Dave Ramsey Townhall for Hope on Hulu

My friend Todd, who has a cool new blog, turned me on to this today. Thanks Todd!

Dave Ramsey's Townhall for Hope is on Hulu. You can check it out here.

June Workshops + Practicums

You're probably just about ready for some sun and a vacation. Have you considered Granger, Indiana as your next vacation destination? Perhaps you've always longed to see the cornfields of Northern Indiana? No?

Hmm. How about considering Granger as a learning destination then? Thursday-Friday, June 25-26, WiredChurches.com will be hosting a variety of workshops at Granger Community Church, just 90 miles east of Chicago.

It's easy. Pick one of the following workshops to attend all day. Come for one day or stay for two. Your materials and lunch are included. The experience? It will be packed with real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, with space for questions and interaction. The cost? Just $99 per person, per day.

Thursday, June 25 [9 a.m.-4 p.m.]

- Less Clutter. Less Noise. [How to get the word out.]
- EnterMission [Engaging your people in local and global missions.]
- First Impressions [Keep guests coming back to your church.]
- Kids [Creating safe, fun space for kids to know Jesus.]
- Multi-site Church Practicum [Strategies for launching a multi-site.]

Friday, June 26 [9 a.m.-4 p.m.]

- Less Clutter. Less Noise. Day 2 [Extend Day 1 with consulting.]
- Lasting Impressions [Keeping guests growing and engaged.]
- Simply Strategic Volunteers [Finding and keeping great volunteers.]
- Information Technology Practicum [IT best practices, resources and tools.]

Pay off the House or Invest

From time to time, I've had discussions with friends about whehter it's wise to invest extra cash or to payoff the house with extra cash. The argument is always: "Why wouldn't I just pay my mortgage at 5 1/2% and invest extra money to earn 10%?" That's a great question! Logically speaking, the numbers seem to suggest that earning 10% and paying 5 1/2% is the prudent way to go. I'm even prone to say that if you've got the assets to sell to pay off your house in an emergency, invest the money.

The problem with the logic is risk. I have to give Dave Ramsey credit for opening my eyes to this argument. If you could borrow money at 5 1/2% and earn 10% on it day in and day out, why not borrow twice the value of your home and invest it? What about three, four, or five times the value? Eventually, everyone says that would be silly. Why? Because once the number gets big enough, we inherently factor in the risk.

What is the risk? There is risk in borrowing and risk in investing. The times we're living through right now illustrate the risk precisely. Lots of people are losing their job, the value of the stock market has been cut in half, and the value of homes has dropped significantly. If someone who decided to invest instead of paying off their house lost their job recently, had their investments cut in half, and lives in a home that is worth less than they owe, how do they stay in their home if they can't pay the mortgage? How do they pay the mortgage without the income from a job? What do they do with the investments that are worth half of what they invested? I don't know. Personally? I think I'd rather be looking for a job in a paid for house than worrying about how long my devalued investments are going to cover my mortgage.