September 17, 2006

God's economy

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

I've been really working through a number of things lately, and this passage really hits the nail on the head.

The past 6 months or so, I've been increasingly upset with my "asset management," and it's been really getting impossible to ignore in the past month or so.

In this context, "asset management" refers to the management of stuff, money, credit, and other related "things". Looking back on it, I don't think I've managed my assets much differently than the world. I've got a lot of credit, I've used it for various things, I owe assorted places/people money, I have a lot of stuff, and more importantly I have a lot of stuff I never use.

When I was in the dorms, I was a packrat - no question about it. If a computer came across my path with three usable parts, I stripped them and stored them. They might come in useful later, and if I needed a part, or someone else needed a part, I had it. And I didn't get rid of them - I never knew when I might need a Type 14 Class B widget (revision 3.1) to fix some obscure computer.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work so well when you move regularly. Since the summer of 2000, I've moved (all my stuff) 11 times. And each time there's been more stuff, and more junk. And it gets old moving all of it.

So, for the past few years, I haven't lived any differently. I've subscribed to the world's view of finances, worked for a paycheck, collected "stuff", accumulated debt, consume lots of resources, and generally not live very differently.

Through a variety of sources & reasons, I've become convinced that I need to change how I manage my worldly assets. A few of my changes follow, with explanation as needed.

  • Get out of debt, stay out of debt. This is good advice regardless, but I've been fighting with credit cards & debt for a while. I'll have my credit cards paid off by the end of the month, then it's onto a loan from my parents that will take a while to pay down (unless I get the RX-7 sold).
  • Simplify vehicles. I've long subscribed to the RFIV concept (Redundant Fleet of Inexpensive Vehicles), but I've learned that this doesn't work terribly well. Under limited funding situations, one or two vehicles get the funds, the rest just kind of sit. I've made progress with this task, I'm down to the new Subaru, the motorcycle, and the RX-7. I'm planning to fix all the issues with the Subaru to make it a reliable year-round vehicle (if somewhat underpowered right now), keep the motorcycle (since it's cheap on gas, and I've already put a lot of money into fixing it's problems so it should be another 20-30k miles before it needs major work), and sell the RX-7 (it's not practical, it's expensive to keep running, and while it's a lot of fun, it's just not a good vehicle for me to keep around currently).
  • Get rid of unneeded stuff. I don't need to packrat everything related to any computer made in the past 30 years. If I have just a few decent systems and a bit of cash laying around, I can *gasp* purchase replacement parts if needed. I'm in the process of aggressively getting rid of stuff - eBaying what I can, and throwing other stuff out. I want the next move to be much easier. There's also something very liberating about taking a pile of stuff that I've been hauling around for years, saying, "I don't need this," and throwing it out.
  • Dramatically increase savings & giving. Where money goes, the heart follows. Also, having a savings buffer is wise, both for the ferrets (vet bills if something goes wrong can be expensive) and for me. Having a several month pad of "minimum operating expenses" would free me up from the requirement of a sufficiently-paying-job for a period of time if something else came up. The balance here is between foolishness (not having any savings) and excessive pride/trust in money (Oh, I don't need God, I have $X in the bank).
  • Reduce power/fuel consumption. This ties into money, as well as general environmentalism. I really don't need to drive a car when the motorcycle or a bicycle will work just as well. I also don't need as much inefficient lighting. There are much more efficient ways to light a room (more flexible as well). I've put a wattmeter on my entertainment center (TV/stereo/TV computer/PS2) to remind me to turn things off (and because a wavering needle is geeky).

    In addition, I want to simplify my life. "Seek first the kingdom, and all else will be given to you." That's a simple, single-minded focus. I don't live that out very well right now. I'm still not sure exactly what living that out looks like, but I have some ideas that I may share later.

    Any thoughts/comments on this topic?

    -=Russ=-

    Posted by rgraves at September 17, 2006 11:33 PM | TrackBack
    • Comments

    Good stuff Russ. Way to obey even when it hurts.

    Posted by: Wendy B at September 18, 2006 03:15 PM

    I'm very impressed Russ (actually was a month ago when I actually read this). I wish you good luck with your plans. Keep me informed.

    You know... time is another precious resource God gives us. So if you think that PS2 is wasting away too much of your time (and electricity), I'm here for you, man... I mean... if you need to unload it on someone.

    Posted by: Benjamin at October 26, 2006 10:40 AM

    well every time I meet people here, I’m sure they are very young and don’t know what to say, that’s why they write weird stuff

    Posted by: sandeep at April 6, 2008 03:00 PM

    I am trying to keep from reading trash like this. Man, you are sick. How did this came to your mind?

    Posted by: mind21 at April 9, 2008 05:33 AM
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