The Bible tells us to plan for the unexpected.   The Bible admonishes us NOT to presume upon tomorrow. James speaks to the challenges of business with these words:

^{James 4:13} Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Notice that James reminds us that “we do not know” what will happen tomorrow.   We need to respond to that reality in our budgeting and planning.   We need to make sure we buy a house with a payment that leaves room of margin. Room for the unexpected. We need a 6 month emergency fund in case we lose a job or face a serious medical condition.   We need to make plans with the counsel of others.   How many of us would have avoided a financial challenge if we had a friend challenge us by saying, “I don’t think you should buy such a large car or house?”    We need to seek the “Lord’s Will” on how we spend.  Ask God how much we want to give away before we build our budget.   After we decide to give away a specific percentage and save a certain percentage, Then we can see what our budget for a new purchase really allows for.

Joplin and other tornado hit cities remind us that tragedy can strike at any time. Are we prepared?  It may be flooding.  It could be tornadoes.  It might be bad luck.   Either way, prepare.  Have some extra food around the house.  Keep some money at your home in case you can’t get to an ATM.  With all the gold commercials dancing on every news show, it might be worth investing in some gold and silver as a long term investment and hedge against the Federal Reserves non stop printing press.   So here are some ideas.

Costco (and others) sell a one month supply of food for less than $100.   The piece of mind of having one month of food seems worth a one hundred dollar insurance policy.

Over the years, several friends of mine who invest in gold have recommended kitco.com  They sell gold and silver bullion as well as silver and gold eagles.   They ship directly to you and have one of the smallest mark ups from the “spot” price of the day.  You can get the daily price of gold and silver there as well. www.kitco.com

As long as our country and the world’s banks continue to use “unjust” weights to devalue our currency, smart people will at least prepare for the possibility of inflation.   The reality of surprise environmental hazards suggest that having some food, water, and money on hand might be a safe bet.

For more information, check out www.godonomics.com.

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