Day 1

Twenty-One Daysto Financial Freedom

Main Point: We need to be set free from thebondage spending holds on our lives.

My Pledge: For the next twenty-one days, I willbe on a spending diet. I will not shop for anythingexcept necessities. I will not use my credit card. Iwill limit or eliminate the use of my debit card. I will use cash for purchases Imake during the fast. In this way, I will strive to break the chains that keep mefrom achieving financial freedom.

"I hated the fast!"

That's what Terri, a federal government worker, said after she finishedher first financial fast.

How's that for an opening line?

What you probably expected was a glowing testimony of someonewho has gotten out of debt, or saved some amount of money for thefirst time in his or her life. I do have lots of those stories. In fact, onewoman got rid of more than $100,000 in debt. You'll read more abouther story later. But for now, I don't want to sugarcoat this process.

You need to know that this isn't going to be an easy journey. The21-day financial fast is not a quick-fix, microwavable promise ofinstant prosperity. You will have to work for your financial freedom.

At times, you may want to quit. You may want to scream. You mayeven break the fast at some point during the twenty-one days. But nomatter how many times you falter, make the commitment to get rightback on track. Terri did. Here's more of her testimony:

Trying to figure out what I could and could not spend money onwas a nuisance. Every day I had conversations with myself that wentsomething like this:

Me: I'm hungry. What can I eat for dinner?

Other me: Umm ... Chinese food sounds good. Call that placethat does takeout.

Me: Oh shucks, I can't. I'm on that crazy financial fast. Sowhat's in the house?

Other me: But I'm too tired to cook.

Me: Well, you promised you would stick to the fast. (All along,I'm hearing Michelle's voice in my head asking, "Is this a wantor a need?")

Other me: It's a need to eat. Ya think?

Me: Yeah, but you don't need to buy food if you already havefood at home.

Other me: Oh, right.

Me: Why did I agree to this?

I'd search the fridge and cabinets for something to cook despitethe fact that I was tired after a long commute from work. Every dayfor twenty-one days, I thought, "How am I gonna survive this?" Ontop of making dinner, I had to pack a lunch for the next day. Whofeels like making lunch after cooking dinner?

Trying to keep my family on track was another challenge, especiallymy husband, Larry, who is obsessed with going to the market.Prior to the financial fast, he never took a list to the store or stuckto a budget. He believed that because food is a necessity, it's okay tospend whatever you want at the market.

But all that work did pay off—literally. I saved $140 that monthon lunch money alone.

The fast really made me think about how I spend.

Consider her words. The fast made her think about how she spends.

When was the last time you really, truly thought about how youspend? When was the last time you looked at your budget, or evenattempted to put one down on paper? When was the last time youlooked at how much you give to your church or to charity?

This fast will make you reexamine your spending habits—andyou may not like what you see. But you can't change that which youhave not acknowledged. It's funny how I can sit down with someone,look at their budget, and immediately see what's been holding themback financially or why they are in so much debt. But they can't see itbecause they're too busy shopping or spending.

For example, Terri said her husband constantly exceeded theirfood budget. Through one-on-one counseling sessions and the fast,Larry realized why he overspent at the grocery store. As a child, hecouldn't have certain foods because they were too expensive. The fastmade Larry examine why he felt entitled to buy whatever he wantedwhen he went grocery shopping. Now that he's aware of what driveshim to overspend at the market, he can rein in his spending and staywithin their family's grocery budget.

You've probably heard that one definition of the word crazy isdoing the same thing over and over again and expecting differentresults. Yet that's how many people handle their money, or should Isay, mishandle their money. They never take the time to examine whythey are spending the way they do. As a result, they can't rob Peterto pay Paul anymore because Peter is so broke, there isn't any moneyleft to steal. Their finances are "tore up from the floor up"—meaningtheir finances are a wreck—but they persist in the same destructivehabits. The problem for too many people is that they don't know theirfinances are jacked-up crazy.

WHAT IS A FINANCIAL FAST?

This isn't some gimmick. It is a God-inspired way for you to findfinancial freedom. The 21-day financial fast has been field-tested forseveral years in my home church, First Baptist Church of Glenardenin Prince George's County, Maryland.

I first introduced the fast as part of a volunteer program calledProsperity Partners Ministry. In this ministry, men and womenwho are good stewards over their personal finances (Senior Partners)become accountability partners for members who are havingfinancial challenges (Junior Partners). As part of the ministry, allmembers—even those serving as Senior Partners—are asked toparticipate in the fast.

The concept of the fast is similar to the one the prophet Danieltook, in which he "ate no choice food; no meat or wine" and "usedno lotions at all until the three weeks were over" (Dan. 10:3). Danielfasted as a way to draw closer to God. Similarly, the principle of thisfinancial fast is to deny your flesh so that you can become closer toGod. Instead of relying on an emotional rush from shopping or pursuingthe latest sale or discount, this fast will connect you to God.The rush you get from this fast is far better than snagging a pair ofdesigner shoes on sale or upgrading to the latest electronic gadget.Fasting is an act of separating yourself from worldly pleasures. Duringthis separation, and away from worldly temptation, you can beginto break the bonds that keep you broke.

During this fast you will not shop or use your credit cards fortwenty-one days. For three weeks you must refrain from buying anythingthat is not a necessity. And by necessity, I mean the bare essentials,such as food and medicine.

During this fast you will refrain from going to the mall or retailstores to shop for clothes, shoes, jewelry, nonessential householditems, or other stuff that creates a drag on your financial life (andclutters your home).

Even window-shopping is off limits. Browsing leads to temptation,which in turn can lead to buying something you don't really need.

No restaurant meals—fast food or otherwise. This includes buyingbreakfast or lunch at work. You can't stop for coffee. Make it athome instead. During the fast, forget going out to the movies.

You are not permitted to buy gifts or gift cards. I often get a lotof objections on this last rule. People are hesitant to show up empty-handedat a birthday party or wedding or any event where a gift isexpected. So they ask if they can tell the birthday person or bride andgroom that they'll get a gift for them at a later time. No.

You can't tell them you will buy a gift later. Don't promise to purchasea gift after the fast is over. Instead, use this opportunity toshare with the honored person why you are fasting. Then find a wayto bless them without purchasing something. This may be particularlyhard if you have children. As any parent knows, birthday partieshave become grand coronations with children expecting a table fullof presents. We parents could help each other out by asking partyguests on occasion not to bring gifts. At one party, in lieu of gifts forher child, the mother asked partygoers to bring books to exchange. Iloved that idea. It took the focus off of receiving and put it on giving."I really wanted him to know what fun is without expecting toys,"the mother said.

Children's birthday parties have created a small but not insignificantdent in many household budgets. Besides, year after year of overindulgenceat these parties can make it harder to teach your childrenabout moderation later. Already we have an epidemic of overspendingamong adults. Perhaps this is how it starts.

One woman wrote to me that her five-year-old son was invited totwo birthday parties during the fast, but she didn't allow him to goto the parties. However, that wasn't really necessary. While I lovedthat this mother was trying to stick to the fast, her son could havegone to the parties, only without a gift. "Just goes to show you howconditioned my mind was to spending money," Trina said. "I wouldhave never thought about making a gift; I always purchase somethinginstead."

It's okay to have fun on the fast; you just can't buy anything thatisn't a necessity. If your child or teen is invited to a party during thefast, call the birthday child's parent or guardian and explain that yourchild would like to attend but the family is on a financial fast. Yourchild can make a gift from supplies you have at home or make a wonderfulhandmade birthday card.

I want you to internalize that you can celebrate life's greatestoccasions without having to bring or receive a gift. I know this willbe tough, but what in the world do most of us need anyway? What'smost precious is the very thing money can't buy—time. So be creative.Find a way to give of yourself without spending. The purposeof the fast is to eliminate spending on absolutely everything that isnot essential.

THE PERILS OF PLASTIC

Curtailing your consumption is just one part of the fast. The secondpart is eliminating the use of plastic, both credit and debit. There'sa real danger in relying on credit even if you pay off your credit cardbill every month. Paying with plastic just makes purchasing too easy.Swipe, and within seconds you can be mired in debt. Let's considerthe example of purchasing a flat-screen television. If you had to standat a cash register and count out bill after bill after bill after bill topay the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a television, youcertainly would contemplate whether the purchase made financialsense. You might even do some mental accounting to calculate whatdebts you could pay down or pay off instead. Plastic doesn't allow forthat deliberation.

There are two kinds of credit card users—those who carry a balanceand those who pay off their charges every month. Those whopay off their charges often assume they are in control of their creditcard usage. After all, you have to admire the marketing might ofcredit card issuers. They have done a stellar job in persuading otherwisesmart people that using plastic can come with no price. Thisgroup of convenience credit card users is convinced that they arepulling one over on the card companies. They point to the rewardpoints they receive or the fact that they never, or seldom, pay anycredit card interest. But I assure you there is a cost. You may be ableto bear it, but there is an extra cost to using credit.

The banks know and studies have shown that even those of uswho think we are using credit wisely are being duped. That's becausewhen you use credit, you often spend more than you would if you usecash. Even if you don't pay interest on the money because you settlethe bill before the next billing cycle, or if you collect a plane ticketor two as part of a credit card reward program, you're still spendingmore. That means the banks win and you lose.

In one study aimed at marketers, Greg Davies at Britain's WarwickUniversity found that customers using credit cards spend morethan those paying with cash or checks in purchasing situations thatare otherwise identical in every other respect. Davies concludes thatcredit cards boost spending because of how our brains work. Hefound that credit cards reduce the pain of payment because we don'tdo the same mental accounting as we do when we pay with cash.

I know from experience that many people do not make the samepurchases when they pay with plastic. This isn't just a feeling or anecdotalevidence. Researchers have found that people's willingness topurchase more products or ser vices increases with the use of plastic.

Over the years that the Prosperity Partners Ministry has conductedthe financial fast, some business professional or small businessentrepreneur inevitably objects to the no credit card rule, arguingthat he or she may need to use credit during a work trip or for otherbusiness purposes. Generally speaking, during the fast, the rule aboutavoiding credit card use applies only to personal credit card use, butI would still ask you to consider if there is a way around using crediteven for business reasons. Too many small business owners areunnecessarily deep in credit card debt.

You should also limit use of your debit card. If you must use it,limit your purchases to groceries and/or gas.

WHY LIMIT DEBIT CARD USE?

Through my work in Prosperity Partners, I've found that even debitcard users, especially those without credit card debt—still whip outthe plastic far too easily and spend more than they would if theywere limited to using only cash. Many debit card users who haveparticipated in the fast argue that they can't spend more than what'sin their checking account; therefore, it's the same as cash. But that'snot true. If it were true, the banks wouldn't have introduced overdraftprotection, a common debit card feature that allows banks to rake inbillions (yes, that's with a b) in fees.

About 90 percent of banks' consumer-fee income comes fromoverdraft and insufficient-funds charges. An overdraft study publishedin 2008 by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation foundthat at least 81 percent of banks allow overdrafts to take place atATMs and through point-of-sale/debit transactions. An overwhelmingmajority of banks in the FDIC survey did not inform customersuntil after the transaction had been completed that they didn't haveenough money in their bank account to cover their electronic transaction.Only about 8 percent of the financial institutions informedconsumers that funds were insufficient before transactions werecompleted, thereby allowing them an opportunity to avoid a fee.

A debit card is a cousin to the credit card, and it poses a similarproblem—it allows people to buy stuff with cash they really don'thave. People are quick to swipe their debit card, only to learn laterafter getting an overdraft notice that they didn't have the cash in theirbank account to back up the debit card purchase in the first place.

So you see, a debit card is not the same as using cash, since youcan still spend more than you have in your bank account.

WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO DURING THE FAST

People find ways around the fast. I know that. I can't possibly comeup with a list of all the don'ts that may violate the fast. For example,I tell people to only spend money on essential things. However, oneperson's essential is another's want. I can easily go twenty-one dayswithout going to the hair salon. I'll throw my hair in a ponytail in aminute. Other women who've done the fast say if they went withoutvisiting the hair salon, they would look a "hot mess" and possiblyjeopardize their employment.

Here's a quick overview of what you can purchase during thefinancial fast:

• Essential items such as food and medication.

• Essential personal hygiene products.

• Essential clothing items that would be required for your job, such aspantyhose, work shirts, or a uniform. However, you should not buyclothing simply because you think you need a new outfit for work.If you're a professional and your work requires a certain standard ofdress, then you should try to make do for the next twenty-one dayswith the clothes you already own.