Paying off Debt vs Saving Money

A Short on Prosperity #3


There is a difference between paying off debt and saving money. With debt you are paying off a purchase you could not afford to pay for with cash.  Plus, you are paying even more than the purchase price because of the interest added on top.  This is what good consumers do.

With saving you are getting paid interest on your own money.  This is what producers do. Your money is producing income for you in the form of interest or dividends.

It seems like you are getting ahead in both cases, but technically, one (paying off debt) is actually buying something with an interest premium added on top, and the other is saving.  It is not the same thing.  

It may make more sense to pay off the debt before you save because of the interest you are paying on the debt.

BUT once the debt is paid off, you’re still broke.  You still have not followed the biblical admonition to save part of your income.

Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

However, if you save money, you have something to invest, you have something for your labor, you are following the sound wisdom of Proverbs.

Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Saving part of your income is a great habit, and it does something for your self-image to have money that you have saved in the bank. Believing God at His Word brings joy to the heart. Try it.  Pay off the debt, but save at the same time, so that by the time the debt is paid off you are well into the habit of saving.

When it comes to prosperity, this is another small piece of The Prosperous Life.

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