Zero Debt in Eighteen Months

Bud Miller grew up enjoying a simply country life. “We had horses and pigs, then we got sheep, and then we got cattle,” Bud says. “We just had a barrel of fun.” After high school he went into college and the Air Force. After that, Bud went full time into meat distribution and started a successful business. “I had 17 meat cutters on the floor. We had six trucks. We were doing some good business. Our best year, we did a little over a million and a half dollars in sales. That was when hamburger was three pounds for a dollar. Just had a lot of fun in those days.” All that changed in the ‘80s, when a national chain moved in on local businesses. “We just had a hard time. In fact at one point, I just said, ‘God, you need a meat cutter in heaven. Why don’t you just take me?’ But that didn’t happen of course.” Bud and his wife, Helen, struggled to save every penny they could. “So we developed an envelope system, and when that envelope was empty, you didn’t spend anymore,” Bud says. They saved money, and Bud kept trying to make the business work, but he realized that eventually it would go under. “I tried to sell, but nobody wants to buy debt. So a light went on in my head and I said, ‘Why don’t we just give the business away? Just give it away debt free?’” Helen had some reservations, but agreed, so Bud went to a local competitor and offered him the business. “Without even a hesitation, they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll do that. We’ll take your business. You keep the debts.’ And we kept the debts. At that time it was $126,000. Right after we gave the business away, I think, is when I finally turned the corner and was a true, devout Christian.” The Millers wanted to be faithful and give as much as they could to God, but instead they were bracing themselves for some hard times. He says, “The stupendous part of this [is that] they hired me to run the business at twice the salary I was giving myself. They gave me a company car, profit sharing. My goodness, it was just wonderful! The best sale I ever made was giving it away. “Then I found that little scripture that said, ‘Do you want to rob me?’ I didn’t want to rob God. No way. So we started tithing big time. Within 18 months, Helen and I, by the grace of God and with His help, paid off that $126,000.” Today, Bud and Helen tithe to their church and support a number of television ministries including The 700 Club. Bud is semi-retired and works out of an attic office at his house. Looking back, Bud says he’s glad that he decided to lean on God for help. “God will supply your need according to His riches, and He doesn’t need to go to the bank. He’s got all we need.”