Titles are not important, right?

Today we explored the topic of finances in class.  In our own discussion group, we talked mostly about debt.  Seeing as how we are all students, debt is highly relevant.  Due to the personal nature of finances, no names will be mentioned.

We discussed the various levels of debt that each of us as individuals have incurred, and what it is like to have that much debt.  Levels of debt included small credit card balances, OSAP, lines of credit, governmental fines, and mortgages.

The following question was raised.  Does a mortgage actually count as debt?  It is certainly considdered a debt when it is applied to a speadsheet or when speaking to an accountant.  It costs money to live anywhere, so what is wrong with paying for a mortgage as opposed to paying rent?  The money payed out to rent is not retained at all, whereas with a mortgage, everything payed over top of the interest is retained in the value of the building/property.  We then discussed how when with any debt, there is value in every dollar that is payed out, exempting that payed out for interest.  The specific mechanics of reducing interest payments were discussed.

The following is an evaluation of the presentation by Mat Snyder.  These views are not neccessarily held by other members of Team Awesome.

The presentation has many important points, and primarily addressed the critical issue of opening up a discussion about money within the church.  This is an important stronghold that needs to be addressed. I felt the point about pastors being unwilling to talk about finances to have been made very well, and has been delivered to many young bible college students who will be future pastors.  The information about how much Jesus talked about money was especially important.

Improvements: The Christian jargon about sheep instead of dollars is unneccessary and confusing.  The bible is talking about income, which comes from work and monetary success.  Money is a clear analogy to cows.  The confusion about wether or not a student should tithe on his or her loan should have been made clear.  If money has not been earned, money need not be tithed.  The presentation could also have been adapted more to a student body.  The present reality of an average student is low income and large debt, so dealing with these issues in a practical manner first may allow other topics to be addressed with greater attention afterwards.