3 Money Questions Every Christian Needs to Answer (But Most Never Do)

Bob (00:00): I’m going to make this statement again and I want everyone to really hear it. Inheritance should be given out at the same speed it was earned. Shawn (00:18): Welcome to Christian Financial Perspectives. My name is Shawn Peters, and today I’m joined by Bob Barber. And today we’re going to be covering three financial questions Christians need to know the answers to. And so this was developed by Bob and I’m going to pass it over to you, Bob, to give us a little bit of an intro. Bob (00:36): Well, Shawn, as I was coming up with this, it’s really pretty simple, these three questions, but they’re extremely important questions that pertain to our finances that Christians, they really need to understand and they need to know the answer to. And we’re going to go over each one in detail, but just to give you a real quick synopsis of it, the first one is who owns it all and then how much is enough? And that last one is how much can I give away? And we’re going to get into those different areas because before we get to the last one is how much can I give away? Of course you want to make sure that your family’s taken care of, and we’re going to go over a lot of detail there about things that you should do as far as financial planning. Shawn (01:19): Got it. Okay. Well, our first section on this is going to be who owns it all. Bob (01:27): You’ve heard me mention this many times on our program and one of my favorite scriptures, and really, it’s the basis. It’s the foundation for all of my financial planning as a Christian is who owns it all. And Psalms 24:1 says, “The Earth is the Lord’s.” And it’s interesting right after that, “and everything…” Shawn (01:51): “Everything in it.” Bob (01:52): And then there’s Haggai 2:8 that says, “The silver is mine and the gold is mine. Declares the Lord God Almighty.” When you think of everything, that’s a lot, right? I mean that is for us as a Christian and being that we’re making Christian Financial Perspectives here, that includes all our investments, all our savings, and includes our houses, our cars, our boats, our RVs, airplanes if we got ’em. It includes every single thing that we have. And that is truly a spiritual awakening I see. As you’ve heard me say, also, I’m Baptist, so we go under, when we get baptized, we go all the way into the water. But it seems like a lot of people, I think they spiritually, they hold their wallet outside of the water. They’re like, you couldn’t have everything, Lord, but not that. Shawn (02:54): When you get dunked, you’ve got your hand raised out of the water with the wallet, right. Bob (02:59): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shawn (03:03): That’s a big one. I mean, if we can’t get through this first one and be in agreement that who owns it all? God owns it all. So once we get through that one, then we go into, okay, number two, how much is enough? Bob (03:18): Our newsletter comes out once a month. I wrote about this just a couple months ago. How much is enough? And this has been a question that has been posed to me over and over and over through Kingdom Advisors. And Ron Blue was the founder of Kingdom Advisors. And this has been heart issue as well. How much is enough? Because in our society and our world, especially in America, once we get to a certain point, well, it’s going to be just a little bit more, it always seems like it’s just a little bit more, but for the Christian, we need to understand how much is enough. But Shawn, we got to answer a lot of questions before we get to that, don’t we? Shawn (03:56): That’s true. Well, you have a great scripture for this one that I’ll read for us real quick. Philippians 4:11-13, “I’m not saying this because I’m in need, for I’ve 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Bob (04:29): Paul really had the understanding of how much is enough, didn’t he? Shawn (04:33): Yeah. And how much is enough? Definitely. He was not saying just a little bit more, which is what the secular worldview says, that it’s always just a little bit more, and it’s dangerous for us as Christians to subscribe to that. And I know you mentioned in our episode for today, Luke 12:16-21. Do you want to talk a little bit about that? Bob (04:59): Well, that’s the parable of the rich young ruler. And he comes to Jesus because, “I’ve done everything. I’ve followed all the laws, all the 10 commandments I give, I do everything.” And Jesus said, “Okay, then go sell everything you have and come follow me.” And that’s when that ruler went away and he goes, “Man, you’re asking way too much. You’re asking for 100% obedience here.” Shawn (05:30): That’s the one where it said that he went away sad or sadly, right? Bob (05:34): Yeah. He went away sad. Shawn (05:34): Yeah, yeah, man, it’s more about that, about wanting more and more and more. Bob (05:45): So I came up with a list because when someone thinks about how much is enough, I think it’s good, especially from a financial planning perspective, that we think about these things and we will help you with this. Christian financial advisors will come in and help you put together all of this. These questions got to be answered when you think about how much is enough – what are your financial goals, wants and needs? Shawn (06:11): Yep. Kind of like this idea of how much is enough. Well, it does depend on each person because this first one, your goals, wants, and needs. Well, what are your goals when you do retire? What are your goals? What are your plans? Are you going to be traveling a lot? Are you going to be involved in doing some sort of ministry work or are you planning on doing something maybe bivocational? I know we have at least one client that comes to mind that he works bivocationally. So he’s a pastor for about six months out of the year at a church. And then the other six months out of the year, he and his wife will, they have an rv and they travel around and they’ll usually spend a month or so at each location. And the six months that he’s not working as a pastor, he’s offering handyman services and just doing stuff around the campsite so they get free or very inexpensive hookup. And then while they’re there, he and his wife also do a campsite church and they do bible studies for people who are there camping that want to participate. So their how much is enough is a lot less than maybe somebody who’s not working at all. And they travel a lot, like airfare and nice places. So that’s kind of your first thing you got. What are your goals, wants, and needs. Then you kind of backtrack to figure out, well, where do you need to be? Bob (07:43): That reminded me of a camp we love to go stay at in Colorado Springs, the Christian capital of the world when it comes to all the international ministries called Glen Eyrie. And they will have people that come in during the summer months to help run Glen Eyrie. And it’s just a really neat place and there’s a lot of retirees that fit that exact description you just mentioned. So let’s get into these others. I’ve got a little list here, and I think it’s good that when you think about how much is enough, you’ll feel comfortable after we go through this list. What is your time Verizon for investing? That’s long term. Usually if you’re retired, that’s till the day you pass and go be with the Lord. You determine what… Shawn (08:26): And how long do you have between now and then? Bob (08:28): Well, exactly. Exactly. And we look at things like, well, how long did your parents live or your brothers and sisters? We try to figure how exactly what do we think, based on genetics, is going to be your life expectancy. Then we look at what’s your risk tolerance for down markets, your health condition and life expectancy. These are lists of things I’m going over. What’s your investment objective? We look all of your assets and your liabilities coming up with a balance sheet, a net worth. What are your monthly income needs going to be to meet expenses? And this is pre-retirement and post-retirement. Then we get into your giving goals. Then your moral beliefs such as what, how do you feel about biblically responsible investing, which we’ve had entire podcast and videos on that. Shawn (09:22): Yeah, I know we have a three part series. If anyone wants to go back and take a look at those on biblically responsible investing or BRI. Bob (09:32): And know when you have three or four children, sometimes you’ll have one that may have special needs like physical or mental needs. Maybe they’re handicapped in one of those areas. And this has to be figured into a financial plan. So when you’re thinking about how much is enough, don’t worry. We’re going make sure that you’re covered for this and then your estate planning goals and needs. We want to do a complete, if we don’t do it, somebody to help you do a complete financial plan that covers all these topics that will help you get into this third, probably the most important question, what’s the next one, Shawn? Shawn (10:11): Number three is how much can I give away? Bob (10:15): So once you’ve done all that and you’ve nailed down how much is enough and you’ve defined that, then through prayer and scriptural understanding and guidelines, you can shift your financial focus. And I love how you always say this kingdom building, shifted to kingdom building using all the financial tools available today. Shawn, I’ve had conversations in just the past several weeks where we have literally generated for the kingdom in excess of $2-3 million. I had another conversation just yesterday by using… Shawn (10:56): Is that through the donor advised funds? Bob (10:58): Right? Yep. Yep. And it’s just a great thing to do with your IRA money. Shawn (11:06): Yeah. Bob (11:08): Because your kids are going to have to pay taxes on all of that, a hundred percent of that, and they got to take it all out within 10 years. And if your kids are doing very well financially, this is a great, great plan. We’ve got this set up for ourselves. We call it our Barber family giving fund, and we’ve already got it set up and I fund it at the end of the year. Sometimes I have large amounts I want to fund and I don’t know who I want to give it to yet. And we can help you set up that donor-advised fund, help you set up that estate plan, help you set up that trust so that we really can answer these three questions for helping you and to guide you through this. Shawn (11:46): So Bob, as a good example of that, please correct me if I’m wrong, but on your estate planning, so you three daughters, I am a little opinionated on which one I think is the best because I’m married to the oldest, but with your three daughters, instead of dividing the estate into three parts, you actually have it divided into four parts, almost as if you had four kids with the fourth part being associated with that donor-advised fund and the charitable giving to church and ministry. So even after you and Rachael have passed away, it’s the gift that keeps on giving even in your passing that you’re still able to, through this proper planning, help to build the kingdom. Bob (12:37): Yep, that’s right. Shawn (12:38): Which I think is awesome. So anyone listening, that would be one way in your estate planning if maybe during your lifetime, maybe you aren’t as generous as you’d like to be just because there might be some other circumstances. But that would be something that if you set it up right and think of it as like an extra kid, an extra beneficiary, and just set up like that with whatever’s left. Bob (13:09): And I always mention with that, we’ve mentioned this time and time again, you can’t mention it too much, it’s that you want to have pre inheritance experiences with your children and using the parable of the talents. As an example, I like the scripture of Luke 16:10. It talks about if you’re good with a little, you could be good with a lot. And I think that really needs to be defined under that “How much is enough and how much is enough to leave your children?” And if your children don’t have wisdom, they’ve got to inherit wisdom first. They’ve got to have wisdom before they get a large inheritance. An inheritance should always be given out. And I’m going to make this statement again and I want everyone to really hear it. Inheritance should be given out at the same speed it was earned. So if it took you 25 years to get to that million or 2 million mark, that inheritance needs to be given out at the same rate, not just all at once. Shawn (14:10): Especially if you do this Luke 16:10 test with your heirs, and they don’t really pass the test, then even more so it’s very important that you structure your estate planning and how that is going to be distributed out to them to where it does have to be over a longer period of time. Or I think you’ve mentioned before, Bob in maybe some other episodes, the idea of maybe having some sort of ratio of, okay, well for every $1 that your heir has actually put away in their IRA and other actual retirement savings and assets, that they get $2 or $3 earned from their inheritance as a way to encourage them to actually show that they can be responsible. Bob (15:02): It’s kind of like the 401k match. Shawn (15:05): Yeah, exactly. For your parents. Bob (15:09): In hearing all this, this is a lot when you think about it, but again, just break it down to these three questions. Who owns it all? How much is enough? How much I can give away? And our financial advisors, with Christian financial advisors, can help you, and we’re fiduciary based. We don’t charge commissions. We can help you answer these three fundamental questions and we’ll guide you through that and we’ll guide you with scripture and we’ll guide you with prayer because we believe God owns it all, and all financial decisions for Christian are what, Shawn? Shawn (15:45): Spiritual. Bob (15:45): Spiritual decisions. That’s right. You’ve heard me say that. All financial decisions for Christian are spiritual decisions. So we’re easy to get ahold of. You can call or text us at (830) 609-6986 during a normal business hours or visit our website www.christianfinancialadvisors.com and you could schedule a free consultation that’s from there to start this process and discuss it. Shawn (16:14): And I would just encourage anyone listening, watching, that thinking about these three questions, coming at it from this perspective, ofwho owns it all? How much is enough? How much can I give away? It gives a lot of peace to people that follow this. Like Bob, for years now because you’ve been doing this longer than I have, but our clients that look at it this way, the stress and anxiety of what’s going on right now in the markets, what’s going on? What does the performance look like? Is it better, is it worse? A lot of those things kind of almost fade away, or at the very least, they’re much more muted because you’ve done the right things to know, “Hey, I don’t need to chase these returns. I don’t need to worry about a lot of this noise because I’m focused on the right things and we’ve done the work.” So that’s just something I think is very encouraging if you take anything away from this today, Bob (17:18): That was very well put and said, I’m glad you added that on. Shawn (17:23): Well, thank you so much for joining us today. As always, God bless and if you have comments, questions, or like Bob said, want to schedule a meeting with us, reach out and we’d love to hear from you. Take care. Bob (17:35): Take care. Bye. [DISCLOSURES] * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors®, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors® believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.