March 2011
1 post
Why EVERYONE seeking wisdom should read the Bible.
You know I love reading. It’s only March, and I am already halfway through the list of books I said I wanted to read in 2010. I just find such value in learning from those wiser, who have made collosal mistakes, who want to help the rest of us get ahead. Yes—I. Love. Reading. And I’m becoming more and more convinced that everyone, Christian or not, should read the Bible. And...
February 2011
1 post
“Personal Responsibility: Not depending on your job description or boss to make...”
November 2010
3 posts
6 tags
The 1 Phrase I Hope You Never Say
I’ll admit it, I used to be one of them. Whenever the opportunity came up, I would always be the first to jump in with a snide remark or cynical judgment. And that’s exactly why it stirs something fierce behind my sternum each time I hear the total ignorance behind this statement:
“It’s because of all the greedy rich people.”
First, let’s get this part out...
Personality Styles: A Lesson from Chris LoCurto
:: This is a guest post by Chris LoCurto, VP of the Lampo Speaker Division and one of the most influential guys I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Be sure to check out more from him at http://clocurto.wordpress.com :: If you know me well at all you know that I am crazy about understanding personality styles and the people they control. :-) As I always say, if you’ve ever given someone ...
“Financial Peace University saves people from destructive ignorance, and there is...”
– Erron Kinney, Former NFL Player and Franklin Firefighter
October 2010
4 posts
3 tags
Human Effort: A lesson from Luke LeFevre
:: This is a guest post by Luke LeFevre, Senior Web Designer for FPU. By far, one of the most down to earth, hardest working dudes at Lampo! :: Human effort. I have been thinking a lot about these 2 words recently. At the end of most of our company staff meetings, Dave prays, “Lord we can do it by ourselves, but it is sure better when you do it.” There are a lot of go-getters here at Lampo that...
“If nobody in my leadership circle requests prayer for someone who is far from...”
– Andy Stanley, Making Vision Stick
Avoiding Mediocre Excellence
I’m sitting here in a dark corner of Starbucks recharging with some alone time after a very exhaustive and fulfilling week of serving with my team at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. I wish I could accurately express how humbled I am to be involved with such an awesome group of folks who always find ways of challenging me to continually grow as a follower, servant and leader. My mind...
8 tags
The Nazareth Manifesto: A Lesson from Max Lucado
Due to some very important projects and appointments over the last couple weeks, I haven’t been able to get much reading (or writing) in. So I woke up early this morning to finish Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado, a gift he gave us when he did our company-wide devotional.
During the chapter Stand Up for the Have-Nots, Max is commenting on Jesus’ selection of Isaiah (found in Luke...
September 2010
4 posts
Creating A Movement: A Lesson from Rob Walls
:: This is a guest post by Rob Walls, FPU Church Advisor ::
Everyday, I spend my time working at a place that isn’t just a company—it is a movement. We encourage people to be weird and live on less than you make… to get out of debt, build wealth and then give a bunch of it away. This movement has forever changed millions of lives, including my own.
I know to some this sounds odd, yet...
Leaders Follow: A lesson from Debbie LoCurto
Last weekend Jenny and I drove over to Benton, TN to go rock climbing, rappelling, and whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. (We had a blast!) On the way down, I saw a billboard for the Marines that said, “Always Lead. Never follow!” Something about that line hit me in the wrong kind of way, and I couldn’t get my mind off it all weekend. And then I finally recognized the flaw...
Believing the Best About Others: A Lesson from...
Once a week, our team gathers for a time of devotion (we call it “devo”). Over the years, we’ve been blessed by some incredible speakers such as: Max Lucado, Toby Mac, Andy Stanley, Donald Miller, and Tim Sanders… so it’s always exciting to see who will be joining us.
This week, it was obvious something was out of sync, as our devo speaker was no where to be found....
4 tags
Living Within The Margins: A lesson from Michael...
I remember being 16 years old and getting my first paycheck. I was making $6 an hour working bindery at a local print shop, and that $150 was the most money I’d ever had. Consequently, I did the only thing I knew a person was supposed to do with money—I spent every dime of it on whatever I wanted. This pattern continued all the way through college (even after I’d become a ...
July 2010
9 posts
“One person’s prosperity does not mean there is any less for another. In...”
– Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Thou Shall Prosper
“Gordy knew there would be those who would believe and receive his message and...”
– Jon Gordon, The Shark and The Goldfish
3 tags
Must Read: The Shark and the Goldfish
One of the yearly goals that Jenny and I set in January of this year was to start reading together about once a week. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time we’ve spent investing in one another through such books as…
A Million Miles In a Thousand Years and Becoming One, and I highly recommend that you and your spouse do the same.
After we finished dinner this evening, we sat down on...
“Tithing is the training wheels of giving.”
– Randy Alcorn via Brent Spicer
9 tags
5 Verses Every Christian Should Know About Debt
The borrower is slave to the lender.
Prov. 22:7
Christ has set us free to live a free life.
Gal. 5:1
Let love be your only debt!
Rom. 13:8
Don’t guarantee to pay someone else’s debt.
Prov. 22:26
Suppose you want to build a tower. You would first sit down and figure out what it costs. Then you would see if you have enough money to finish it.
Luke 14:28
Why is it so difficult...
2 tags
“It’s so wonderful when you get mad—just Holy Ghost mad—and say, ‘I...”
– Joyce Meyer preaching about becoming debt-free! http://bit.ly/cZrybd
“Don’t expect what you don’t inspect!”
– Debbie LoCurto, VP of FPU
Stop Being Grownup Jerks! →
Dave goes on a rant about baby boomers who expect their adult children to care for them as they age.
June 2010
6 posts
1 tag
Sinking Funds: Vital to Building Wealth
I’m always amazed at the number of financially responsible people who don’t have any type of “sinking funds” in their savings plan, and I honestly don’t believe it’s possible to ever have true financial peace in your life without them. Creating and keeping track of them is super easy, and I want to show you the value of making sure life’s expected...
4 tags
Must Have Insurance #3: Life Ins.
According to LIMRA International, 12 million married Americans have no life insurance, 1.2 million married American’s with children under the age of 18 have no life insurance, and the average insured family is grossly under-protected with less than $200,000 in coverage. UGH! Unless you are in the 7% of Americans who have enough cash in the bank to totally replace your spouse’s ...
4 tags
This Is What Freedom Sounds Like...
It’s to the point I can’t even listen to our radio show show on Fridays, ‘cause I just sit there cry while people are telling Dave their stories of becoming debt-free. (yeah yeah, laugh it up). However, I manned up yesterday while an amazing family who I used to lead worship with at Fusion Church in Buford, GA called and screamed, “we’re debt free!” Click here...
6 tags
Must Have Insurance #2: Auto Ins.
Most of the people reading this post probably have auto insurance, but “only 12% actually have enough coverage to protect them in the event of an emergency.” That stat is according to a new study published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in which 88% of surveyed drivers were carrying 100/300/100 or less in liability coverage… Let’s take a look at...
5 tags
Must Have Insurance #1: Health Ins.
The number of people I meet who don’t carry health insurance is unbelievable. Seriously, unless you are intentionally trying to ruin you and your families lives, buy the freakin’ insurance!
And stop worrying about the policy covering a visit to the walk-in clinic for a headcold, because a headcold isn’t going to bankrupt you. It’s the car accident and a 5-day...
1 tag
Insurance Explained: A Simple Guide
Insurance is like the water pump on a car: most people know it’s important, yet don’t have a clue what it is or how it works until it’s too late. Remaining uneducated about insurance is a great way to lose your tail in an emergency—not a good plan! My hope is that this series will help you take steps toward saving a ton of time, money and dignity—it could even help you...
May 2010
3 posts
6 tags
Car Payments or Retirement: You Choose.
I’ll get right to the point… If you can’t pay off your car(s) and 100% of your consumer debt (everything expect your house) in 18 to 24 months, then it’s time to sell the car. Man, that hurts to hear… believe me, I know. When I finally came to understand this simple principle, I made the decision to sell my prized possession: a 2006 Lotus Exige. No lie, it was...
9 tags
How I Got Free Healthcare in 2009
That’s right. My wife and I both got FREE healthcare in 2009, and I want to teach you how. If you’re an older person or you find yourself in the doctor’s office many, many times a year, then you probably won’t find much value in this post. HOWEVER, if you’re a relatively healthy person and any dependents you may have are healthy, then read on…
stupid with...
6 tags
It's About Freedom
Have you ever reconnected with a friend, or maybe a group of friends from your past; and not only did it seem like you’d seen them yesterday, but it actually felt like you were closer than ever… closer than even family?
a story » A little less than a year ago, I had the privilege of reconnecting with my best friend from high school, Mark. Looking back, we never had an epic...
April 2010
7 posts
7 tags
The Best $6.50 I've Ever Spent
A week ago Thursday, I got a call from my bank that I hope none of you ever receive. The nervous manager on the other end of the line asked, “Mr. Poe—you haven’t been to Aruba, Dublin, Amsterdam, or the Netherlands in the last 36 hours… have you?” “No, ma’am. Why? Is there a problem?” “Well, yes. Actually, there’s a big...
8 tags
Cash for a House: Part 4 – The Reactions
Concerning the reactions we got from the letter, they were all over the board. Most people didn’t respond, some called to say they weren’t interested and there were even a few who were convinced that what were trying to do was illegal. All in all, we had about 25 people who were at least interested in learning more about the deal we wanted to work out. Now here’s some advice...
1 tag
A promise to my readers...
I want to make sure that this blog is one where you can receive maximum value for your time invested; therefore, I’m going to dive right into the topic. My hope is for you to walk away with something you can use—but I won’t lie—some people just walk away mad.
what’s in it for you » I am extremely passionate about turning valuable information over to others and leading...
7 tags
Cash for a House: Part 3 – The Letter
Now that we agreed on a plan and had hunted down several properties, we needed to go around the Realtor’s and contact the homeowners directly with our offer…
When I began drafting the letter, I wanted to give the homeowner enough information to take me seriously, but not enough to misunderstand the offer. My hopes were for them to get in contact with me in order to setup a...
4 tags
Cash for a House: Part 2 – The Hunt
Once we decided that we could, in fact, commit to The Plan, it was time to start looking at houses. I hope the following resource will help you as much as it helped us, because it would have been impossible to find our home without it…If you live in the Mid-South area, then you must check out RealTracs.com. If you live elsewhere, then take a few minutes on Google and track down something...
10 tags
Cash for a House: Part 1 – The Plan
If you are at all familiar with DISC Personality Profiling, Jenny is a high-I and I’m a high-D. In other words, both of us make very quick decisions. Knowing that about ourselves, without a doubt, the hardest part of this entire process was coming up with a plan that we both agreed to stick to in order to pay cash for our first house…
setting the goal » As Dan Miller teaches,...
8 tags
Take on a Mortgage or Pay Cash?
Jenny and I are weird. There’s no doubt about it. However, since normal is being broke, weird is a great place to be. In January of last year we had been living a 100% debt-free lifestyle for a little over 12 months, and we were loving the freedom of living and giving like we had always wanted to! But then we wanted to buy a house…
Even with the current down-economy, Zillow.com...