The following was overheard in a store.
A little girl, about age 3: "Daddy, will you buy this for me?"
Father: "Don't you have something like that already?"
Girl: "Yes, but it isn't just like this."
Father: "I don't think we ought to buy it."
Girl: "But, Daddy, I need this."
The bystander, or even the parent, might smile. The little girl had confused "want" and "need," or she was very adept at making her petition. After all, most parents will respond more quickly to their children's "needs" than to their "wants."
It might be cute when children confuse "need" and "want," but when adults do so the results can be disastrous, leading to financial distress or even ruin. We see examples all around us. Most visible are those who buy things they cannot afford: houses that are too big or in pricey neighborhoods, expensive furniture, vehicles that come "fully loaded," popular brand clothing, frequent meals at high-priced restaurants, the latest in technological gadgets, or vacations to far-away destinations in the name of "making memories" for our families.
Many people subscribe to the "buy now, pay later" notion. It would be much safer to follow the "save now, buy later" philosophy.
We would be hard pressed to find even one prophet of this dispensation who has not cautioned, in one way or another, against debt.
President Joseph F. Smith told members to get out of debt, and that if they desired to prosper "and to be...a free people, first meet your obligations to God, and then...to your fellowmen" (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, pp. 259—60).
Truly, one cannot be free while in debt to another, as Benjamin Franklin observed: "Think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty."
President Heber J. Grant counseled Latter-day Saints to "buy the ordinary necessities of life" when they have the money to buy them, and not to mortgage their future ("Gospel Standards," comp. G. Homer Durham, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1941, pp. 60—61, 111).
In a leadership meeting in conjunction with the Spanish Fork Utah Regional Conference on Feb. 15, 2003, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "We are living in difficult times....We do not know what is just over the horizon. ...I see a great imprudence on the part of so many of our people, saddling themselves with debt, homes that are costly, automobiles that have to have all the bells and whistles that you can hang on them, and such things as that, credit card debt....
"Debt is now higher than it was when the Depression hit us in 1929. I don't want to cry calamity. I want to speak of wisdom and restraint and discipline and to counsel you to encourage our people to be modest in their expenditures."
English writer Samuel Johnson (1709-84) made this wise declaration: "Do not accustom yourself to consider debt only as an inconvenience; you will find it a calamity."
President Ezra Taft Benson expressed concern about the rising materialism, which leads many people into debt. There is a tendency, he observed, "for all of us to want to keep up with our neighbors, even if our income is low. Sadly, in this respect, we have plenty of company. In the long run, it is easier to live within our income and resist borrowing from future reserves except in cases of necessity — never for luxuries. It is not fair to ourselves or our communities to be so improvident in our spending that the day our income stops we must turn to relief agencies or the Church for financial aid....
"Save now and buy later, and you will be much further ahead. You will spare yourselves high interest and other payments, and the money you save may provide opportunity for you to buy later at substantial cash discounts.
"If you must incur debt to meet the reasonable necessities of life — such as buying an automobile, a house, or furniture — then I implore you, as you value your solvency and happiness, buy within your means and use credit wisely. Resist the temptation to plunge into property far more pretentious or spacious than you really need" (First Presidency Message, Ensign, June 1987, p. 3).
If we are wise, we will plan ahead, save our money and make purchases that we can afford.
