Christians are called to help the poor and studies consistently show that we’re generous people, compared to the whole. But does that generosity always mean we’re helping?  We’ll talk with Brian Fikkert about that on this Faith and Finance. 

• Brian Fikkert is Professor of Economics and Community Development and the Founder and President of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College.
• He’s also coauthor of the best-selling book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor
• It’s obvious that money alone doesn’t solve the problem of poverty. It’s more complex than that. We need to change our thinking about poverty.
• A NEW PARADIGM
• Many of us think of the human being as fundamentally a physical creature. And so we think if we pour in more resources, the person will be better off, and then many of us as Christians think of a person as a kind of a body that contains a soul.
• But what the Bible actually teaches is that the human being is a highly integrated Body, Soul relational creature. We are hard-wired for relationships with God, with ourselves, with others, and with the rest of creation. Once we think of people in that way, we realize that we're going to have to work with people in highly relational ways, because that's how they're wired.
• DIFFERENT KINDS OF POVERTY
• One chapter in Brian’s book says that not all poverty is created equal. There are actually different kinds of poverty. On today’s program, he explains the different types of poverty and the importance of distinguishing between situations where relief is appropriate, and when it's more appropriate to help people use their own God-given talents and steward their own gifts and resources.
• OVERSEAS GIFTS
• Brian also discusses the best ways to help people through missions and other organizations that reach people far from home with the Gospel and material assistance.
• He notes that the best form of assistance is usually a form that helps people become more self-sufficient, if you will (though we are all dependent on God). Things like goats and chickens that can help people to gather their own food and/or earn income can be wonderful ways to help.
• The Chalmer’s Center’s website is loaded with resources to help you steward your financial resources both at home and abroad. Learn more at chalmers.org.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• How do you determine if a refund offered by the IRS for overpayment is legitimate and not a scam?
• What’s the best way to address a large IRS debt? Should you set up a payment arrangement with the IRS or try to get a loan elsewhere to pay off the tax debt?
• How do you figure out if you should keep a house and rent it out or just sell it outright?

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give  as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you have a child heading off to college in the fall, time is running out to apply for financial assistance. We’ll talk about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form known as FAFSA on this Faith and Finance. 

• The deadline for submitting your FAFSA is this Friday, June 30. Fortunately, you can fill one out and file it online at FAFSA.gov.
• Submitting a FAFSA is the necessary first step in receiving either grant or loan money from the Department of Education. It’s easy to get loan money, but obviously, you want to borrow as little as possible.
• Now, let’s go over the types of aid that you might receive by filling out a FAFSA.
• First, there’s the Federal Pell Grant. This is an income-based grant program for full or part-time undergrad students, but exceptions are made for students seeking a post-grad teacher certification. The less your family income, the more likely you are to receive a Pell Grant, which could be as much as $7,400 for 2023.
• Next is the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. This one’s administered by individual schools, but not all participate, so you may want to check with your school’s financial aid office. It’s also income based with a maximum grant of $4,000 a year.
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant: If you plan on being a teacher, you’ll want to look into this grant with the convenient acronym “TEACH.”
• Qualifying for a TEACH grant could get you up to $4,000 a year, but you’ll be required to complete a teaching service obligation. Failure to fulfill that obligation will get the grant converted to a loan and you’ll have to pay it back with interest. So make sure you’re committed to teaching before accepting the money.
• Next is the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. If you’ve lost a parent or guardian due to military service in those countries, and you were under the age of 24 or attending college at the time, you could be eligible for up to $7,400 for 2023.
• Now, since you’ll be filing at this late date for the 23/24 academic year, a lot of the available grant money has probably been disbursed, so you’re much more likely to receive assistance in the form of Federal work-study programs.
• These are funded by the feds, but administered by schools. As the name implies, they provide undergrad and graduate students with the chance to work and earn money for their education expenses. The work could be related to your major and may not necessarily be located on campus.
• With these work-study jobs, you’d earn at least the federal minimum wage, and possibly more depending on the job. Again, check with your school’s financial aid office for details and availability.
• Now we get into the dangerous area of federal financial assistance …
• STUDENT LOANS
• We say student loans are  “dangerous” because the system makes it incredibly easy to borrow, both for students and their parents.
• College students graduating in 2023 who took out loans owe an average of nearly $30,000. The average length of time to pay that off will be around 10 years with a monthly payment of just under $300.
• Worse, many students who borrow fail to get a degree that could lead to a higher salary, meaning it will be even more difficult and take longer for them to repay their loans. The lesson here is, of course, to borrow as little as possible and if you do borrow, make sure you graduate.
• Then make sure you graduate with a degree that gives you marketable skills that employers are willing to pay you for. It’s great to pursue dreams, but attending college is as much a financial decision as anything else.
• Remember Proverbs 22:7, “The borrower is slave to the lender.”
• That said, here are the types of loans that could be offered after filling out the FAFSA:
• First, the federal direct subsidized loan. This is needs-based and allows you to skip interest payments while you’re in school.
• Next is a federal direct unsubsidized loan. This one isn’t needs-based, so basically anyone can get it
• Next is the federal Parent PLUS loan. No mystery there, parents take out these loans to put their children through school, but it’s a bad idea and we recommend you not do it.
• Your child will have many more years to pay back the money than you will.
• Again, the deadline for submitting a FAFSA application is this Friday.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• Are credit card rewards taxable?
• How do you determine the wisest place to put your retirement money as you near retirement age?
• What is the best way to start an emergency fund?
• What is the Windfall Elimination Provision and when does it apply to pensions?

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor
• Capital One 360 Checking
• Marcus
• Christian Community Credit Union

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give  as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

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The Bible has dozens of verses about stewardship. But have you ever wondered where stewardship begins? What is it based on? We’ll explore that with Chad Clark on Faith and Finance. 

Chad Clark is Executive Director here at FaithFi. 

• WHERE DOES STEWARDSHIP BEGIN?
• Start by envisioning a target with three rings. When we think about stewardship we need to start in the inner circle, the bullseye, which is our heart.
• At the heart of a good and faithful steward you will find a love and devotion to Christ. Really, it’s our identity that is found in Christ as Galatians 2:20 points out “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me”.
• This is contrary to the world, which is focused on self. When we think of what it means to be a good and faithful steward we must start with Christ and resist the temptation to put ourselves at the center.
• DOERS OF THE WORD
• The outermost ring of this target is APPLICATION.
• We are in the world but not of the world. We still have bills to pay, and financial decisions to make, but when we make decisions from the inside out, we recognize that God is the owner of everything and our role as stewards is simply to glorify Him with what he has entrusted to us.
• We built the FaithFi app with this application layer in mind. It’s a great tool to help you better understand how you are stewarding God’s resources. You can connect your bank accounts, manage your income and expenses, and better understand the financial decisions you need to make.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• What kind of tax liability might apply to an inheritance? 
• How can you begin building business credit for a relatively young company?
• What is the wisest way to begin saving and investing for a grandchild? 
• If you use money from a 401k for a downpayment on a home, is that money taxable? 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Betterment
• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Man’s purpose is to glorify God and one of the ways we do that is by trying to make the world a better place in all we do, including in our investments. We’ll talk with Stella Tai about investing that has a positive impact on the world. 

Stella Tai is Manager of Stewardship Investing Impact and Analysis for Praxis Mutual Funds.  Praxis is one of the nation’s oldest faith-based mutual funds and a leader in impact investing and an underwriter of this program. 

• Praxis continually asks the question, “How can we use the funds that we have to really make an impact in the world” That led them to launch their Impact X Strategies. This is a set of seven impact strategies across their five funds. 
• One of those is their Corporate Engagement Strategy, wherein Praxis has 15 to 20 engagements every year with the companies they invest in. They talk about how to make the companies better and better swerve their investors.
• One example is Delta Airlines dealing with child sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Praxis has seen Delta make a lot of commitments to training staff in being able to identify people that be being trafficked or situations that warrant a closer look. 
• Another is Community Development, wherein they develop strategies to better serve communities. Praxis has committed to invest about 1% of their funds in community development. 
• Stell Tai shares her excitement and passion for helping Christians to bring their investments in line with their faith and eternal priorities. 
• Learn more about Praxis and faith-based investing at PraxisMutualFunds.com.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• How can you give to ministries through the sale of a property and minimize the capital gains tax liability? 
• What can you do to qualify for a mortgage if you’re in a career transition and are not currently employed? 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• National Christian Foundation
• Movement Mortgage

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We all need outside advice from time to time, especially when it comes to managing money. Did you know that even financial advisors have financial advisors? So how do you know if you need one? We’ll talk about that on this Faith and Finance.

• While we all may need financial advice from time to time, not everyone needs to hire a financial professional. But more folks do than you’d think. So how do you know if you’re one of them?
• STEPS TO DETERMINE IF YOU NEED A FINANCIAL ADVISOR
• To determine if you need an advisor, you need to evaluate your financial picture. You’ll want to look at several things.
• 1. Figure out your net worth. This isn’t how much you make, but how much you have in all of your financial accounts and real property, minus what you owe, like credit card debt, auto loans, and your mortgage. What’s left over is your net worth, and ideally, you want that to be in positive territory.
• 2. Look at your monthly cash flow. How much do you have coming in and going out? If you’re living on a budget, this is easy to do. You already have those numbers. If you’re not living on a budget, download the FaithFi app and use it to set up a budget today.
• 3. Decide on your financial goals. Some will be short-term, others long. Are you saving for a new car? To buy a house? Or to retire at a particular age? Put your goals down on paper and consider whether you’re on track to achieve them.
• 4. Decide how much of a risk you’re willing to take with your investments. Much of this is based on how long you have until you think you’ll need this money. If it’s more than 10 years, you can afford to put most of it in stocks, mutual funds, and index funds, if you’re willing to take the risk. But the longer your investment horizon, the safer it is to invest in the market.
• Okay, so now you have an idea of your net worth, your cash flow, your goals, and your risk tolerance. But you still don’t know if you need to hire a financial advisor. So here are some reasons you might want to find one:
• You’re experiencing some big changes in your life. Maybe you’re just tying the knot and now you have to marry your finances together, as well. Or you’re a little further along and expecting a baby soon. Or you realize that retirement is closer than you think. Any one of those major changes might call for bringing in an expert to go over your finances to make sure you’re on track.
• Or maybe you know you’re not on track. You’ve established your goals, and you realize you’re not getting any closer to achieving them. Taking on a financial advisor could make all the difference, holding you accountable and getting you back on track.
• Of course, one of the most common reasons to retain a financial advisor is if you have doubts about how to invest your money. How much risk can you afford to take on? Which risks are worth taking, and which are not?
• We believe that hiring a financial advisor will pay for itself in most cases, whether it’s for taxes, estate planning, and especially investing.
• Let’s say you receive a major windfall. This could be a lump sum from a pension buyout, an insurance benefit, or an inheritance. It’s a lot more money than you’re used to dealing with, and you don’t want to make any mistakes. You might want to connect with a financial advisor on the best way to deploy that money. For example, pay off the mortgage or invest it? That’s just one question you might want help to answer.
• Now, there’s one more situation where you might want to hire a financial advisor, and it’s when you need someone to hold you accountable.
• When you know you have to report to someone, even someone who works for you, you’re much more likely to stick with your financial plan.
• Those are some ways you can tell if you need a financial advisor. We hope you find them helpful.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• How do you determine the right age for you to begin drawing Social Security benefits?
• Is it a good idea to transfer credit card balances and consolidate all of the debt on one card?
• How does debt management work, and is that the best way to get out of debt?
• How do you determine when bankruptcy might be necessary?

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Christian Credit Counselors

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Credit cards are a powerful convenience that can make your life easier OR a lot more difficult. It all depends on how you use them. We’ll talk about that on Faith and Finance. 

• First, we want to give a shout-out to Faith and Finance contributor Art Rainer for a great article on this topic: “6 Essential Practices for Having a Credit Card.”
• One of the questions a lot of people ask is, “How do I get a credit card?” It could be for themselves, or maybe their teenager, or even a friend. How do I get a credit card?
• But we’re almost never asked, “How do I use a credit card? So what are the essential practices for using that slip of plastic in your wallet?
• ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR USING CREDIT CARDS
• 1.Limit the number of credit cards in your wallet or purse. You can get into a lot of financial trouble with just one credit card. Imagine the damage you can cause with four or five of them.
• If you must have two, make sure it’s for a good reason. For example, perhaps one is personal and the other for business. Also, do not get a store credit card for any reason. They have ridiculously high interest rates. Bottom line, if you have a fistful of credit cards, you probably have a spending problem.
• 2. Never carry a balance.  Credit card interest rates are always high, but in the past year they’ve gone up considerably due to the Federal Reserve raising rates to curb inflation.
• Art uses the example of purchasing a furniture suite for $5,000 with a card that charges 20%. Making only the minimum monthly payments of $200, it will take 12 years to pay off the balance, and the real cost with interest will be nearly $8,500! So the first time you can’t pay off your balance, consider chopping up your card. You won’t regret it.
• 3. If you’re not on a budget, don’t use a credit card at all. That makes a lot of sense. If you don’t know how much you have to spend, even for essentials like gas, groceries and clothing, how do you know when to stop buying things? Your credit card certainly won’t tell you.
• At least if you’re not on a budget but you’re using cash only, you have to stop when the money runs out. With a credit card, you don’t have to stop. You can keep spending your way right into debt. So, no budget, no credit card.
• 4. Don’t play games with credit cards. That means don’t hop from one card to another as you transfer balances to get a low introductory rate.
• Remember, you’re not supposed to carry a balance at all, but if you do, the last thing you want is to keep opening up new card accounts. For one thing, there’s usually a transfer fee of 3% or more, so you’re actually adding to your balance. Plus, if you don’t cancel the first card (which a lot of people don’t) you might keep using it and end up doubling your debt.
• So instead of transferring balances, use the snowball method to pay down your debt quickly, putting extra money on the smallest balance first. If you have $4,000 or more in credit card debt, contact our friends at ChristianCreditCounselors.org to get on a debt management plan. They’ll get your interest rates lowered so you can pay off your debt 80% faster.
• 5. Never get cash advances from your credit card. It’s probably the most expensive money you’ll ever borrow. The average APR on these loans is now just under 25% and on top of that, the average fee is almost 4%.
• You need to learn to live on less than you make so you can save up an emergency fund. If you have money in savings, you’ll never need to get a cash advance on your credit card.
• 6. Always pay on time. For one thing, you’ll get a negative mark on your credit report if you’re 30 days late making a payment.
• But it will also cost you money. You’ll get hit with a late fee and the card issuer can raise your interest rate just for making a late payment. So put your card’s due date on your calendar, or better yet, make your payment IN FULL the same day your bill comes in the mail. That way you don’t have to worry about forgetting to pay.
• So those are your 6 essential practices for having a credit card. If you follow them carefully, a credit card can be a convenient, useful tool. If you don’t, a credit card can quickly become a financial nightmare.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• How do you determine which is better for you, a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA?
• What effect would opening a new credit card have on your credit score? 
• How should you tithe on business revenue? 
• When does it make sense to take out a loan for home improvements? 
• After selling a home, should you use all of the proceeds toward the purchase of your next home or use part of it to increase your emergency fund? 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’”  That passage from Hebrews 13:5 reminds us that there are more important things than, well, things. Today we’ll talk about the benefits of choosing contentment.

• Let’s start by defining contentment. “Contentment is an attitude that says, I will be satisfied with what God has given me.”
• THE PULL OF MATERIALISM
• Unfortunately, the godly contentment we’re talking about isn’t a popular virtue in our materialistic culture.  There’s constant pressure from peers and the media to desire more things, better cars, cooler friends.  The attitude that says, “I deserve this” is so prevalent, that we’ve given it a name, “entitlement”. 
• So, if an entitlement attitude is creeping in at your house, what do you do? Here’s some wisdom from Moody Church theologian Harry Ironside: “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” Cultivate that “attitude of gratitude”, and you’ll find it easier to be content. If someone – including you – starts complaining, stop a moment and think about what you’re thankful for instead.
• THE BENEFITS OF BEING CONTENT
• Y’know, the Bible tells us about the benefits of being content. For the Apostle Paul, being content meant having the ability to weather all of life’s storms without fear or worry. In Philippians 4:11, Paul writes,
• “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
• Well, what’s Paul’s secret for being content in all circumstances?  How does he do that?  He finishes the passage in Philippians by saying, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Ultimately, it’s Jesus who provides the strength to be at peace in all circumstances.
• Like Paul, we can choose to be content because, as Christ-followers, our position in Christ never changes.  Circumstances ebb and flow like the stock market, but who we are in Christ never budges one bit.  We are saved by grace, and our eternal future is secure.  This can and should change our perspective on everyday life. 
• Proverbs 19:23 puts it another way: The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
• Fear in this case means trust, honor, awe.  We trust, obey and respect the Lord because He is our Master, our Holy Lord.  This trust leads to life, or flourishing.It’s like spiritual confidence! Then, as a result of fearing the Lord, the verse says, “one rests content, untouched by trouble.” That doesn’t mean we won’t face trouble, but trouble can’t destroy us, spiritually.  So, we can choose to be content.
• Another way to understand the choice to be content or not is to understand what the opposite looks like.  The opposite of contentment is to be dissatisfied, disappointed, and unhappy. It’s actually worse than that.  Proverbs 27: 20 says, “Death and Destruction are never satisfied “… so being discontented is right down there with death and destruction.  Not something you want in your life.
• In Ecclesiastes 5:10, we see another problem with discontent – a lack of meaning.
• Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
• If what you make or what you have is all that matters, then you can never really be content, and you’re courting “death and destruction” in your heart.  The Bible confirms that in God’s economy, material things are meaningless by themselves.  You can be grateful for what God has provided now, knowing that he has a good plan for you, both now and in the future. So, as Philippians 4:19 teaches, you can let your heart be filled with gratitude because the Lord “will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
• What God has for us is so much better than what we can imagine for ourselves.  When we realize this, buying and keeping things doesn’t seem so appealing anymore. We can choose, like the Apostle Paul, “to be content in all circumstances”.  This doesn’t happen overnight, especially when you’re in the habit of accumulation. Ask the Lord to change your heart about this, and He will!

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• What are the rules surrounding penalties for withdrawing money from a Roth IRA?
• How do you determine the best way to use a limited amount of money with several pressing needs? 
• What’s happening with plans for a national digital currency? 
• Does it make sense to reduce 401k contributions to pay off credit card debt and build up an emergency fund? 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Christian Credit Counselors

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast… ” We’ve all heard the famous “love passage” from I Corinthians 13 at weddings, but can love inform the way we invest? We’ll explore this concept with Rachel McDonough. 

Rachel McDonough is a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Kingdom Advisor. She’s a leader in the field of helping investors integrate their Christian values with their investment decisions.

• On this program, Rachel shares how love can influence our investing. 
• She says that when the Israelites were waiting for Messiah to come, they expected him to come as a strong military and political leader that would bring about deliverance from Rome. But in Luke 17:1, Jesus reveals this radical concept that the kingdom of God is within us.
• And she shares a fresh perspective on a couple of verses: 
• I Cor 13: 13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 
• And I Cor 16:14, which reminds us that everything we do should be done in love. 
• As God’s agents in the world, as his stewards, we must be careful to invest the resources He entrusts to us in a manner worthy of our calling. And his standard of excellence, in all things, is love.
• HOW CAN WE DISPLAY LOVE IN OUR INVESTING? 
• We can start with the simple framework of avoid, embrace, and engage. Avoid the companies that are not blessing humanity, embrace those that do, and utilize asset managers who will actively engage with the companies they select for investment on our behalf.
• There is, of course, a lot of nuance to this, but in general, we can avoid companies that kill, steal, and destroy, for those are the works of the enemy, described in John 10. At a minimum, we don’t want to take money that God has entrusted to us and give it to the enemy for his purposes. That would not be loving.
• For example, MGM Resorts Int’l is a company in the S&P 500 that owns and operates gambling facilities as well as manufactures gambling systems.
• OPTIONS FOR A LOVE-BASED APPROACH
• There are currently over 150 faith-oriented investment products being managed by 19 different asset management firms. 
• There has been a tremendous amount of growth and innovation. There are far more strategies to choose from and the creative ways in which asset managers are integrating biblical, loving principles has also matured. 
• Learn more about faith-based investing at www.wealthsq.com.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• How can you ensure the credibility and stability of a financial institution with which you’re investing? 
• What are the tax implications related to inherited property? 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Faith & Finance, we’ll offer you a few common-sense strategies for saving money on three of the basics – clothing, utilities, and home maintenance. 

• CLOTHING 
• Let’s start with clothing. In this category, the temptation is to buy whenever there’s a sale or to chase after the latest styles.  When you have kids, you have the added problem of sizes changing all the time.
• Here’s how to keep your family’s wardrobe looking sharp for less: 
• First, you don’t have to buy new.  Instead, visit local thrift stores where you’ll find deals on current styles as well as wardrobe basics.  If you have kids, this is where you’ll save. Teenagers might push back on this, but give them a budget and challenge them to find something they like. They’ll enjoy having a bit of freedom in the matter, and seeing how far their money can go. If you do shop retail, use coupons and loyalty programs to get discounts.
• Consider consignment stores, too.  You’ll find stylish clothing there, and when you’re done with your gently-used items, you can trade them in for cash or a discount.
• Focus your spending on that core wardrobe, and then let your accessories and thrift store add-ons provide color and variety.
• UTILITIES
• What about saving cash on utilities? The first strategy is to buy energy-efficient appliances. We’re not saying you should replace all your existing appliances at once, but when it’s time to put in a new washing machine, choose one that costs less to run. 
• While you’re at it, you may be able to find a deal on a “scratch and dent” appliance.
• Another way to save on energy costs is by using LED lighting. When you need to replace a bulb, it’s worth the extra cost upfront to buy LEDs. They’ll pay for themselves over time with longer life and more energy efficiency.
• Next, check with your utility company about rebates for installing energy-efficient systems in your home.  You might get money back for installing an electric hybrid water heater, for instance, or putting in a smart thermostat.  Your power company will have details about rebates on their website. 
• A simple way to reduce your energy bill is by unplugging appliances, turning off electronics, and adjusting your thermostat, especially when you’re not at home.
• MAINTENANCE
• Our last money-saving category is home maintenance.If you own a home, you can’t just assume all is well.  Like a car, your home needs regular attention, just to keep it functioning smoothly.  Ignoring this might not cause a breakdown on the highway, but it can result in very expensive repair or replacement costs.  For instance, dirty filters can make your heating and air conditioning system work much harder, which makes it wear out sooner. For plumbing, be aware of possible pipe leaks, or dripping faucets. Avoid overflow problems by having your septic tank pumped out regularly, if you have one. 
• You get the idea.
• Heating and Air conditioning is one of your home’s most important systems, so don’t ignore that, either. Have your HVAC system checked at least once a year, to make sure it’s operating at maximum efficiency when you need it most – in summer and winter.
• Second, do an annual check of the caulking around your windows, doors, and light fixtures.  Install new weather stripping around doors and windows, if necessary.
• When was the last time you checked under your roof? If you have an unused attic space, make sure it’s not becoming a home for critters, like flying squirrels, mice, or bats. It’s not unusual to find rodent nests in attic insulation if the soffits and air vents aren’t sealed properly.If you’ve got wildlife guests in the attic, it’ll take a professional to get them out and seal the space, but don’t put that off. Aside from the sanitation issues, rodents can chew on electrical wiring, which makes them a fire hazard!

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• Is there a way to reduce the interest rate on your credit card debt? 
• What is the best way to save or invest on behalf of minors who may or may not eventually attend college?
• Will the U.S. eventually transition to a cashless society, and what might that mean for us and our money? 
• Should you tithe on withdrawals from a 401k account? 
• Is it ever wise to pull money out of investment accounts to pay off a mortgage, and if so, when? 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Christian Credit Counselors

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

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Proverbs 19:21 tell us, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” That verse reminds us that we should always seek God’s counsel in our affairs. On this Faith & Finance, we’ll talk with economist Jerry Bowyer about what happens when a nation ignores God’s plan. 

Jerry Bowyer is a WORLD Opinions contributor and FaithFi’s resident economist.

• A BIBLICAL ECONOMY
• The most important idea in this worldview of economics is that God creates the earth and man and woman in his image and that they work together in productive activity in order to create wealth, and that expanding wealth is reinvested in that productive activity which leads to even greater expansions in wealth. That’s the thumbnail sketch. That’s how things are supposed to work.
• But an alienation in the relationship between God and man creates an alienation in the relationship between people, between generations, and between man and the Earth. Cursed is the Earth with reference to you or with regards to you. For your sake, it will not yield its fruit to you. A cursed Earth. Alienated from God. 
• And when that happens, when the ground is cursed, when people are alienated from one another, male and female, old and young productive activity shrinks. The Earth brings forth thorns and thistles rather than fruit. And work is toilsome. And people live by the sweat of their brow. Work has a toilsomeness to it. And when production decreases the range of possibilities for the use of wealth shrinks. It contracts. There's just less wealth. 
• And when there's less wealth. There's less money available for investment and so as the Possibility Production frontier closes and there's contraction in the economy you find an interruption between investment and capital markets between wealth and investment and therefore less wealth goes into the productive activity, which causes a further shrinking. 
• MAKING MATTERS WORSE
• All of this causes a lot of stress that makes things even worse.  In an environment of anxiety and alienation, of living by the sweat of your brow, people have a desire for something to replace that relationship. And so not only is there less investment because there's just less wealth there's also less investment because people move from the point on the investment curve where there's a high level of investment and a low level of consumption. They gravitate towards a situation where there's a low proportion of investment and a high proportion of consumption. You feed your anxieties. People live for the moment when they don't have relationships that anchor them with eternity, and that causes an even greater shrinking in the amount of investment. 
• SHRINKING INVESTMENT
• So investment shrinks because there's less wealth and then investment shrinks again because people spend more on themselves, a higher proportion of what they create through the fruit of their hands, and therefore invest less of it. 
• WHAT DOES THAT DO IN CAPITAL MARKETS? 
• Remember, this is a trade-off between yield and risk and in this situation, risk is rising. This is riskier to invest in for a stock investor or for a bond investor. A piece of paper that says I'm going to give you a share of my future profits is worth less if I'm less confident of your future profits. A piece of paper that says, I'm going to give you a fixed amount every year, an interest payment, I'm going to pay back what you lend to me is worth less because the productive activity, the shrinkage of it, makes it less likely that that money will be repaid. And so what you have are higher interest rates, higher yields. 
• People need to be compensated for that. And in addition, with less money going in, less available capital, that makes capital scarcer, which makes interest rates even higher. So what do we get? We get a situation where the riskiness of investing shows in this curve, pointing more upwards. That's the risk of being a partner with somebody, and the risk of the entire thing goes up, the risk of all investment goes up. The yields go up even more because of the scarcity of capital. 
• Unlike the virtuous cycle we saw how the economy works, when it works the way it's supposed to, this is what they call a vicious cycle. It feeds on itself. Higher interest rates, more scarce capital creates even lower levels of production, even more shrinkage in economics, even lower levels of investment. 
• HOW DO PEOPLE TYPICALLY TRY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? 
• They could go back and restore this original relationship or accept the restoration of it. But they tend to create a new entity, the state or an entity that already existed and now is expanded, and there is a new god in town. And what they try to do is deny this God. They try to erase him from the picture. 
• They can't because he’s “unerasable.” But they can fog the view to him. And the new god says, I will do what the old God did. But even better, I'll give you prosperity, I'll give you abundance. I'll solve this problem. 
• If there's a scarcity of capital, I'll create new dollars, new drachma, new yen, new dinars, whatever the currency is throughout the history of the world, I'll create new ones and I'll put money in. See, when this yield curve goes up, showing higher levels of risk and lower levels of investment, it tells the truth. 
• It tells us the truth about ourselves. If we're not savers, then that shows up. If we're promise breakers, then that shows up. If we don't work hard, then that shows up in a scarcity of capital. High levels of risk, exorbitantly high yields. 
• NOT HEARING THE TRUTH
• Well, one of the things we can do is clap our hands over our ears. And the state helps us do that by printing enormous amounts of new money. 
• And that pushes interest rates down. It looks like a risk-free environment. It looks like an environment with lots of capital. But it's not capital, it's not wealth, it's just money, which is not the same thing. 
• You can print money infinitely. You can't print wealth infinitely. And so what happens is these yields start to tell a lie. They say there's no risk and capital is abundant and risky startups can get funded — or we can build far more houses than there are actually people to live in them. 
• It’s telling us a lie. 
• So the state grows, gets bigger and money that used to go into production now goes there in the form of higher taxes. Money that used to even go into consumption now goes there in the form of higher taxes. 
• REALITY ALWAYS SETS IN
• Eventually, reality will not be denied. As much as we try to fog the name of God, that name comes back with a vengeance. 
• The bubble bursts and the lie is exposed. And now interest rates begin to rise again because people understand that it wasn't a low-risk environment, it was a high-risk environment pretending to be a low-risk environment. 
• And then they figure out that this happened because money was printed with no regard to the amount of wealth. Money was printed to create a false boom, to create a sense of well-being and abundance where there wasn't one. 
• It was created to tell a lie. Coinage was debased to manipulate us into doing something that we would not otherwise have done. And when that happens, interest rates get extremely high because now we have to be compensated for the inflation, the risk of inflation for our investments. 
• Not only will they maybe not have the growth to pay us dividends, not only may they default on the interest that they owe us when we invest in businesses. But even if they pay us the money back, the money won't be worth nearly as much as when we lent it to them. 
• Eventually, we get sky-high interest rates. Remember the early 1980s? The false boom of inflation in the 70s led to the sky-high interest rates of the 80s, where people couldn't afford to own a home or couldn't afford to buy a car because capital was so scarce. And if you could get some, it was incredibly expensive.
• WHAT’S THE ANSWER? 
• (JB) We could go back, re-acknowledge that relationship, be less alienated from one another, go back to productive activity and grow the pie again. 
• That's what we could do. But instead, we almost always repeat the process. The government tries to solve problems by printing money, taxing, spending, and expanding. The end. 
• The whole cycle starts over and over again.
• You can read Jerry Bowyer’s insightful columns for World News Group at WNG.org.

On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 

• Is it ever wise to take out a line of credit to help expand a business? 
• When does it make sense to sell an investment property? 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. 

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.