Principle of Increase

Hoarding MoneyHoarding’s back. 

I’m sure it never went away, but it’s been back in the news over the last month.  Banks are hoarding money.  People worldwide are hoarding rice.  Myanmar officials and residents are warned about hoarding aid.

People are scared, and when they’re scared, they hoard.  OR, somebody else hoards and looks to make a killing off the really scared people.

In a previous post, I mentioned that there are four alter-egos to LifeVestors – consumers, hoarders, gamblers, and codependents.  Hoarders are the most unique of these.  While consumers live as if there is no tomorrow, hoarders live as if there is a tomorrow, and wherever/whatever it is, it’s gonna be ticked off.  Hard.  Terrible.  And we have to plan for it today.

It’s one thing for literally starving people to make sure they have something to eat for the next few days.  It’s another to live with a spirit of fear, even while you’re being wonderfully blessed.

It’s one thing to save and invest for retirement or a rainy day.  It’s another thing to create an ongoing bunker mentality based on fear of the future.

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LaughterI mentioned in my previous post that it’s possible to live in such a way that laughs at the future. Just so we’re clear, we’re in “life hack” territory.  We’re talking about what to do with your money, your time, your relationships, your attitudes, and your spirit.

Look at this biblical description:

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” (Proverbs 31:25)

What is it about this woman that put her in a place where she wasn’t wringing her hands every time somebody predicted the end of life as we know it?

1.  Establish trust in those who know you best.

“Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm,all the days of her life” (v. 11-12, NLT).

For years I assumed that her husband trusted her in a moral sense, but this is much deeper.  This man trusted her with his business, his family, and his money.  She had earned his trust.  How?  By adding value to his life.

By doing a little more, being faithful to tasks assigned, or by keeping the trust of those who know you best, you create a compelling future.  Take it from somebody who has both earned and betrayed trust:  it takes months and years to earn trust, and you can destroy it – and your confidence in the future – in a matter of minutes.

2.  Buy like an investor, not like a consumer.

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OrangesSunday afternoon we had a big group of couples at our house.  I was hanging out with the men when Robin walks in and says, “There’s somebody at the door you need to talk to.”

Translation:  Somebody’s going to ask for our money, and you’re going to make that decision.

Optional Further Translation:  I don’t want to make that decision, but I reserve the right not to like it!  (She knows I’m a sucker for Girl Scouts, local bands, or anybody else raising money by selling something.)

This was no Girl Scout.  Boy Scout either.  It was a guy about my age.  And he was selling oranges.

That’s right, oranges.  Grapefruit, too.  And I bought them.  Half a case of them, in a household of two, for $39.50.

I live half a block from a major supermarket.  We don’t eat oranges that much.  Grapefruit?  Never.

But I bought.  And I’d like to tell you why.  (Yes, there are reasons beyond being a sucker.)

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