If you could name how much money you would need to live a comfortable life today, how much do you need? Would a  half million dollars a year be enough? How about a million a year or a million a month, maybe that would be enough to give you a comfortable life to live. Really,… how much would you need?

I’m not talking about wishes and dreams, I am talking about just giving you a comfortable living. No frills, just comfortable. Nice car, not luxury. Nice house, no swimming pools. Vacations, yes, and hobbies are part of a healthy comfortable life. Comfortable, not luxury is what we are talking about. How much do you need?

Say you could live this comfortable life on about 50,000 dollars a year, but you made 100,000 a year. What would you do with the excess? Pay your mortgage off? You could do that with the Money Merge Account program from United First Financial. Pay that mortgage off in one third to one half the time, and do it without refinancing, and without changing your monthly payment. Or you could help out those poor guys at AIG, who have to give all their bonus’ back.

But, all kidding aside, what if you gave the rest of your money away? Gave the other 50,000 dollars to charities, or maybe to someone that you know is struggling  financially, or you could find someone who is unemployed and can’t make their mortgage payment, and might loose their home. Make a couple of payments for them, buy some groceries, pay their utilities. If we, who are doing better than those others, all chipped in, we could make a difference. Just think of the tax deduction you could have, and the nice check you would probably get back at tax time.

This is what makes America great. This is what makes us different from the fat cats in Washington, or the ones on Wall Street, or in Hollywood. They don’t know nor can they remember where they came from. I heard it said, ” know where your going, and plan for the future, but never forget where you came from. It’s not all the big stuff, it’s the little stuff, bit by bit, one piece at a time, that you put all together, makes America great.

America is built and runs on the backs of the little guys at the bottom. The small businesses, the home based businesses, the little guys that are keeping the oil burning. Sure, we need someone at the top making the calls and getting the orders, but the chasm between you and me and them is so wide, we live in two totally different worlds.

I think it is time, for those who can, to reach back and give a helping hand to the one behind you. It doesn’t take a lot. Just a little bit can go a long way.

I heard the stories from my parents and grand parents about the days of the great depression. How everybody chipped in to do their part. People helping people. Don’t wait for the government to help you. They will take your wallet out from your back pocket, take that ten dollar bill you had in there, and give two dollars back.

There is some of this starting to happen now. There is an Apartment Lease Company that is offering, two months of rent free, to anyone who is laid off. Hoping this gives you time to get back on your feet and you stay with them, but if you don’t, you walk away with no obligation to pay anything back. It is their way of reaching out to help those who are hurting right now. This is a perfect example to what I am talking about. Helping those who we can help. This is something that we must all learn to survive.

Jesus said;

Luk 6:38 ” give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Mat 25:45 ” Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

God bless us to make the right decisions.