31 days, 31 questions, 31 answers - Day 16

I read an article by author, professor and theologian Don Whitney that listed 31 questions to consider for a new year. I decided that I will answer one question each day in January. Here is the sixteenth question, and my answer.

1.      What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it? The most important financial goal for this year is to pay off our consumer debt and use the freed resources for savings. When we moved for me to serve as pastor at my current church, we took on some consumer debt when we bought furniture and other resources for our new home. And then life happened. The cars needed some unexpected repairs. We had to make an emergency trip to visit family. Our son needed some medical and dental work done. While our intentions were to quickly repay our consumer debt, we have fallen behind in our objective. So this is the year when we are consciously choosing to pay off those debts. Once that is accomplished, we’ll be able to place resources in savings. We need to save for the day when we need new vehicles. We need to save for our childrens’ educations (although please keep this quiet. Our plan is to save some money for them which we’ll give to them as a surprise gift once they are in university or college). We need to save for that day when we’ll retire. We need to be prepared for the unexpected, such as a disability. Getting rid of that debt will allow us to better save and prepare for these things. Our consumer debt is not a great amount, but it is still a burden to us that we want to clean up this year.