Today's F-Bomb: John comes up with twelve random thoughts, taken from his Rethink Your Money radio show, to go along with twelve financial moves you can make at year's end that could help lower your taxes. He mixes in brief comments on his youngest children and how they relate to one of his suggestions, as well as referencing this past week's edition of Monday Night Football.

Introduction:

Airplane example

Getting into an elevator

Kids being held over the spa

Football: NFC East: The Eagles put their faith in Carson Wentz. The Cowboys put their faith in Mike McCarthy and Zeke. The Washington Football Team put their faith in Dwayne Haskins. The Giants put their faith in Saquon Barkley.

Verse of the day: Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Lecrae said “If I’m wrong about God then I wasted my life. If you’re wrong about God then you wasted your eternity.”

Faith: Faith means being willing to encounter challenges and welcome them because you know that the conviction of things not seen will produce results in your life.

Listener Question for the Day: I listen to both Dave Ramsey and you, you feel differently about paying off your house and handling debt. Please explain why he’s wrong.

Finance:

Faith in human resilience and ingenuity in the midst of trial.

Faith in America, but also faith in the world as a whole (international investing).

Faith in your team (are they experts, are their interests aligned).

Faith in yourself (Dalbar study).

MLK said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Today's FBomb discusses the most important two steps we must take in accomplishing our financial goals.

Faith: How do we help those in need during this holiday season? How do we help point people back to the one source of peace and hope?

Family: Our adoption journey didn't begin in Ethiopia, but rather through a simple, seemingly insignificant first step.

Football: Coach Spo and Handsome Sean McVay took first steps to realizing their coaching dreams!

Finance: Two "first steps" needed to achieve everything you desire financially.

Write-in Questions: An overview of Biden's new tax proposal and what you can consider if it gets passed into law in 2021.

Today's FBomb hits on having an attitude of gratitude in the midst of even a tough year like 2020.

Faith: Act 16 is a great reminder of Paul and Silas offering praise to God even while in prison.

Family/Personal: John is grateful for God's creation, his family, his health, and our nation!

Football: A reflection on the greatest Hagensen family Thanksgiving story.

Finance: We have so much to be grateful for as investors:

1) Access seamlessly to the capital markets, even with small amounts of money to invest

2) Compressed costs

3) Better advice and services

4) Low tax rates

Q&A:

1) With more government stimulus, have a plan that accounts for expected inflation, rising interest rates, as well as higher taxes in the future.

2) Ensure that your estate plan is customized and takes into account the expected tax brackets of each beneficiary.

Today's FBomb highlights that we are what our record says we are. Occasionally we get lucky or unlucky, but by the time we are 30, 40, or 50 years old (or even older) our life is most accurately a reflection of the aggregation of our choices. If we want to improve our destiny, we must first improve the quality of our decisions.

Faith: Galations 6:7-9

A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh,from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Family: Brittany loves the podcast that answer questions...so I'm going with listener questions today. Submit yours to [email protected]

Football: Bill B and Pete C made gutsy, but quality decisions that changed the destiny of their careers as well as the franchises they coach.

Finance:

-Separate your politics from your portfolio

-Remove personal biases (loyalty, endowment, recency, etc.)

-Stop "resulting"

-Get objective advice

Today's FBomb discusses how vital it is for us to have a solid support system. Trials and challenges will occur and our likelihood of coming out the other side successful depends as much on our support as it does on our own grit.

Faith: Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Family: Brittany and I love living in the sunshine, but understand our friends who choose to live back by family for a better support system.

Football: Carson Wentz didn't suddenly forget how to play football. His support system has evaporated.

Finance: CPA, Attorney, Financial Planner, and Psychologist (financial counselor) are the four legs of a successful financial planning support system.

Today's F-Bomb discusses why deceiving ourselves may temporarily relieve pain, but we will only be truly set free through discovery and acceptance of the truth.

Faith: John 8:32. Not all things are relative. There is absolute truth in the world. The earth is round and the ocean is blue. That isn't controversial. It's okay to believe that Jesus is the Son of God unashamedly.

Family: Our kids aren't capable of doing "whatever they put their minds to." Bek didn't have the size, speed, or skill to play football at ASU, and I told him that when he shared with me that playing Pac12 football was his post high school plan.

Football: "Jerry's World" is one filled with delusion. The teams that are willing to accept the truth, they are rebuilding and not a real contender, tend to fare much better than those who lie to themselves. See the Cowboys of the past 20-years for an example.

Finance: The 5 truths around retirement planning that can be overcome if addressed and strategized within a comprehensive financial plan.

Today's F-Bomb focuses on why action rather than knowledge is what achieves results. How do we best establish an action plan? Remove the friction, automate, and create a path of least resistance.

Faith: James 1:22

"But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

Family: Jude thinks that talking about veggies being healthy, and stirring his vegetable soup will make him strong. Sorry dude, you have to eat them!

Football: Marshawn Lynch is all 'bout that action boss!

Finance: 12-things-you-can-now-improve-your-financial-life.html

Chris Smith Family Mission Statement: https://familybrand.com

Front Row Dads: https://frontrowdads.com

Today's F-Bomb hits on how we can avoid the unforced errors that so often determine our outcomes in life.

Faith: Are we tithing? Not giving back to God is an unforced error.

Family: My Costco runs are filled with unforced errors, and I followed that up with another one this week.

Football: DK Metcalf with the unforced error of the season against Dallas.

Finance:

1) Don't Beat Yourself

2) Prepare Well

3) Know the Rules (and adapt to rule changes)

4) Always Give 100% Effort

Today's F-Bomb looks at how wide the gap between good to great is, even though so often it is nearly indecipherable at first glance.

Faith: Carlton's miraculous recovery. Prayer works and our God is certainly GREAT! John's pathetic realization that he couldn't find his Bible Sunday morning.

Family: If we want great, we must surround ourselves with greatness.

Football: The NFL isn't hard to figure out. Get a GREAT QB and you have a good chance. Have an average or bad QB, you're a hopeless fanbase.

Finance: Who is quarterbacking your financial plan? You can't do it alone and the outcomes will be vastly different if you hire Patrick Mahomes instead of Sam Darnold.