The Church at Argyle is conducting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We have over 50 families enrolled, with over 100 people attending each week.
This past Tuesday was the third of thirteen weekly sessions. We asked each family to anonymously give us an index card with their family's total debt, excluding any first mortgage. 49 responded. We expected a lot of debt, but not what we saw.
The total debt was $2,273,000! Only six owed nothing, and some of these were teens who were asked to participate apart from their parents. Of those who owed debt, the average balance was $52,860. Eight of 49 owed more than $100,000. The carrying cost of that amount of debt will be in the range of $24,000 to $34,000 (or more) per month. It makes you wonder how high the total would be if first mortgages were included.
We hear media reports about rising debt loads and shrinking savings in America. But, seeing the real numbers in families you know, people right next door, makes for an entirely different impact.
Hal Hunter
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3 comments:
Pretty amazing results! I am praying for everyone who is taking part in this class will see that God wants us to be free so He can use us in mighty ways.
Peace
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We're enjoying FPU and were also shocked at the debt numbers- I know FPU is having an impact on our family, and hopefully will have on our church as a whole. Thanks for bringing this great tool to us.
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