Penny & I just had lunch at a local mom & pop diner where the cost of a hamburger alone was $12. We rarely eat out anymore because of inflation. Though the economy is resilient & humming along, we’re all still feeling frustration about increasing expenses from gas to groceries. The term dominating the political debate is the “affordability crisis.”
Younger generations are finding it harder to buy comfortable homes. This frustration increases when they consider how older generations could afford a house, a car, & college for their kids all on one salary. While the frustrations are real, the comparisons may not be as simple as that. We’re actually much better off materially than we were when I was a kid. Things were cheaper then, but salaries were way lower too. If you adjust for inflation, it’s not that different if we’re comparing apples to apples.
Yes, we had a house, but it was a very small one near the airport. Houses are bigger & better equipped now. And actually census data show that more Americans own their homes today than back then. The appliances are way better now too. We didn’t have central air–we had a window air conditioner, which was an improvement over box fans. No washer & dryer, dishwasher, microwave, or garbage disposal. Eating out was definitely a rare treat — practically never for breakfast or lunch, & maybe once or twice a week for dinner.
We did not have houses full of TVs, electronics, toys, clothes & shoes. People didn’t have money to fly to places for vacations. Cars then were cheaper but only lasted half as long as today’s. Far fewer live in poverty now, & even those considered “poor” have what only rich people used to have – including vast varieties of international food choices & smartphones with more computing power than NASA had when I was a kid. The internet supplies endless information & entertainment. We take for granted today what only kings could have afforded not that long ago.
When I was born only half of families sent their kids to college, & it stayed that way until the mid 80’s when those families became the majority. Many didn’t even finish high school back then. But yes, college today is ridiculously inflated. Let’s also not forget the better health care we have now with medications in abundance & urgent care centers everywhere! And yes, health care is ridiculously inflated too. But let’s also not forget health care is better now with medications in abundance & urgent care centers everywhere.
Whatever your fears & worries about the economy, I can tell you 2 things for certain: (1) Nobody knows what’s going to happen. For example, we’re being told that AI & robots are going to replace much of the work force. But we have no idea what new ideas & technologies brilliant people will come up with to alleviate that. Yes, our national debt is horrifyingly huge, but it may be all that technology that gets us out of that impending doom. Economists disagree all the time & are often more wrong than right.
(2) God’s still in control. “In God We Trust” is still printed on our money (though we’re moving quickly toward a cashless society–which is a whole other concern). Regardless of whether the motto remains on our coins & bills, is it true for us personally?
My dad didn’t make much money as a cop. But after he was permanently disabled, my family eventually received some settlement money & was able to move into a larger & nicer home that could accommodate his needs. Worrying about money wasn’t an issue in my family, as far as I could tell.
Then I got married & found that money was harder to come by especially as we were both still in college. Our first apartment was above a dress shop in a small town where we had to heat up bowls of water in a microwave to pour into the bathtub. Every piece of furniture was from our childhood or given to us, & all those wedding gifts supplied our kitchen. We made payments on a used Chevette that I drove to a weekend ministry 2 hours away, & Penny rode the bus downtown to work as a bank teller.
Then my dad succumbed to his condition & died at the same time my first child was born. This meant receiving some inheritance money & educating myself about personal finances at age 27 because it was the first time we had any real money. So I bought some finance books, highlighted them & made notes.
The inheritance money allowed me to move to Michigan & put a down payment on a 20-year old house, & invest in some mutual funds for savings because starting a new church didn’t pay much. Fortunately, the ‘90’s stock market did very well with new internet companies creating a bubble, enabling us to stay afloat by dipping into those savings until the church was fully able to support us. I also earned a little money on the side writing articles for Christian publications.
One thing we learned through good times & tough times, was to trust God. We see God’s providential provision all throughout. One time in my minivan, I ran over someone’s muffler in the street & damaged the underside. The bill was $140. A few days later, a check arrived from a magazine I wrote for — the amount was $140. Another time the side view mirror of the van was ripped off, & another magazine I wrote for sent a check which helped cover that. One Sunday, $50 was stolen from Penny’s purse at church. She was very upset, but I told her not to worry, it’s only money. Later that day I opened a card a couple handed me that morning in gratitude for baptizing them – it contained a $50 bill. I got to say, “See! God’s taking care of us before the theft even happened.”
By the way, we tithed back then just as we still do today. Not because it’s Old Testament Law, but because it’s still a good biblical benchmark that goes back to Abraham. We can’t be like Jesus without being generous, so the New Testament commends giving freely, cheerfully, proportionately, & sacrificially. I believe if you don’t learn to trust God with your finances, you won’t know how to really trust him for much of anything.