Dave Ramsey’s Financial Wisdom From ProverbsSample

Day 3: Save Today, Secure Tomorrow

Going bankrupt was a wake-up call for me. I had enjoyed a lot of nice stuff, but I lost it all because of my lack of discipline. So when I was forced to start over from scratch, I decided to do things differently the second time around.

One thing I decided to do was to learn the habits of wealthy people. I figured that if I wanted to be wealthy, it only made sense to learn (and do) what wealthy people do.

Over the past couple of decades, I've spent time with millionaires and billionaires. I've picked their brains and tried to understand how they built and maintained wealth. What I've found is that the principle behind Proverbs 21:20 really does work in real life. Wise people do have enough when they need it because they plan for emergencies. But fools really do spend all they have - and more - as soon as they get it.

For example, I've found that many wealthy people don't live like wealthy people. Instead of flaunting their money, they adopt upper-middle-class lifestyles. Some even live lower-middle-class lifestyles - and they don't suffer from it a bit! They just keep doing what got them there in the first place.

One of the most basic things they do is save. Instead of chasing a lot of extravagant toys, they continue putting money aside. They keep using the power of compound interest to build wealth. They always think about creating security for the future.

In contrast, many people are like I was before I went bankrupt in my 20s. They don't have the discipline to do even the simple things like saving money. Instead of becoming wealthy by doing what wealthy people do, they stay broke by doing what broke people do!

On the budget forms my company provides, the first line item is "Giving" because we want you to honor God first. But the second line item is "Saving" because we want you to pay yourself before you pay anyone else.

Wise people save money. It's a basic, crystal-clear biblical principle. And if you spend every dime that passes through your fingers, then guess what? You're a fool! Don't blame me - God said it!