Great Advice

It is difficult to escape talk of all the economic turmoil going on in the world, but today I received an email from my dad that left me uplifted. The talk was Constancy Amid Change by President N. Eldon Tanner. As I read through this talk I thought how comforting it is to have leaders who don't just give their good opinion but are led by the Spirit to warn us of danger and prepare us for the unknown. In this talk he gives 5 principles of economic constancy:

1. Pay an honest tithing
2. Live on less than you earn
3. Learn to distinguish between needs and wants
4. Develop and live within a budget
5. Be honest in all your financial affairs

This talk goes into detail about each of these principles. Below, I will just share one of my favorite excerpts from this talk:

(Under the principle Develop and live within a budget)
"A friend of mine has a daughter who went overseas with a BYU study-abroad program for a semester. She was constantly writing home for more money. His concern was such that he called her long-distance and questioned her about the need for the additional funds. At one point in the conversation the daughter explained, “But dad, I can tell you where every penny you have sent me has been spent.”
He replied, “You don’t seem to get the point. I’m interested in a budget—a plan for spending—not in a diary of where the money has gone.”
Perhaps parents should be more like the father of the college boy who wired home, “No mon, no fun, your son.” His father wired back, “How sad, too bad, your dad.”

There is much more in this talk that I found to be very thought provoking and a great reminder of what is most important. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.