Hope Happens

As you may know, I am a true Dave Ramsey follower. As soon as I got on board with his financial program I got rid of my credit cards, got on a written budget, and started my walk through the "baby steps". He has truly changed the way I look at money.

Last night, Dave and some of his friends at LifeChurch and Fox Business Network, held the nationwide simulcast, Town Hall for Hope. What an incredible event. Just knowing there are other people out there who have not given up and who are not going to participate in the recession gives me hope!

There was some great information presented and a lot of interesting facts. For instance, we all think things are pretty bad now but can you remember what it was like in the 70's recession in the mile long gas lines? Or the drop in the stock market of nearly 50%? Or in the 80's recession where interest rates were up to 17-18%? In some respects, we are not doing as bad as we have in the past.

It is interesting to note that Dave thinks that it will be the housing market that will pull us out of this recession. "Interest rates are at 4 3/8% and homes everywhere are on sale." According to recent data, 4.7 million homes were sold in February, 2009 alone, and only 860,000 homes were repossessed all of 2008. Although sales are slower than normal, I'd say those numbers are looking pretty good.

If you only took away one thing from the event it would be to have hope. Hope for our future and our children's future. I realize that watching one minute of news will diminish what hope you have left so to revive that spark of hope back in you, follow these 3 steps:

You are the cure, America. No one else is going to solve your problems for you-that's your job! Find out how you can take control of your money, turn back the fear in your community, and hold your representatives accountable for the decisions they're making on your behalf.

We're sick and tired of the "loser talk" that has permeated the media, the water cooler and the internet. Stop listening to the garbage, and start speaking a word of hope!

Learning how to give-whether it's money, time or support-changes your whole mindset. Dave says it pretty clearly: "We can't win if we can't give." If you want to win with money and change the nation, you've got to learn how to give again.