www.theleaven.com | Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas | Vol. 32, No. 27 february 18, 2011
Who murdered the family budget? By Joe Bollig Leaven staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Who murdered the family budget? It’s not who you think. Usually, it’s not the big things that bleed families’ financial health, said Matthew Seba. It’s a lot of little things: the death of a thousand cuts. “It’s not the hundreds of thousands of dollars of mistakes people make that get them into trouble,” said Seba, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Tonganoxie. “It’s the $40 thing here and the $60 thing there,” he continued. “[They] go into Wal-Mart with the intention to buy X, Y and Z, and leave with the whole alphabet. Instead of spending $50, [they] spend $300.” If that goes on long enough, there will be a day of reckoning, and that individual will reap what he or she sows. Seba knows, because that was his life before he and his wife April learned how to bring their earning, saving and spending in line with their Catholic faith. Now, the Sebas help teach other families how to get back onto
a solid financial footing by offering a 13-week class called Financial Peace University, which was developed by financial guru Dave Ramsey. They began another session at Sacred Heart on Feb. 6. Even at a time of economic distress, Americans are better off — relatively speaking — than most generations before them. Why, then, do so many of us have financial anxieties? Why the load of personal debt? An answer can be found in the way we think about “affording.” “Our grandparents borrowed very, very little,” said Seba. “Our parents borrowed a little more, and our generation seems to borrow for everything. Homes, cars — you can finance a rototiller now. Before all this [credit] was available, you had to save and pay for things. Today, being able to afford something means something different than it used to.” If our attitudes about credit, saving, spending and priorities seem a l l out of
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For 30 years, Xavier Elementary School in Leavenworth has operated out of three buildings. That’s all about to change.
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whack, it may be because we haven’t done these things according to God’s will, he continued. It’s about good stewardship. “We are called to give,” said Seba. “If we are good stewards with what God has blessed us with, as the giving opportunities present themselves in our lives, we will be better equipped to do God’s work with that financial blessing. Being good stewards of what [God] presents us with — and it’s all His stuff — allows us to live our Christian faith.” There is a strong connection between our Christian faith and the way we use our material goods, said Bill Scholl, archdiocesan consultant for social justice. Turn to “Planning” on page 15
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Resources People can turn to a variety of resources for practical ways to get their finances under control and to bring their spending in line with God’s will. Some are explicitly Catholic; others are not. One Catholic resource is Veritas Financial Ministries (www.veritasfinancialministries. com). It is the creation of Phil Lenahan, who wrote the book “7 Steps to Becoming Financially Free: A Catholic Guide to Managing Your Money.” Another is the book “Faith Finances,” by Thomas Zordani. He also has a Web site at: www. faithfinances.net. Still another resource is Financial Peace University, a course offered by Dave Ramsey, an evangelical Protestant. His Web site is: www.daveramsey. com. He offers financial advice on his nationally syndicated radio program, “The Dave Ramsey Show.”
Fish fry notice
Because of space constraints, The Leaven does not list Lenten fish fries in the calendar during Lent. However, a full page of archdiocesan fish fries will appear — all ready to be clipped and saved — in the March 4 edition of The Leaven. Fish fry notices should be e-mailed to: todd@theleaven.com. The deadline is Feb. 25. Keep notices to less than 40 words. Please do not include full menus.