BABY BOOMERS ALL GROWN UP: Calvin and Deborah Scott
Even so, he feels the pinch of rising gas prices, increasing food costs, escalating medical costs and soaring prescription prices.
He and his wife, Deborah, deal with those expenses on a personal level every day. The Florissant residents have altered their lifestyle a bit by reducing the number of times they eat out, go to the movies or travel.Scott said he also feels rapidly increasing costs in the church's pocketbook. In good times, many congregants tithe 10 percent of their income to the church.
"Offerings are down 25 percent. It comes down to people giving an offering or paying their gas bill," Scott said.
Making ends meet is difficult for a growing number of the church's members, some of whom occasionally share their financial concerns with Scott. He said he sometimes addresses financial issues in sermons, challenging members to think of additional revenue streams with "out-of-the-box thinking."
"Everyone is challenged by today's economy, but seniors are challenged like no other sector in their day-to-day living. Their biggest challenge is medicine," he said. "Do they fill a prescription or eat?"
That dilemma is in his own family. Scott's mother, Dolly Scott, 65, has high blood pressure and diabetes. "Her medical costs are astronomical," he said.
He said his mother works as a cook in the church's day-care program. She also relies on Medicaid to help with medical expenses and on Social Security to supplement her income.
Scott advises church members to work toward freedom from debt. Following his own advice, Scott and fellowship members paid off and burned the mortgage on the temple's 15-year-old youth building years early.
He said he learned about debt early, while in college. Like most students, he said, he was excited when he received a credit card in the mail.
"I learned about debt the hard way. When I received my first credit card, I went out and bought Christmas presents for the family," Scott said. "Then the bill came, and I learned I had to pay it back with interest."
The experience proved to be so useful, Scott has made what he learned available to other fellowship members through classes on budgeting and spending.
As to how he and Deborah spend money today, he said, "We don't buy a big-ticket item until we have money in hand."
