Today's meeting looked a little different; instead of a "live" speaker, we watched a speaker/presentation on DVD. The speaker was Dave Ramsey, who is known as a financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker. The DVD we watched is part of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace series and the session we covered was titled "Buyer Beware".
Dave started out talking about "the enemy of your Financial Peace" (companies/marketing) and the 4 Major Ways companies market to you. He shared that we live in the most marketed to culture in the history of the world and that companies use every angle to aggressively compete for your money. Some interesting statistics include: adults see 3,000-4,000 advertisements/day, kids born today will see over 1 million ads in their lifetime, companies will spend $15 billion this year alone on ads geared towards children, and that watching 1 hour of TV/week will equal an extra $200/year spent on products.
The Four Major Ways companies market to us:
1. Personal Selling
2. Financing as a marketing tool (no interest until 2012, 0% interest loans, no money down, etc)
3. TV, Radio, Internet, and other media
4. Product Positioning (brand recognition, color, shelf position, and packaging)
Dave then shared some tips about significant purchases and what to do before making them. A "significant purchase" is normally anything over $300. Our bodies actually go through physiological changes when making a significant purchase.
He also shared that we all have a spoiled, red-faced, tantrum-throwing kid living inside of us.....and his name is "immaturity". If this kid runs your buying decisions all of your life, you will be broke. Children do what feels good, but adults devise a plan and follow it.
What To Do When Making a Significant Purchase:
Because you can always spend more than you make, you must develop a power over purchase by:
1. Waiting Overnight before making a purchase.
2. Carefully considering your buying motives. NO amount of STUFF equals contentment or fulfillment.
3. Never buying anything you do not understand (such as certain types of insurance coverage or investments)
4. Considering the "opportunity cost" of your money.
5. Seeking the counsel of your spouse or accountability partner.
"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her ; so he will have no lack of gain." Proverbs 31:10-11 (NKJV)
Some good tips to follow especially as we hit the stores for our Black Friday/Christmas shopping :)
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and please join us for our Christmas Brunch on Tuesday, December 6th!!
This blog is dedicated to the Moms of Influence group at Northbrook Church in Richfield, WI.
