater than the temptations and distress that drag us downward, we can ascend and soar into the realm of the Spirit.

Though there are many gospel principles that help us to achieve lift, I would like to focus on one in particular. Prayer! Prayer is one of the principles of the gospel that provides lift. Prayer has the power to elevate us from our worldly cares. Prayer can lift us up through clouds of despair or darkness into a bright and clear horizon. One of the greatest blessings and privileges and opportunities we have as children of our Heavenly Father is that we can communicate with Him through prayer. We can speak to Him of our life experiences, trials, and blessings. We can listen for and receive celestial guidance from the Holy Spirit at any time and at any place. (See Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Prayer and the Blue Horizon,” Ensign or Liahona,  June 2009, 5–6)

BUDGET AND SPENDING CHECKPOINT

 We were asked to review and to update our budget. The reason for this is to find out what is working well and what is not? To find out what categories we need to adjust, if any? Could we maybe spend less in some categories to more quickly save up for our emergency fund,  to become debt free, or save for the future? One of our commitments this week will be to discuss the following activity during family council.

I wanted to share this activity with each one of you that we did in our group: We were asked to consider each of the categories below and then to answer the questions honestly.

HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT MY SPENDING?

I spend too little

I feel good about my spending

I spend too much Eating out at restaurants □ □ □ Groceries □ □ □ Snacks and beverages □ □ □ Entertainment □ □ □ Rent or mortgage □ □ □ Utilities □ □ □ Clothing □ □ □ Household items □ □ □ Transportation □ □ □ Insurance □ □ □ Cell phone □ □ □

We took turns reading where in the Old Testament, Joseph had told the Pharaoh of the message of his dreams where they would have seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Immediately, after Joseph’s message was told to the Pharaoh, he appointed officers to set aside extra from the good years to prepare for the bad years that were coming as found in Genesis 41:1–37. It is true that most likely we will not always have a clear prophecy of when the good and bad times will come, our prophets today have encouraged us to prepare for crises, especially when things are going well for us. In this chapter, we will learn what to do when we face a financial crisis and how to prepare for crises before they occur.

 We were asked to think about the following questions: What will you do if you encounter a financial crisis?  The first thing I would do is assess my situation then pray for what I am in need of the most and go on from there.  What financial crises have you experienced in the past? A couple of situations come to my mind: My husband lost his job. He was injured on the job and his workman’s comp ran out.

 What types of financial crises might you encounter? Loss of your job. Power outage. Water rationing. Natural disaster. Weather related crisis – flood, hail, wind, rain, tornado, lightening – fire. Injury to the bread winner of your household.

THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY

When we started learning about building an emergency fund, my husband and I didn’t think we could actually come up with enough money. We prayed for guidance, and our answer was to sell one of our cars. Now my husband takes the bus to work, and we have a full emergency fund.

If a bus were an option, I would gladly take one too😊 I work in the next town over and they have a bus system, but it doesn’t come to our town☹

1. LEARN TO MANAGE FINANCIAL CRISES

Like an emergency or fire escape plan, in the event of a financial crisis you should have a course of action that is simple to follow. About managing trials, Elder Marvin J. Ashton asked, “Can you quietly sit down, review the facts, and list all the possible courses of action? Can you identify causes and determine remedies? Quiet contemplation can solve problems more quickly than frantic force” (“Give with Wisdom That They May Receive with Dignity,” Ensign, Nov. 1981, 88).

Determining how to handle financial crises beforehand will allow you to be emotionally and financially prepared when hardship strikes and can help you prevent some crises in the future. 



Managing a financial crisis requires two steps: assess the situation and take appropriate action.

**** It is so important to -- Assess the Situation

To assess a potential financial crisis, you may want to ask the following questions:

○ Are you faithful in paying your tithing and offerings? Are you living your life in such a way that you are worthy of God’s blessings?

 ○ What emergency precautions have you already put in place that will help you face the current challenge? Do you have food and water storage? an emergency fund? proper insurance?

○ Where do your emergency preparations fall short?

○ What insurance policies do you have that may cover some or all of this challenge?

○ How long will you be able to stretch out your emergency fund?

○ Is there room in your budget and debt elimination plan for temporary adjustments, if needed?

 Why is it important to decide now how to manage a financial crisis? Deciding before an emergency happens will lessen the stress of the situation. Most emergency situations are very stressful in and of themselves. You wonder just how you are going to manage your situation, so you pray for answers. Why would you want to add unneeded stress to what will most likely be a stressful situation ant way?

  How has the Spirit helped you handle crises in the past?

I remember a time when I first joined the church and so I was very new to the whole concept of the Lord speaking to me through the Holy Ghost. I thought I was only trying to talk myself into taking my children to visit their dad at work after he had told them that they could not visit on that day because of their naughty behaviors. But had I known that it was the Holy Ghost speaking to me I would not have talked myself out of doing what may have saved us from an accident that sent all of my children and myself to the hospital in an ambulance☹

Another time when my car broke down in a very unsafe curve in the road, the Spirit helped me figure out what I needed to do to get my car running enough to get it to a safe place off the road where I could then walk to a place up the road and call for help😊

 Why is it important to thoroughly assess a situation before you take action?

If you assess the situation first, then you can decide which resources you need or can access for the help you need for your specific emergency situation. This will also help keep you from making unneeded choices that can be made in the stress of the situation😊

Take Action

 Depending on the type and severity of your financial crisis, there are different actions you might be able to take to help you overcome your financial challenges. While these actions may not make sense for all situations, the following steps should give you an idea of what can be done in the event of a financial crisis.

Call Your Insurance Company

Some financial crises may involve a health emergency, an automobile accident, home repairs, or job loss. For such situations, before you panic or take other actions, call your insurance provider to check coverage. Asking them about coverage doesn’t mean you are filing a claim. But if your situation is covered, you should be able to get a sense of what your personal expenses are going to be.

Use Your Emergency Fund

 The purpose of your emergency fund is to help you get through financial crises. Do not feel guilty for using it for these situations. You can use your emergency fund for whatever you need—from living expenses to insurance deductibles. Be wise about using it for the right things at the right times. Replenish your emergency fund as fast as possible if you have to use money from it.

We have had a need for using our food storage and our savings in prior years, and we were so very grateful that we had prepared ahead a little bit. We have even had a need to get help from our Bishop in years past when my husband was out of work for a few years. My kids and I would clean our church buildings to allow us to work for what we received😊

Pay Your Most Important Expenses and Bills First

Closely examine all of your expenses and bills and determine which must be taken care of immediately and which could be delayed for a short period without great penalty. It may be necessary to call your billers to see if they have temporary hardship grace periods, interest-free payment plan options, or due-date extensions. Be wise about which expenses you take care of first, and research the adverse effects of deferring the payment of other bills before doing so. You may need to cut unnecessary expenses for a time, if possible. Focus on food, shelter, utilities, and necessary transportation before paying other expenses.

 What financial crises merit a call to your insurance company?

Car accident. Hot water heater bursts. Broken water pipes – either inside or outside. Fire or theft. Hail damage to house, garage, out buildings, property, crops or car. Roof damaged in a storm or other weather-related damage.

Call Your Creditors

 In extreme circumstances, it may be wise to call your creditors and explain your current situation. Depending on the crisis, you may want to ask them to: ○ Temporarily delay or reduce payments. ○ Extend or permanently modify the terms of the loan.

While this may be the only viable option in extreme cases, beware that delaying payments or modifying the terms of your loan can trigger additional fees and make the loan more expensive in the long run. Our credit union gave us a payment holiday on our car loans when my son-in-law was off work for a while.it is more expensive to do this because they tack it onto the end of your loan which incurs more interest I would guess.

Identify Other Resources That Can Help

 It is our responsibility to provide for ourselves and our families. However, there may be times when we must temporarily rely on others. We discussed some resources and were told that as we seek other resources, we must be cautious of becoming dependent on assistance long-term—such dependence will stunt our spiritual and temporal progress.

As we read in chapter 2, President Spencer W. Kimball taught that there are four tiers of temporal help we can turn to:

 1. Self: You should first do all that you can yourself to provide for your family and alleviate immediate threat.

2. Family: If you are unable to meet basic financial needs yourself after doing all that you personally can, you should reach out to close or extended family if needed for temporary financial assistance, whether for housing, food, or other needs.

3. Church: After doing all you can yourself and then seeking assistance from family, you may need to meet with your Church leaders (bishop, branch president, or Relief Society president) to explore additional options. Remember that your Church leaders are wisely instructed to help people sustain life when necessary, not lifestyle.

4. Community: Various community or government support programs may be available to you that may offer aid in the form of financial or employment counseling, housing assistance, nutritional support for newborn and maternal health, and so forth. Remember that these programs are designed to provide short-term assistance. Do not rely on them long term.

I want to share with you an activity that we did in our personal finance for self-reliance group:

Step 1: in this first step we were asked to answer the questions below individually and really consider what we would do to manage a financial crisis of one type or another.

If I were to lose my source of income, how long could I currently live on my savings? (How many days, weeks, or months?) Right now, I might could manage maybe a month without help☹ not the best situation I know, but I am working on it.

Who are my creditors that I would need to call to explain my situation?  For me it would be the bank for my car, my shed, and maybe my doctors and the hospital where I have my tests done.

Which family members or friends could I look to if I needed help?  I can call any of my children, they would help me if they are able to at the time of my need, my parents are deceased and I’m not real sure but don’t think my siblings are in any position to help anyone.

 It’s time for more questions now: Why should we seek help from our family before seeking help from the Church and community? First of all, I believe that we should be there for our family members whenever we can. It should be second nature for us to help each other in our families. We should raise our children to forgive their family members whenever we are hurt or offended by them. Raise them to be there for each other and for you as well!

I am living proof  that this can work and can be a good  thing for all family members if you raise your children this way they will be there for you when you need them as you have been there for them all if the years while raising  them. When your own family can help you why would you go to outsiders with your troubles? What resources that your group has identified are available in your area to help cope with crises?

Step 2: we were asked to pair up with our action partner (or our spouse if present) and then to discuss our answers. We were asked to discuss ways that we could better prepare now for difficult times ahead. And then to record our ideas and make plans to follow through. One way to prepare for rough times ahead is to have a sufficient supply of food and water for all of your family members

2. INCREASE YOUR EMERGENCY PREPARATIONS

 Our discussion here reminds us that we should have or should be working on building a one-month emergency fund. I am still working on this one a it takes a while to save money when you need it to make ends meet each month. Remember every little bit will help so don’t get discouraged. Keep working on it, adding a few dollars here and a few dollars there. Maybe you could wait a few more months for a new pair of shoes or make last year’s wardrobe last a little bit longer and add the money you had planned to spend on it to your emergency fund.

I think the problem with having savings sometimes is that when you are in a situation where you are receiving medical treatments which you cannot afford on your own. You can only have a certain amount of money before you can no longer receive the help you need for your medical treatments. This usually does not allow you to have that much money in savings before they will no longer help you receive your treatments☹ what is that called ??? a catch 22 or something like that… darned if you do, darned if you don’t!

Most importantly our preparations should not end there! We need to, we must work to become free from consumer debt and to then build a three- to six-month emergency fund and acquire insurance to protect our income. For me the only big debts I have is my car payment and my medical, besides my monthly household bills, and of course the life sustaining stuff like food and water😊

Build a Three- to Six-Month Emergency Fund

 We had a discussion that reminded us that after we have paid off all of our consumer debt, the next step is to grow our one-month emergency fund into a three- to six-month emergency fund. They reminded us of the importance of keeping the money for our emergency fund in a safe place so that we can access our money when we need it without penalty. 

Remember that we should add to this fund as quickly as we possibly can so that will allow us to be better prepared for financial crises when it arrises. One of my commitments this week will be to evaluate my emergency fund and to continue to pay off my consumer debts. Of course, this should be one of your commitments as well, if you are following along with and completing these sessions with me😊

Acquire Appropriate Income Insurance Note: This information may not apply to your region or area.

 They told us that one of our most important assets is our income. That means that we should search reputable disability and life insurance policies in our area and obtain the adequate coverage as quickly as we possibly can. If you have not done this as yet, you probably should do so as well.

DISCUSS PREPARING FOR FINANCIAL CRISES IN YOUR FAMILY COUNCIL

 We were reminded that one of our commitments this week will be to discuss our responses to “Budget and Spending Checkpoint” and our preparations for financial crises. We were asked to discuss emergencies that may occur in our family, how we can prepare for them, what insurance we may need to obtain to help protect ourselves and plans to call billers and creditors should the need arise.  

This is something that I am passing along to you to do as well😊in each lesson there is an example of a family council to help us share and teach the information that we have learned with our spouses, families, roommates, or other members of your household😊 

Budget and Spending Checkpoint”

HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT MY SPENDING?

I spend too little

I feel good about my spending

I spend too much 

Eating out at restaurants □ □ □ 
Groceries □ □ □ 
Snacks and beverages □ □ □ 
Entertainment □ □ □ 
Rent or mortgage □ □ □ 
Utilities □ □ □ 
Clothing □ □ □ 
Household items □ □ □
Transportation □ □ □ 
Insurance □ □ □ 
Cell phone □ □ □

So here is the sample for you to use if you choose to do so the “Sample Family Council Discussion” is outlined below. Remember, if you are not married, your family council might include a roommate, friend, family member, or mentor.

SAMPLE FAMILY COUNCIL DISCUSSION 
Be sure to begin and end with a prayer to invite the Spirit.

Part 1: Review ○ How are you doing on your budget? (Review answers to the “Budget and Spending Checkpoint” activity.  ○ How are you doing on your one-month emergency fund? ○ Are you living life righteously enough to be eligible for God’s help during a crisis? What can you improve?

Part 2: Plan ○ What financial crises may occur in your family? ○ How much do you need for a three- to six-month emergency fund? What can you do to save up for it? ○ What does and does not merit the use of your emergency fund? ○ What more can you do to be prepared for these crises? ○ What insurance do you need to obtain to protect your income, health, and belongings? ○ What can you do to improve or adjust your budget?

We were then asked to individually think about what we have learned today and consider what the Lord would have us do. Then we were asked to read the scripture or quote below and write responses to the questions.

“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them” (Ezekiel 38:7).

What are the most meaningful things I learned today?   

MY COMMITMENTS Ⓐ I will practice and share this week’s My Foundation principle. Communication

Ⓑ I will continue to put money toward my emergency fund or unnecessary debt. Ⓒ I will discuss both my “Budget and Spending Checkpoint” and preparing for financial crises in my family council.

Ⓓ I will contact and support my action partner.

Here we are again at the end of our lesson. My dear Family and Friends, I hope and pray that I have shared or said something that has inspired you to want to learn more, to do more, to live better, to manage our finances in the Lord’s way and to seriously work on our debt elimination😊 stay positive, look for the good things in life, stay your focus on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ😊 when necessary REFOCUS in Christ! Keep Him as your sure foundation and you will manage the storms of life.

Remember to consider what the Lord would have you do in and given situation, then act on what you learn from Him – we will never go wrong in doing this. Just as we will never go wrong in listening to and following the directions and warnings of our living prophet, even President Russell M. Nelson😊 as always, keep studying the scriptures with me, keep praying, work in your commitments for this week and remember who you are! Until my next post please make it a good week😊