Giving To Children and Grandchildren with Ron Blue

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This institution is not federally insured. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous. Proverbs 13, 22. Hi, I'm Rob West.

That verse seems pretty straightforward, and yet it leaves several questions unanswered. Exactly what should we leave to our kids? How much and when? Ron Blue joins us today with the answers, then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest financial teacher and author Ron Blue literally wrote the book on this important topic. It's called Splitting Errors, giving your money and things to your children without ruining their lives.

That pretty much says it all. And by the way, if you haven't read the book and you're thinking about this idea of wealth transfer, it's a must read. Ron, welcome back.

Good to be with you, Rob, as always. Ron, we've had calls from folks who even take out insurance policies just so they can leave something to their children, who in many cases are already grown up and out of the house. Does Proverbs 13, 22 mean we should always leave money to our children and grandchildren? I don't interpret it that way, Rob. I think that leaving money to my children and or grandchildren in many cases may be a bad idea.

And I don't take this as a command. I take this as a principle. You know, when that was written, there were no charitable organizations. So wealth stayed within the family, typically. And what it's saying is, when you accumulate wealth, and you've done a good job at that, your grandchildren are going to end up with it. Which is true, but it doesn't mean that I'm commanded to build wealth for my grandchildren at all. I don't interpret it that way at all.

Yeah. A spiritual inheritance? Absolutely, but not necessarily a financial inheritance. So Ron, when are the times that we shouldn't leave money to our kids? Well, I always tell people that if you believe that God owns it all, then the last decision you make as a steward is who gets His resources. So I think that if you leave financial resources to heirs that you know will waste it or use it in an ungodly way, I would have a serious question as to whether you should leave that money to them. And so I counsel people that if you haven't left wisdom to your children and grandchildren, don't leave them money. Because money never creates wisdom, but wisdom creates money. So wisdom first, money second is my counsel.

That's powerful. Ron, you've always been a great question asker. What's a question we can ask ourselves when we're contemplating this decision on leaving money to kids? Well, I think the first question that Judy and I dealt with, and we spent two years answering the question of how we were going to leave wealth. And the question was, if we left, pick a number, 50,000, 100,000, a million, whatever the number is, to and name the child, what's the worst thing that can happen? And in our particular case, with five children, we had five different answers to that question.

But that's the right question to ask. And then you've got to answer, okay, if that's the worst thing that's going to happen, how likely is it to happen? And what are the consequences of it? So we had one child, we knew if we left money to them, they'd give it away. Well, that's not a bad consequence. But we have another son-in-law that if we had left money to that couple, it would have destroyed his need to provide for his family.

That was a bad consequence. So answering that question, what's the worst thing that can happen is a way to ask a really good question about wealth transfer. Well, and that also means, Ron, that it's okay that we don't treat all of our heirs equally, right? Yeah, every time I've been speaking, Rob, I share this principle, and I always get a lot of comments, and that is, if you love your children equally, you'll treat them uniquely, because they're unique individuals. And if you think about it, God loves all of us equally, but he doesn't treat us equally in terms of money and possessions and so forth. He's not punishing us, he's just saying that he knows what's best for us. So I think as a parent, I need to think, I love my children equally, and come back to that question, well, am I helping them or hurting them by leaving wealth to them? Or am I using God's resources in a way that I know will be wasted?

That's not a good decision. That's powerful. Ron, that was really well said and great insights. Thanks for stopping by. Well, thank you for having me, Rob. Always a pleasure. We'll be back with much more just around the corner.

Stay with us. If you enjoy this radio program, you're going to love all of the many different resources waiting for you at faithfi.com and the Faithfi app. You'll find powerful wisdom, free podcasts, articles, videos, and more from leading voices such as Randy Alcorn, Howard Dayton, Ron Blue, and our own Rob West. Grow in wisdom and knowledge by connecting with a community of thousands of Christians striving to be good and faithful stewards at faithfi.com or by downloading the Faithfi app. Frustrated by your health insurance?

Confused by the network restrictions and increasing premiums? There's a better way. Learn more and enroll today at chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Well, I'm so thankful to have you with us today on faith and finance. All right, we're going to begin taking your calls and questions here in just a moment. What are you thinking about today in your financial life? Let's talk about it.

Living, giving, owing, or growing God's money. Anything's in play today. We've got lines open. The calls are beginning to come in, but we've got room for you at the moment. 800-525-7000. That's the number that you can call to get your question in the mix today.

Again, 800-525-7000 you can call right now. Before we head to the phones, in the news today, a college degree isn't as important for getting a well-paying job as it used to be. At least that's the opinion of a growing number of Americans, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Only about 25% of U.S. adults say that having a four-year college degree is either extremely or very important. Almost half said that having a four-year degree is less important today than it was 20 years ago. That seems to correlate with other data that shows young adults ages 25-34 without a bachelor's degree have achieved somewhat greater earnings in the past 10 years. Also in this survey, only 22% of respondents said that getting a degree is worth it even if you have to borrow to do it. Nearly half said getting a four-year degree is only worth it if you can do it without borrowing. What is the takeaway here?

Well, I think just interesting to watch this trend, number one. Number two, make sure that you are borrowing as little as possible. That requires some effort and some work on your part. My kids did it. They applied for tons of scholarships and got many of them. My wife did it in a major way. Growing up in a single-parent family, they turned their living room into a scholarship application factory in the evenings. She put herself through college over $150,000 in scholarships. So you can do it, but I think you've got to put some work in. Number one, you've got to make sure you're taking advantage of those dual enrollment and AP classes in high school. I think thirdly, we also need to recognize there's not a one-size-fits-all solution for every child.

Understand how God has wired you. Figure out the best path for you and make sure that if you are going to go to college, and especially if you're going to borrow, which again I would try to avoid that, that you've thought through the degree you're seeking and whether that will produce a job on the other end of it, especially one that will allow you to pay back that debt. So a lot to think about there, but interesting trends that we're seeing coming out of this new generation with respect to the value they're placing on a college degree. All right, let's dive in. We're going to begin in North Port, Florida. Walter, go ahead, sir. Yes, thank you for having me. So I am 31 years old. I started my career for the assisted living community. Then I had another job at heating and cooling. And then I married my wife and moved to Florida, worked at a hospital.

Now I'm at a different hospital. Every job I've had a 401k or some kind of benefit, which I haven't done so good in keeping up with. And my question is, because I'm thinking to get a financial advisor or someone to help me out, but how do I really wrap my head about keeping track of all my money? Yeah, and specifically just a financial plan, Walter, or an investment strategy or all the above? Yeah, all the above. Okay.

Yeah. Well, I think you're in a great spot to go ahead and engage with a financial advisor. You know, a lot of times we think that, well, we need, you know, 500, a million dollars, you know, in order to be able to engage an advisor.

And that's just not true. You know, there's planning functions that a financial advisor can offer early, even while you're still building wealth. And then at some point they can step in and help you manage it, either just giving you some counsel if it's in a 401k or actually through direct management if, you know, you have enough assets outside of a 401k that, you know, you meet their minimums and so forth. But I think you're in a great spot to do some planning just to look at, okay, where are we at in our financial life in terms of, you know, are we offsetting the risks that exist with the proper amounts of in types of insurance? You know, what are we doing toward retirement? What's our ultimate finish line? And are we on track for that? What vehicles are we saving in? What about lifestyle and cash flow?

And do we have a plan to handle that? If you have kids, what about college savings? And, you know, then you've got your estate plan and making sure that you've got a valid will. And you've thought through some of those decisions, even in your 30s, you need that.

So there's a host of things that can be covered as well as minimizing taxes. And that's where a financial planner would often do what they call a comprehensive financial plan that would really look at all of these things that they would, you know, deliver to you. And then over time, they can serve a valuable role for accountability because, you know, they can ask you hard questions and they can, you know, keep you all accountable to your goals. You know, it's a great person to be able to ask your spouse questions to and, you know, allow you all to kind of work through, you know, your goals and plans and make sure that there's somebody there walking alongside you. Where I would go next, Walter, if you don't have somebody in mind, is to our website at faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com. And right there at the top of the page, you can click the button that says Find a CKA and do a zip code search for a Certified Kingdom Advisor.

I'd interview two or three, make sure you're a good fit for their practice. And then I think that'll give you what you're looking for. Okay, great.

Thank you so much. I've seen there's tools I need working full time. I just can't manage myself.

I guess all the resources and everything out there. So thank you for that. Well, there's wisdom and a multitude of counselors, Walter. So I think this is a great time for you to take advantage of that. Thanks for calling today. We appreciate you being on the program. Let's take some emails. By the way, if you want to send an email along, you can do that to askrob at faithfi.com. This came in from Kimberly.

Here's what she writes. I purchased several savings bonds back in 1998. We moved several times since then and I can't locate them. Is there any way I can cash them in without having the actual bonds or am I out of luck?

Kimberly, there absolutely is a way. You're not out of luck. Since those bonds were issued after 1974, you can replace them using the form 10481048 at treasurydirect.gov. Now, if you know the bonds serial numbers, that's great. Just fill them into the form online at treasurydirect.gov. If you don't know the serial numbers, you didn't take a photo of them, and I can understand, you know, perhaps if you didn't, you'd still want to go to treasurydirect.gov and click the menu button. Then in the search feature, type in Treasury Hunt, and it will take you to a page where you can answer additional questions to get those bonds replaced. So, you can do that and it won't be too challenging.

treasurydirect.gov is the place to go. Alright, one more before our first break. Robin writes, I'm 58. I earn $98,000 a year. I'm currently renting, but it's very expensive. I want to buy a home, but I'm wondering if I'm too old at this point.

What do you think? I want to make a biblically sound decision. Robin, you are not too old to buy a home.

It's not too late. The challenge is finding something that fits your budget. So, let me give you a couple of rules of thumb as you're out house hunting. And remember, we got to start with the budget and figure out how much you can afford before you go shopping. Otherwise, you will find a house that you like and you'll be encouraged to kind of stretch beyond that budget.

So, two rules of thumb. Number one, a 20% down payment. I realize that's challenging with the prices of homes these days, but that's going to give you some margin or excuse me, some equity on day one. If the housing market were to dip, you wouldn't be upside down and you'll avoid PMI, private mortgage insurance, which is about 1% of the mortgage value and it doesn't do anything for you. It's all to protect the lender. The other rule of thumb is make sure your housing expense, principal interest, taxes and insurance does not exceed 25% of your take-home pay.

That will ensure you've got enough left over for everything else. Robin, thanks for writing to us. Phone lines are open 800-525-7000.

Your calls after this break. for you to explore and reflect on a well-known biblical parable about a very rich man with a very big problem. Request a copy of the Rich Toward God study today with your gift of $25 or more by going to faithbuy.com slash give.

Do you feel like your hands are tied with debt preventing you from serving God? If you have credit card debt, Christian credit counselors can help through our debt management program. We can get you out of credit card debt about 80 percent faster while honoring your debt in full. For more information on how Christian credit counselors can help visit Christian credit counselors dot org. That's Christian credit counselors dot org or call 800-557-1985 800-557-1985. Delighted to have you with us today on faith and finance. We're taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. The number to call is 800-525-7000. You can call right now.

Brooke in Ohio, go right ahead. Yes, sir. My basic question to you is, is it biblical for the husband to have his son on the finances and won't let me use any of it other than to buy the groceries?

No, that is not something I would encourage at all. But let me understand a little bit more. Tell me more about when you say the son is on the finances. What do you mean by that? He won't let me do anything with the money, meaning he won't let me buy anything unless I ask him or I buy groceries.

And then he looks at the receipt to make sure I hadn't bought anything other than what groceries are. Yeah, I understand. Yeah, Brooke, the Bible, of course, emphasizes the importance of unity and mutual respect in marriage and financial matters. You know, when you follow these principles, both spouses can feel assured and confident in their ability to manage the family's finances together, fostering a stronger bond in their marriage.

I think as it relates to money management, there's some big ideas here that we need to apply first that we budget together. You know, it's recommended that couples plan their budget together because this approach fosters transparency and mutual understanding. It prevents financial misunderstandings and again drives toward God's ultimate desire for unity in marriage. That includes mutual decision making, so both spouses need to be involved in financial decisions. So while one spouse may naturally take the lead due to maybe being more administratively skilled or having more financial skills, it's still critical that both understand and participate in the financial planning process.

And then finally, it's this big idea of stewardship and I would say communication. You know, the Bible teaches that managing money is a form of stewardship, and so both spouses are accountable to God for how they handle their finances. So by emphasizing the role of effective communication in this stewardship, then both spouses can feel empowered and capable of handling financial decisions, which leads to, again, unity and harmonious financial management. And so, again, these principles and ideas support this, you know, bigger overarching idea that both spouses should be involved in financial management.

If one spouse is excluded, it leads to misunderstanding, it can lead to conflict, and of course that's contrary to the biblical call for unity and mutual respect. I think the other idea here is that often money matters and money decisions are symptomatic of spiritual issues and heart issues that are underneath. The money decisions are kind of the outworking.

If you think about an iceberg, the 10% above the waterline is the how, that might be our money decisions, but the 90% of the mass of the iceberg below the waterline is the why and the values and the issues that are underneath that that are driving it. And what I would say is that what you're describing points to a need for perhaps a third party to come in to provide some marriage counseling. Certainly it could be financial counseling, and we have certified Christian financial counselors that could help you and your husband work through this from a biblical standpoint and put some of the financial mechanics in place, also pray with you and be an encouragement to you. But to the extent there is broken trust, to the extent that you're not being included in the decision making, which then speaks to larger issues beneath the surface that you all need to address in your marriage, that's where I think a godly counselor, whether that's a pastor at your church or a biblical counselor, could help come in to wrestle with, because again, I think the money issues are just symptomatic of the deeper issues beneath the surface. But obviously I've thrown a lot at you, Brooke.

Give me your thoughts. Well, I understand all that, but he gives me a weekly stipend, and we've really been married a short time, I mean under five years, and he's done this budget through his first marriage for so long that he's got it in his mind that this works. And you can have a weekly stipend, even though it doesn't seem like a right thing, but I still have to ask for money, and I don't like to do that because I'm an adult and I shouldn't have to. But he thinks that I should and I should be okay with that, and I don't. And so that's where the stress is, and we've been through counseling, and he's agreed to do that, but he goes right back to, I want to do what I want to do.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think there's a fundamental flaw that is really tripping us up here at the outset of this, which is, you know, when you're married, two become one flesh. And that includes every facet of our lives, including our finances. So it's not his money that he's allowing you to use, it's your money. Everything you all have in your marriage belongs to the two of you, and so you make decisions together. Now, you may have one bookkeeper, but you make joint decisions after a great prayer and talking about your values. Now, to the extent you have a disagreement, you have to come up with a way to work through that and make decisions, and there may be times where, you know, he feels a leading of the Lord to do a certain thing, but that's not going to apply to day-to-day money management. If you approach this, that two become one flesh in marriage, the day-to-day money management decisions are going to be made by both of you in light of jointly set goals that spring from your values and priorities as Christ followers.

And it seems like that we have a fundamental flaw at the outset of this, that it's not yours and mine, it's ours, and we're going to manage it together, and we're going to make decisions together out of mutual respect and unity and stewardship, because you both are the stewards of what God has entrusted to you, and you both will stand to give an account for how those funds have been used. So, listen, I'm going to be praying for you, Brooke. If you want to take advantage of our Christian financial counselors, you can go to faithfi.com and click find a professional. Otherwise, I might lean back in at your church or with a biblical counselor to see if you can continue to work through this, and I'm going to ask the Lord to intervene alongside that process. Thanks for your call.

Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today. Always a joy to talk to you, to hear your stories, to be able to share biblical counsel on managing God's money. Hey, if you haven't checked out our new study, Rich Toward God, it's available on our website, faithfi.com. It's a perfect resource for a small group to unpack this really profound and powerful parable in God's Word found in Luke 12 that finishes with this idea of what does it mean to live rich toward God. And let me invite you to be a monthly partner of ours here at FaithFi as a listener supported ministry. We can't do this without you. You can learn more at faithfi.com slash give. That's faithfi.com slash give. Thanks to my team today, Robert Youngblood, Jim Henry, Devin Patrick, and the entire team here at FaithFi.

Can't do it without them. We'll see you next time. In the meantime, may the Lord bless you. Bye bye. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.