Overcoming Your Financial Troubles

CBN.com -“We had a tough time paying our bills,” says Scott Spires.

“We had a teeny one bedroom apartment and a junky car,” recalls Scott’s wife Brandi.
 
“We only had one couch, one piece of furniture right after we got married,” says Scott.

Like many newlyweds, Scott and Brandi Spires started out with very little.  Brandi had just graduated from college and was working at a tutoring company.  Scott was finishing his degree and working part-time.

“It was a very emotional time,” says Scott. “Brandy and I really had to seek the Lord.”

Then Brandi learned the tutoring company she worked for was closing because the owners were leaving the state. Scott suggested they buy the business. It seemed impossible, they had no money for a down payment and thousands of dollars of credit card and student loan debt.

“I told Brandi, ‘It’s going to be okay because I feel like God has put on my heart that we’re supposed to have that business,’” says Scott.

So they spoke to the owners, who agreed to sell the tutoring business to the Spires with no down payment and they agreed the couple would pay them out of the money they brought in the first year.  Now, the Spires had their own business and a lot of hard work ahead of them!

“The first year was financially very rough,” says Brandi.

With payroll and other expenses, Scott and Brandi were not clearing much from the business. But they soon learned a lesson that would turn their finances around. 

“I remember the first day I learned about tithing,” says Scott. “We were sitting down watching The 700 Club and I looked at Brandi and I said, ‘I think we need to start giving.’ We didn’t have much to give, so we gave $20.”

Even just $20, when you have to borrow money for food sometimes, it seemed silly and unreasonable to give even $20,” remembers Brandi.

If they didn’t have money, they gave away their possessions.

“There was one time we needed $3500 by 5:00,” says Branid.

“And god just put my heart, he says, you gave, you did what you’re supposed to do. Everything is going to be okay,” says Scott.

The day the money was due, the bank called Scott.

“So the bank said, ‘what are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘I will bring you a check before you close.’  They said, ‘so do you know someone that’s going to bring you a check?’ I said, ‘no.’ But I said, ‘I will bring it in before you close, before 5:00, I will bring in the check.’”

A few hours later, a new student’s mother walked in and paid for a tutoring package in full.

“She comes in and says I want to buy 140 lessons, upfront, when most parents buy 8 or 9,” says Brandi. “It was about 4:30, so we had 30 minutes to get to the bank.  We needed $3500.00 and she wrote us a $4,000.00 check.”

In just a few years, the Spires’ tutoring business has grown from  20 to 70 students, and from 4 teachers to 10!  They’ve bought a house and paid off 40 thousand dollars of debt.

“We give now, more than what we made before we got the business,” says Scott. “So it’s been absolutely amazing about how God has blessed completely with our personal and business finances.”

Being obedient to God's truth made an incredible difference for Scott and Brandi. They made it possible for God's love to flow through them to others, and they reaping a blessing for themselves as well. Join them in partnering with CBN. You will make a difference in lives around the world, through medical missions, food and clothing programs, humanitarian outreaches and so much—all in the name of Jesus. Please join today.