helemon
16th January 2006, 10:52 PM
From Noggin on RfM
Here is a pretty accurate break down as to why Utah Mormons are going bankrupt in such high numbers.
Bankruptcy in Utah is highest in the nation and tithing is marked as one of the possible leading reasons:
After consulting Wikipedia, I determined the average family income for Utah ia $45,140.00.
$45,140.00 Income
$3,100.00 State income tax
$6,041.00 Federal income tax
$2,798.00 Social Security tax
$654.00 Medicare
$2,500.00 Unemployment tax
$30,047.00 NET INCOME (Disposable income after taxes)
$2503.00 NET income (after taxes) per month
BARE NECESSITIES LIVING EXPENSES
-$670.00 Average rent (statistic taken from www.Utah.gov)
-$400.00 Food for family of four persons
-$250.00 $15,000.00 automobile debt at 6% rate
-$150.00 Auto insurance and taxes
-$150.00 gasoline for 2 cars or 5 tanks of gas/month
-$120.00 Health Insurance $30 per week
-$160.00 Phone $30, Heat $50, $30 gas, $50 2 cell phones
-$1900.00 Total Bare Necessities Living Expenses
$2,503.00 net income
-$1,900.00 living expenses
This leaves $603.00 per month for a family of four to create a memorable and meaningful life with.
If one is Mormon, they will have to deduct TITHING of $4,514.00 (10% of the Utah median family income of $45,140.00) or $376 dollars per month from the $603.00
THIS LEAVES $227.00 post tithing dollars per month with which the average Utah Mormon family is able to take care of the rest of their life. Which includes fast offerings, other offerings and missions. Utahns place high value on college (as they should) so I will include a college fund.
-$25.00 Fast offerings, book of mormon fund, perpetual education fund
-$50.00 save for mission (assume 1 son goes)
-$50.00 save for college
-$100.00 basic clothing, shoes, diapers, toothpaste etc
And that depletes the income. There is no more.
What does that mean?
No vacation, no life insurance, no emergency fund, no savings account whatsoever, no IRA, no 401k, no money for prescription drugs (this would include birth control, Prozac, Zoloft etc).
No car repair fund (the $15,000 debt I used is for two gently used cars that will need repairs sooner than later), no new tires, no lawnmowers, no misc gardening, no potted plants to spruce up the outside. No wall art for the inside, no decor of any sort.
No baseball mitts, no hobbies, no coin or stamp collecting, No Jazz tickets, no Jazz concerts, No Ballet, No theatre, No Sundance Film Festival, No hunting, no fishing licenses, fishing poles or bait, no splurging for even costume jewelry for the wife, no pretty sweet 16 or Prom dress for the princess daughter.
No braces for the kids, no hair coloring for the wife, and certainly no $18.00 per month bowflex home gymn payment for the husband. No running shoes (they do wear out), no triathlon entry fees (they cost $125 a pop), no spare parts for the flat tires or worn chains on your road bike, no money whatsoever for recreation of any sort.
No furniture, no television, no skiing, no new bikes for Little Johnny at christmas, no school supplies, no internet.
NO LIFE.
Basically if a sneeze happens in this family's economics, they are headed for bankruptcy.
Most families earning $45,140.00 own a modest home. That average home mortgage is $130,000.00 That alone will jack up the monthly expenditures another $300.00. Pretty grim.
In short, the average Utah Mormon family is broken financially. There is no wonder why they are leading the nation in bankruptcy filings.
I would like to close this with the famous words of Gordon Hinckley, prophet seer and revelator:
"The most important step toward achieving financial well being is to pay tithing first-no excuses or exceptions. Some of you have money problems. I know that. You are struggling to get along. What is the cure? The only thing I know is the payment of tithing."
Noggin
Here is a pretty accurate break down as to why Utah Mormons are going bankrupt in such high numbers.
Bankruptcy in Utah is highest in the nation and tithing is marked as one of the possible leading reasons:
After consulting Wikipedia, I determined the average family income for Utah ia $45,140.00.
$45,140.00 Income
$3,100.00 State income tax
$6,041.00 Federal income tax
$2,798.00 Social Security tax
$654.00 Medicare
$2,500.00 Unemployment tax
$30,047.00 NET INCOME (Disposable income after taxes)
$2503.00 NET income (after taxes) per month
BARE NECESSITIES LIVING EXPENSES
-$670.00 Average rent (statistic taken from www.Utah.gov)
-$400.00 Food for family of four persons
-$250.00 $15,000.00 automobile debt at 6% rate
-$150.00 Auto insurance and taxes
-$150.00 gasoline for 2 cars or 5 tanks of gas/month
-$120.00 Health Insurance $30 per week
-$160.00 Phone $30, Heat $50, $30 gas, $50 2 cell phones
-$1900.00 Total Bare Necessities Living Expenses
$2,503.00 net income
-$1,900.00 living expenses
This leaves $603.00 per month for a family of four to create a memorable and meaningful life with.
If one is Mormon, they will have to deduct TITHING of $4,514.00 (10% of the Utah median family income of $45,140.00) or $376 dollars per month from the $603.00
THIS LEAVES $227.00 post tithing dollars per month with which the average Utah Mormon family is able to take care of the rest of their life. Which includes fast offerings, other offerings and missions. Utahns place high value on college (as they should) so I will include a college fund.
-$25.00 Fast offerings, book of mormon fund, perpetual education fund
-$50.00 save for mission (assume 1 son goes)
-$50.00 save for college
-$100.00 basic clothing, shoes, diapers, toothpaste etc
And that depletes the income. There is no more.
What does that mean?
No vacation, no life insurance, no emergency fund, no savings account whatsoever, no IRA, no 401k, no money for prescription drugs (this would include birth control, Prozac, Zoloft etc).
No car repair fund (the $15,000 debt I used is for two gently used cars that will need repairs sooner than later), no new tires, no lawnmowers, no misc gardening, no potted plants to spruce up the outside. No wall art for the inside, no decor of any sort.
No baseball mitts, no hobbies, no coin or stamp collecting, No Jazz tickets, no Jazz concerts, No Ballet, No theatre, No Sundance Film Festival, No hunting, no fishing licenses, fishing poles or bait, no splurging for even costume jewelry for the wife, no pretty sweet 16 or Prom dress for the princess daughter.
No braces for the kids, no hair coloring for the wife, and certainly no $18.00 per month bowflex home gymn payment for the husband. No running shoes (they do wear out), no triathlon entry fees (they cost $125 a pop), no spare parts for the flat tires or worn chains on your road bike, no money whatsoever for recreation of any sort.
No furniture, no television, no skiing, no new bikes for Little Johnny at christmas, no school supplies, no internet.
NO LIFE.
Basically if a sneeze happens in this family's economics, they are headed for bankruptcy.
Most families earning $45,140.00 own a modest home. That average home mortgage is $130,000.00 That alone will jack up the monthly expenditures another $300.00. Pretty grim.
In short, the average Utah Mormon family is broken financially. There is no wonder why they are leading the nation in bankruptcy filings.
I would like to close this with the famous words of Gordon Hinckley, prophet seer and revelator:
"The most important step toward achieving financial well being is to pay tithing first-no excuses or exceptions. Some of you have money problems. I know that. You are struggling to get along. What is the cure? The only thing I know is the payment of tithing."
Noggin