tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138268.post-1102374406779532542004-12-06T15:06:00.000-08:002004-12-06T15:06:46.780-08:00by Brandon Booth <br /> <br />STEVE MOORE: WCBI in Bayport. Gertrude has a question about investing. Welcome to Money Matters. <br />GERTRUDE: My two teenage nephews and their four friends are investigating in a second hand Chinese junk.... <br />BURKETT: Investigating or investing? <br />GERTRUDE: Investing. (Chuckles) They want to run a passenger service from Bayport to Rocky Isle. Although they are responsible teens I'm concerned that they really are not learning about managing money... <br />BURKETT: What do you mean responsible. <br />GERTRUDE: They stay alive in many life-threatening situations. <br />BURKETT: I see. <br />GERTRUDE: But what I'm concerned about is that they get into tight fixes financially and my brother, their father, bails them out. Otherwise they would be in tens of thousands of dollars in debt. <br />BURKETT: (Backchanneling) Mm hm <br />GERTRUDE: I expressed this concern to their parents. They actually listened and agreed that they should get a summer job just like their friend Tony Prito who works in construction for his father. <br />BURKETT: How are they going to get the money to buy the junk? <br />GERTRUDE: They earned $200 for finding a lost child. But that got stolen from their father's safe last night. I feel terrible. I lent them $200 for their share in the second-hand Chinese junk they'll buy in New York. They'll pay me back from the profits. <br />BURKETT: Unfortunate things like that can happen. Had they been really smart, they would have kept the $200 in savings or in a money market. They need to learn how to deal with hardships even if that means getting a job flipping burgers in order to make up for the loss in order to put in another share for something long-term. Gertrude, you're just treating the symptom. Things like this will happen again. Did you say they get into a lot of life threatening situations? <br />GERTRUDE: Yes. They're amateur detectives. <br />BURKETT: I see. Their main income is reward money. The market for detective work fluctuates. If the economy is bad, no one will hire detectives. They'll leave it to the police. Sometimes teenage detectives will work on a case on their own initiative and expenses like travel can leave a hole in one's pocket. Are your nephews on a budget? <br />GERTRUDE: No. They still think money flows out of pockets. Their parents money money when they're in a jam. <br />BURKETT: Do they tithe their earnings? <br />GERTRUDE: Not that I know of. <br />BURKETT: In amateur detective work the only income is reward money. It can take days or weeks to solve a case, so this can vary. Since it takes perseverance to solve a case, reward money can be very deceiving. Amateur detectives fall in the trap of crediting only themselves for their earnings and neglect to put God first. Unfortunate things happen when you don't put God first. "Do not store up things in heaven where moth and rust destroy." Back to the Chinese junk, unless the root of the problem of getting out of debt is treated more debt will occur when running the junk business. <br />GERTRUDE: This is probably the reason for my aching in all my joints. <br />BURKETT: Did your nephews and their friends pray about buying this venture beforehand? <br />GERTRUDE: That's what bothers me. They shook hands on the deal within five minutes of the subject being mentioned. <br />STEVE MOORE: Gertrude, we'll put you on our prayer list and we'll send out to you Money Matters 2000 software. Stay on the line and thank you for calling. Larry, that sounds like interesting business, running a passenger service on a Chinese junk. <br />BURKETT: Couple things. How could a full size junk imported from Hong Kong cost only several hundred dollars? It could be ill-gotten gain. I wouldn't have peace about it. Proverbs 10:2 states that ill-gotten gain has no value. On what condition was the junk sold to the dealer in New York? The dealer may be in a hurry to get rid of it. (Gertrude turns off the radio) <br />MOORE: What credentials are needed to run a passenger service? <br />BURKETT: The operators must take acquatics classes and be able to demonstrate water safety. Even card dealers on gambling boats have to take water safety courses. The teenage detectives may also have to buy liability insurance because the if the junk springs a leak due to sabotage, a lot of lawsuits could occur. This is not easy. <br />MOORE: Let's go on with our next caller. Bob, listening to WMBI in Chicago.... <br />HBLSnoreply@blogger.com