I’m fine with eating everyday in fast food restaurants. I know it’s not healthy and I don’t go there because I love the food per se but because I’m a very impatient person. I’m a stickler for time. I think its very inconsiderate when people come up to meetings late even for a few minutes unless they have a really really valid reason and traffic or parking is not one of them because I consider them a part of everyday life. When people say they’ll deliver on a certain day, I watch the calendar and start counting the days, and when our team members say they’ll give something to me by 3pm, I expect it guess what time — not 3:30, not 3:15 not even 3:01 but 3pm!

However, recently God’s been making me wait… its been over a month since our retreat and looking at my prayer requests, the ticking off of prayer items seem to have halted. Events that used to take 30-60 days for payment now make us wait for almost a year. It’s seems God’s “silence” on this matter has taken much longer than I expected.

Through all these, God is teaching me something and its not just about “waiting”. Recently I discovered that God was also teaching me to “Live within His provision”.

For more than 20 years, i’ve been living on credit cards. Its so convenient since I do most of my shopping online and the card actually converts dollars, peso, euro, HKD, SGD for me. My reason is I pay the amount in full anyway.

This was great when I was still getting huge commissions from my accounts in events, shooting several times a week etc. but since things have been slow recently the efforts of being able to pay the bills have been stressful. Anyway, here is the main point… When you need to make a loan or use cards it is just like saying “God what you gave me wasn’t enough so I need to find other sources”. That makes sense.

One Thursday, during our cell group meeting, our leader Edric Mendoza shared to us the most interesting and impactful learnings he got during his hosting of his TV show “On the Money”. I didn’t take down notes so here is what i remember (with the help of my wife):

1. It’s better to save in small bits daily than a one time investment (compounded). You’ll end up with more in the end.
2. Plan your retirement and set a goal. The best time to work on it is now.
3. Don’t change lifestyle when your income increases. It’s not how much you earn but how much you save.
4. During your spare time, choose to be educated rather than entertained. Remember time is money!
5. Choose Self worth rather than net worth.

It’s just amazing how the Lord speaks so clearly…. Pray with me that I’ll be totally Credit Card free by 2015.