Treasures in Heaven

We're going to talk about investing! Are you ready?!

1. It's wise to have an emergency fund before you start investing (3 months of expenses)

2. Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme

3. You may already be investing, by virtue of participating in a workplace retirement plan

4. Catholic socially responsible investment (SRI) funds are typically not offered in workplace plans (I'll explain why)

5. Stocks vs. bonds

6. Passive vs. active investing (learn my laundry analogy)

7. It's not your money you're investing; it's God's

Get caught up on other episodes about Catholic investing: Episodes 18 & 19

Instead of following me on Instagram, since I don't have an Instagram, go follow Jesus!

Produced by ConsumerCatholic.com

The guys from Catholic Late Night, Patrick Hanus & John Welch, are back! It's hard to summarize what we talked about because there was so much depth and we all get very HONEST:

• men and women being friends
• the toxic dating culture we've all been part of
• worrying about offending people with the truth
• how awesome and necessary discourse is
• the capable hands our Church is in

Check out Patrick and John's content:

• Catholic Late Night
• Overt Network
• Overt TV on Youtube
• Skymouse Studios for awesome landing pages

A.R.K. Watson, author and founder of CatholicReads.com, joins me today!

Some of the things we discuss:

• her conversion to Catholicism
• why she thinks NOW is the golden age of Catholic fiction
• how we can all support Catholic fiction writers
• whether there's room for Catholic fiction in the traditional publishing world (Yes! We just need to ask for more!)

Plus, she reads an excerpt from her book, The Vines of Mars.

Resources:

• A.R.K.'s Website
• The Grace Crasher book
• CatholicReads.com
• CatholicRead's Patreon
• Carolyn Astfalk's website
• The website I mentioned where you can look out other people's windows throughout the world
• My interview w/ Carolyn Astfalk
• Photos of ARK's backyard in South Korea will be on ConsumerCatholic.com

Produced by ConsumerCatholic.com.

Instead of following me on Instagram since I don't have an Instagram, go follow Jesus!

Do men and women have different fears about dating and marriage? We discuss:

• whether people idolize marriage
• the idea of "The One"
• the idea that marriage is where we go to get sanctified, not a place where only perfectly holy people can enter

Patrick Hanus and John Welch join me (Victoria) to talk about these things from a Catholic guy's perspective.

• Catholic Late Night
• Overt Network
• Overt TV on Youtube

Referenced:

• Episode 13 of Treasures in Heaven: Damaging Dating Advice ft. Patty Breen

Produced by ConsumerCatholic.com

Catholic novelist Carolyn Astalk shares her journey to becoming a published author, while also being a wife and the mom of 4 kids. I think you'll find Carolyn's work to be relatable and relevant because she's not afraid to write about characters who deal with issues that many Catholics (and non-Catholics alike) have faced but won't talk about, like infidelity and pornography addiction. Yet, the beauty in all of this is how she shows us that we're all still lovable and capable of loving others. Her characters give an amazing example of how to live that out. Carolyn lives in Hershey with her family (and no, she's not sick of chocolate)!

Resources:

• Carolyn's website
• Catholic Fiction and Where to Find It
• Restored: True Stories of Love & Trust by Matt Fradd

Some of Carolyn's books:

• Ornamental Graces (the one Victoria read and couldn't put down!)
• All in Good Time
• Rightfully Ours
• Stay With Me and Come Back To Me

Produced by www.ConsumerCatholic.com

Socially responsible investing (SRI) as a Catholic is easy. Loving people is hard. Victoria talks about how SRI is the low-hanging fruit of the spiritual life and the amazing benefits it can reap - without needing to be an investment professional.

Learn enough to make investing easy so that you can build wealth and spend more of your time and brainpower on the harder tasks of life, like loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Did you know there's a way to integrate your Catholic faith and your investment portfolio? I'm going to break down the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) guidelines for socially responsible investments (SRI).

It really doesn't have to be hard and I'm going to explain why!

In a nutshell, the main goals for the USCCB's investments are to generate reasonable returns while investing in companies that don't violate Catholic morality and ethics.

• USCCB's Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines
• Consumer Catholic blog on Socially Responsible Investing for Catholics
• Catholic Economics podcast episode "On Catholic Investing"

You might have a to-do list, but do you have a to-be list?

If not, grab a pen and paper! I want you to write down all the adjectives you want to be. Loving, kind, caring, humble, you name it. I'm reminded of Edith Stein's quote: "The world doesn't need what women have, it needs what women are." Since I know we don't just have female listeners, I will say that this quote applies to everyone. The world needs what you are!

I'm going to talk about the difference between to-do lists and to-be lists and the beauty that comes from integrating the two.

Email me, Victoria, if you want to share your to-be list at [email protected]

God Bless!

Brennan Costello is the founder of the Everyday Prayer Co. Brennan teaches students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Entrepreneurship Program. But he also walks the walk by running his own businesses. His goal is to help people "pray without ceasing" inspired his latest venture. He created the "Rosary Card," which is the size of a business card and it can fit in places like your iPhone case back pocket or your wallet!

His explanation for why he reached out to a competitor before launching his own product (14:05) was fascinating!

We talk about much more than business, including his quarantine engagement, the unique challenges of being a young Catholic, and how we can become all become better at building community.

10% of profits from Everyday Prayer Co will go directly to the Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach.

Other resources we talked about:

• The Wallet Rosary
• That awesome humanities class that led to many students converting to Catholicism
• Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote, "Not all those who wander are lost."

Mary Krolicki, a Missionary Guide Manager with Creatio, talks about how we can encounter God in the creation of the great outdoors, as well as through community and service.

Creatio offers pilgrimages and adventure missions (even to the Galapagos Islands) for young adults. All are welcome!

• Creatio.org/
• The Ultimate Guide to Catholic-Friendly Charities
• Show Notes