Thoughtful Thursday: Learn to Fish

I am grateful to belong to a church that not only believes in helping the poor, but also in teaching the poor how not to be poor any more.  I read this article a couple of weeks ago from the church news about how the welfare program not only helps people in these tough economic times, but also teaches them to help themselves.  Education is key.

We've all heard the chinese proverb:  

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

I hope I can learn how to fish.  I find it hard not to go over my budget.  There are so many material things I want for myself, my children and my home.  

The world has made it easy for us to "have it all" to "buy now pay later" and given us a sense of entitlement (you should have these things!).  I'm not against having nice things, just against going into debt for them.

We need to learn to live within our means, to identify what we truly need and what we want, and to delay gratification until we have the means.  I'm not perfect.  I constantly have to ask myself if I really need to buy this or that.  Sometimes I justify buying something when I don't have the money because I feel like I need it.  We fight a constant battle.

Let's learn about budgets and sticking to them, getting and staying out of debt, and how to fish so we can feed ourselves and our families for a lifetime.