Image Source: Pixabay Royalty Free Images

I have a policy where if I find myself writing a very long comment, over a certain length, I stop and begin a post about it. I was enjoying a post by @silversaver888 called "It Pays to Take Some Risks".

Silversaver compares investing money vs placing money into a savings account. Her conclusion is that for short-term objectives, savings accounts work great, but for long-term objectives, like retirement, investing money makes much more sense. I agree with her conclusions!

Where Am I Going With This?

The sentence that got my attention is this one:

Any money you set aside for short-term objectives like buying a car or house or for emergencies should be placed in a savings account.

I agree with her and the key word here is "short-term".

When we think of a Checking Account vs a Savings Account, what's the difference? One is interest bearing? One has a different fee structure? Ultimately, the two forms of account are identical! They are both IOU's.

A Giant IOU

If you've been saving and depositing in your bank account, congratulations. That number on the screen is a representation of hard work, well earned! It seems as if that impressive number from the bank is "owned wealth" since it can be withdrawn and spent, so it certainly feels like wealth. We all like to log into our bank account and see those comforting numbers. If a bill comes our way, click click and it's paid. It feels like wealth, it is able to settle debts, if there's a problem there's a number to call. It's FDIC insured up to 250K. All these benefits! What a great convenience! But what's the drawback?

The drawback is that if the money fails, and the banks can't pay back their IOU to you, that number will not mean anything. Even if it's supposedly insured a quarter million, who cares? If you have to earn multi-millions every month to maintain our current standard of living? The drawback is when (not if) the system collapses. What do you own that will "float" on top of the dollar? What do you own that people would be willing to exchange for actual wealth? What is your true value? How have we been storing up our hard work? How assured are we that we will ever utilize that number on the screen?

Theft is legal... if it's legal.

The mechanism of legal theft is simple - train people that the only way to get ahead in life is to become indebted. They take out a loan of whatever size they believe they will be able to pay back, they utilize the money to "get ahead", some are successful and are able to pay back the debt (congrats!), but many others are not successful (for a number of reasons) and the debt grows. And the debt grows more. And more. Every dollar above and beyond the original loan is now legally steal-able from the borrower.

The repo man will insist that he is not stealing, but what is it called when one person takes the property of another against the consent of the owner? But theft is legal, if it's legal, and debt makes it legal.

There are legal ways to get around this (bankruptcy) but it's a painful and expensive process that also carries social stigma and an aura of failure. Savy business owners take advantage of this giant loophole and get around the debt trap, but in the process many other people (who are legitimately owed money) will also be hurt. Also most people don't know how to play the game, to their credit, it's an unfair and hurtful game.

How do we get out of this DEBT mess?

Most people do not equate the ancient words of the bible for financial advice, or as a solution to the age-old problem of the "love of money". The only way to care for others more than caring for the debts of others, is debt forgiveness.

But the debt forgiveness must be scheduled, understood by all parties, factored into every financial account, agreed upon and managed. Every 50 years, every debt is forgiven, no family will carry debt for more than one generation!

That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field. In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property.

This instruction is both to the debtor and the debtee and it covers all three situations a person could find themselves in:

Becoming POOR:

The first stage is depicted in Leviticus 25:25-28. A person could simply become poor. The presumed scenario is that of a farmer who borrowed money to buy seed but did not harvest enough to repay the loan. He therefore must sell some of the land to a buyer in order to cover the debt and buy seed for the next planting. If there was a person who belonged to the farmer’s clan who wished to act as a “redeemer”, he could pay the buyer according to the number of remaining annual crops until the jubilee year when it reverted to the farmer. Until that time, the land belonged to the redeemer, who allowed the farmer to work it.

Loosing Property

The second stage was more serious (Lev. 25:35-38). Assuming that the land was not redeemed and the farmer again fell into debt from which he could not recover, he would forfeit all of his land to the creditor. In this case, the creditor must lend the farmer the funds necessary to continue working as a tenant farmer on his own land, but must not charge him interest. The farmer would amortize this loan with the profit made from the crops, perhaps eliminating the debt. If so, the farmer would regain his land. If the loan was not fully repaid before the jubilee, then at that time the land would revert back to the farmer or his heirs.

Becoming Indentured

The third stage was more serious still (Lev. 25:39-43). Assuming that the farmer in the previous stage could neither pay on the loan or even support himself and his family, he would become temporarily bound to the household of the creditor. As a bound laborer he would work for wages, which were entirely for reduction of the debt. At the year of jubilee, he would regain his land and his freedom (Lev. 25:41). Throughout these years, the creditor must not work him as a slave, sell him as a slave, or rule over him harshly (Lev. 25:42-43). The creditor must “fear God” by accepting the fact that all of God’s people are God’s slaves (NRSV “servants”) whom he graciously brought out from Egypt. No one else can own them because God already does.

Quote Source

The Most High knows finances and debt and servitude. He understands being the lender and not receiving back. HE empathizes with the debtee, if he is humble and is a forgiver of debts himself.

If You Don't Hold It, You Don't Own It

But because this debt release does not exist in modern society, contrary to the Most High, debt scenarios can be passed down from generation to generation as a curse.

It's rigged system: if the bank owes you money, there are legal financial situations where they be absolved and not owe you a penny - but if you owe money to a bank, they can ruin your life for generations.

Just because a Checking Account or Savings Account is "payable on demand" does not really mean you own it. There are many instances where the "payable on demand" credit is legally stolen, actually any excuse to steal it is utilized.

Image Source: Pixabay

Learning About Legal Theft the Hard Way

I learned this lesson when I was payed for jury duty with a debit card voucher, spendable like a credit card. I thought it was a novel idea, a little cash stuffed away like a gift-card. So I put it on my desk and forgot about it for a number of months, thinking I could save it for any unexpected expenses. One day, cleaning my office, I came across it and thought I should cash it out. I visited the website to check the balance and the balance was ZERO. I had three months to use it before there were $10 monthly fees deducted from it for "inactivity". I was livid and left with no recourse. It wasn't a lot of money, but I learned a valuable lesson: If you don't hold it, you don't own it. If I had extracted the value from the card right away, exchanging for debt notes (that we call money), I could have used those debt notes in exchange for actual wealth - something with weight and value, something I could hold in my hand.

Savings Accounts Are No Different

Turns out savings accounts are the same way: if there is no activity (deposits or withdrawals) over a certain amount of time, the money is confiscated and turned into the State. No warnings, no notification, it's just stolen without recourse. It's legal theft. Taking of personal property without the consent of the owner.

But is a savings account really personal property?

I would venture to say "not really", since a savings account is an IOU. Every deposit (a representation of your work) is now reduced to a number that assures you that it's not gone. But the reality is that is IS gone, loaned out to others and other investments. The number is there and the number is good, just as long as the bank can pay you. But what if they can't pay you? Or they WON'T pay you?

If an IOU isn't ever called upon after a certain amount of time, their debt to you is eventually erased. That is how it works with the banking system. There will be "inactivity fees" until it's zero, the bank will legally steal your money. That's how it works as a bank, but when it comes to us "little people", our debts grow to the point of enslavement - because when a bank lends out money, they do not ever fail to demand payment back, or else read the fine-print for your interest payments. They are not in the business of debt-forgiveness.

Conclusion

All of this to say that @silversaver888 has it right - investments that may feel safe can be just as risky as investments that are considered "risky". Having wealth sitting in a savings account, collecting embarrassingly small interest payments, is not the safest bet.

Investing into something useful, like a business, or converting hard-earned wealth into tangible assets (that are useful, desirable and have weight), is a more sound method of preserving wealth than looking at a number on a screen feeling "rich". A bank account has NO INTRINSIC VALUE, just as much as a suitcase full of IOU's has no intrinsic value.

"That's as good as money, sir. Those are IOU's, go ahead, add them up."

Choosing between waiting three months for a fractional withdrawal from my FDIC insured "savings account", vs walking into a pawn shop and exchanging for cash in hand to settle debts... it's an easy choice for the savvy investor.

Disclaimer

This is not financial advice, but my financial opinion, take it or leave it. I am not a financial advisor. Don't follow my financial opinions badly and then say it's my fault. Hire a financial advisor - they have legal protection so if (when) their financial advise goes badly, they're safe and sound. I have no legal protection so I'm telling you, right now, do not take financial advice from me, but allow my opinion to soak into your brain for consideration (take it or leave it) so you can make wise financial decisions FOR YOURSELF.

My opinion is that the system is rigged against us, but there are moral ways to navigate this immoral system and not be taken advantage of.

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Benjamin Turner: God fearer. Rooted in Messiah. Husband of @lturner. Father of SIX wonderful children. The guy behind the camera. Blockchain enthusiast.

Bless the Most High!

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