People in the US are just warped. You constantly hear I cannot make it on the money I make in 40 hours per week. So what. There are many people that work 2 or 3 jobs.
The real problem is that people live outside their means, but we do not want to tell people this because it would mean that we care and would have to get involved. It would also mean that we would have to correct people.
So what is living outside your means? It is an expression use to represent people who spend more money than they have. In the past, people did not take out loans for every single thing. In fact, if they could not afford it, they did not buy it.
There are only three essential things that people need: food, clothing and shelter. You are not guaranteed the most expensive cuts of meat, the most expensive clothing, or the most expensive shelter. People need to learn how to budget. You are also not guaranteed to have the most expensive cars, jewelry, cell phones, internet, cable/satellite, the most luxurious trips,etc. All of those are luxury items. Learn to budget your money.
I am proud of my daughter. I think part of her decision was based on fear, but another part of her decision was based on her doing a budget. She is looking to buy a house. She found one she really liked, but it put her at the upper end of her loan approval. She wants to rent some of the other rooms, but she is planning on the rooms being empty so all of the burden would fall on her to repay the loan. She decided that instead of living paycheck to paycheck, that she would wait and save some money. Most of you probably think she is dumb because she should have bought it and then figure it all out, but I think it was a smart decision.
If more people would learn to live with what they could actually afford, they would be much happier, the national debt would go down, and then taxes would go down so they could afford more. In other words, learn to be content.
1 Timothy 6:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Luke 3:14 English Standard Version (ESV)
14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
Hebrews 13:5 English Standard Version (ESV)
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Luke 14:28 English Standard Version (ESV)
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Proverbs 22:7 English Standard Version (ESV)
7 The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
All of us at some point live outside our means, but it is a wise man that recognizes this and learns to control it. If you are having financial problems or are just unsure of what to do financially, then ask God to help you, but be prepared for an answer that you are not happy with.