Millions of people are asking questions about their finances, like how do I stop worrying about my money? What does true success look like? And how much money is enough? But perhaps what they're really asking is, what really lasts? Hi, I'm Rob West, and this integration of biblical teaching with financial wisdom is the entire reason I've written my brand new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure.
It's designed to help you align your heart and your money with what really lasts. When you support our ministry through a generous one-time donation of $400 or more, or $35 or more a month, you'll become a FaithPhy partner. That means you'll receive year-long benefits, including Our Ultimate Treasure, four issues of Faithful Steward, our magazine, helpful money management tools in the Faith Phi app, and more. Just head to faithphy.com/slash give.
Now, on to the podcast. What does it mean to live with true contentment? Hi, I'm Rob West. For many, contentment feels just out of reach, always tied to the next raise, the next purchase, or the next season of life. But Scripture calls us to a deeper, more lasting contentment, one that doesn't depend on circumstances, but on Christ himself.
We'll talk about that today, and then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. In Psalm 23, David begins his psalm with a striking declaration: The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. Those words remind us that contentment doesn't come from acquiring more, but from trusting the One Who provides. just as sheep rest securely under their shepherd's care, we can rest in God's faithful provision.
Contentment, then, is not about avoiding desire, but about redirecting it. It's about finding sufficiency in Christ rather than in money, possessions, or achievements. This frees us from the trap of covetousness and anchors us in the reality that in Christ we already have all we truly need. Discontentment has plagued humanity since the beginning. In the garden Adam and Eve had everything they needed, yet the serpent's lie convinced them they lacked something essential.
Discontentment whispers, God is holding out on you. You'd be better off if you had more. Fast forward to today, and the voice of discontentment is amplified by advertising, social media, and cultural comparison. We see others highlight reels and feel our lives don't measure up. This cycle keeps us restless, never satisfied.
But Hebrews 13, 5 reminds us, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The cure for discontentment is not more stuff, but the unshakable presence of God. Contentment is not resignation, it's liberation. It frees us from envy, overspending, and the crushing weight of comparison.
Instead of striving endlessly for more, we can steward wisely what God has entrusted to us. Proverbs thirty, eight and nine captures this beautifully Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. The wise steward seeks enough.
not excess. When we embrace this posture, our financial decisions change. We spend with purpose, we give with joy, we save with peace. Contentment reorients money from being our master to being a tool for God's kingdom. Think of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17.
With only a handful of flour and a little oil left, she faced famine. Yet when Elijah asked her to make him a cake first, she trusted God's word, and God provided, not in overflowing barns, but in daily sufficiency. Or consider the Macedonian believers in 2 Corinthians 8. Paul says, In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Despite having little, they gave with glad hearts because their contentment was in Christ, not in their circumstances.
These examples remind us that contentment and generosity often go hand in hand. When we are satisfied in Christ, we are free to bless others. What is also at the heart of contentment is trust. Jesus said in Matthew six, twenty five and twenty six, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink. Look at the birds of the air they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not more valuable than they? Contentment flows from believing that God knows what we need and delights to provide for His children. As Elizabeth Eliot once wrote, the secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances. True contentment anchors us in the reality that we already have the greatest treasure, Christ Himself. Everything else is temporary.
That's why Paul could say in 1 Timothy 6:6, Godliness with contentment is great gain. Notice contentment is not loss, it's gain. It's the kind of wealth no market downturn can erase and no thief can steal. Folks, choosing contentment doesn't mean settling for less. It means resting in the sufficiency of Christ.
When we stop chasing more and start trusting God's daily provision, we discover freedom, peace, and joy. That's the journey of stewardship. Not just managing money, but aligning our hearts with the one who promises: I will never leave you nor forsake you. All right, your calls are next. That number?
800-525-7000. You can call at 24-7-800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance. Don't go anywhere. We're just getting started.
A lot more to come straight ahead. Right now, more people than ever are looking for biblical wisdom to navigate their finances, and you can help meet that need. When you become a FaithFi partner, you're equipping believers to trust God, steward his resources well, and live with kingdom purpose. Partners receive early access to our newest resources, our quarterly Faithful Steward magazine, and the pro version of the FaithFy app. Become a FaithFi partner with your gift of $35 a month or $400 a year at faith5.com slash partner.
Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster. But it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial Wisdom for Living Well.
Soundmindinvesting.org Helping you see God as your ultimate treasure and money a tool to accomplish God's purposes. This is Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're delighted you're here today. If you have a financial question, the lines are filling up, but we've got room for you at the moment: 800-525-7,000.
Let's head to Huntsville. Tony, thanks for your call. Go ahead. Thank you very much, Rob, for taking my phone call. Of course.
My wife and I have been blessed, and we have several pieces of rental property. And we would like to leave them Uh Each of our kids Property but we'd like to protect it from probate. And like to collect rent on the property at the same time. How could we set up a trust? What would be our best way to proceed?
Yeah. It's a great question, and you've got several options to explore. Ultimately, I would sit down with an estate planning attorney just to talk you through each of the options. That are available to you. You know, the most common way that people will address this is through what's called a revocable living trust.
I think that's what you referred to there, where you essentially transfer the property into the trust.
So it would require retitling. You would then keep control and continue receiving rental income as trustees. And then upon your death or incapacitation, the property would ultimately pass directly to the children without probate. The downside, if there is any, is that there's no creditor protection.
So if you're looking for some sort of liability protection, that would not be offered through the revocable living trust. But it would accomplish your primary objectives, which is continue to receive the rental income, keep control, and have the efficient transfer to the kids outside of probate. Yeah. Maybe a simpler solution, although I don't know that it goes quite far enough, is what's called a life estate deed with the remainder to the children.
So, this is essentially where you deed the property to the children, but retain a life estate, which gives you the legal right to collect rent and use the property for life. And then, at death, the property passes automatically. It's harder to change later. It may complicate selling or refinancing.
So that's why I think the Revocable Living Trust is best. The third option would be what's called a family limited partnership or an LLC. And that allows you to retain managing interest and income rights. You can then gift the ownership shares to the children over time using, let's say, annual gift tax exclusions. And that is going to provide liability protection.
And perhaps even estate tax efficiency, if that were to be a factor. Although the way the laws are today, you got to get an estate over $13 million before that's an issue. But if you're looking for that liability protection, that could be offered there. It's more complex to set up and maintain, which is why unless the liability is a big issue for you, that revocable living trust is probably going to be the way to go. All right, I thank you very much, Rob.
Absolutely. God bless you, Tony. Appreciate your call today. George is where we're headed next.
Sonda, go ahead. Hey, so So my question is, I got divorced in my mid fifties and had to start completely over. I have a little over $37,000 in my 401k. I am 66, so I'm eligible to roll it over. And I've listened to your program and several others that Talk about screen and clean programs, and I would like to move mine into.
a Christian based finance, but everyone that I've contact, did you have to have a minimum of fifty thousand dollars.
So do you have any suggestions? Yeah, I do. I think there's a little better one that's coming, but let me start with what you have available today. You could absolutely today just roll it over to a rollover IRA at a custodian without minimums, like Fidelity or Schwab, and they would offer you basically access to all of the Christian screened mutual funds and exchange traded funds that we talk about on this program. And you wouldn't need $50,000 or you wouldn't need at least that amount.
You could start with as little as you wanted. And you would then have to just pick the investments yourself. That's perhaps going to be the only downside to this. If you're looking for somebody to make those decisions for you, that's going to be more challenging because often, you're right, advisors will often have minimums. And so you could go direct to these mutual fund companies or asset managers that offer exchange-traded funds.
That's no problem, but you're. Going to have to be the one to say, you know, which of the funds at Eventide or Crossmark or One Ascent or Guidestone am I going to put this money in? And if you don't have that training or expertise, that does become challenging. The other option is what's coming. And what's exciting is in the faith-based investing universe, we've got a really exciting new development where the SP 500 has now created a version of it for Christians where it's Christian screened.
Now, that's an index, that's not an investable product yet, but it's coming. But it's a sign that there's a lot of innovation taking place in this space, Christian investing. And one of the things that's coming is the first Robo advisor that only uses. Christian screened investments.
So, just like Betterment or Schwab Intelligent portfolios, you answer a series of questions and it will build basically a portfolio for you, but only using investments that are screened for Christian values. The alpha on that and then the beta. Which basically just means it's in a test phase. It's going to be out before the end of the year. And then, probably in Q1 of next year, 2026, it's going to be widely available for anybody.
And we'll be talking about it here.
So if you listen to the program, you'll hear about it when it's ready. That's going to make things a little simpler, Sonda, because now you won't have to be the ones making the decision on which investments to choose. Does that make sense? It does, and that's very exciting.
So, do you have any suggestions for boosting that over the next four years? Because $37,000 will not last long. No, yeah, I hear you.
Well, I mean, I think the key is for you to get it invested and let the market do what it does, because the very best place to build wealth over the last 50, 7,500 years is in a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio. And the extent to which you can continue to add money to it systematically, regardless of whether the market's up, down, or sideways, is really the key. It's the combination of those two. It's the new contributions you can make on top of the contributions you've already made and the compounding effect of those when invested are going to be really the keys to you continuing to see that nest aid grow. Are you continuing to work at this point?
I am. Until I'm 70.
Okay. Yeah. So I think the key is to take full advantage of these next four years to live as modestly as you can, to sock away as much as you can, and hopefully let that grow to something more meaningful that could then supplement other income sources, whether that's a spousal benefit from your ex-husband or your own Social Security benefit or anything else you might have coming your way. All right, perfect. Thank you so much.
All right, Sonda, thanks for your call today. I appreciate you being on the program.
Well, folks, we've got to hit another break here just around the corner. Let me mention: if you would like to find a certified kingdom advisor, so that's a financial professional who shares your values. You're looking to journey with somebody in the area of financial planning or investment management, estate planning, insurance, or taxes, but you want somebody who shares your values, we would recommend you go to our website at faithfy.com, click find a professional. And we just added a feature that allows you when you're selecting a CKA to say, I only want a CKA who can do faith-based investing to ensure that they offer that type of investment strategy. You can make that selection right there as you get your list.
FaithFi.com, click find a professional. Back with another segment right after this and more questions. We'll be right back. Stay with us. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world.
More information is available at guidestonefunds.com/slash faith. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of Guidestone Funds before investing. They're distributed by Four Side Funds Distributors LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. Are you a financial professional looking to grow your practice while offering advice that aligns with your Christian values?
By becoming a certified kingdom advisor, you'll gain the biblical wisdom and professional credibility to serve clients who are seeking faith-based financial guidance. Each year, more than 75,000 people search for a certified kingdom advisor. Join our community and share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values. Start your journey today by going to kingdomadvisors.com slash get certified. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance.
I'm Rob West. We've got lines open. We're ready for your questions, 800-525-7000. All right, we'll try to round out the broadcast today with perhaps two more questions. Susan's in Ohio.
Go ahead. Uh yes. I'm retired, and my husband will be retiring soon. And we don't have a whole lot of money, but he has a four hundred one K at work. We're not even sure what to do with that.
So we need some help with what we do so that we'll have enough money for retirement. Yeah, yeah, it's a good question. You know, I think this is a key time, Susan, for you to spend a little bit of time with an advisor who can really help you. First step would be a comprehensive financial plan, understanding what this next season of life looks like. What is God calling you to in terms of location and how you'll use your time in service to the Lord?
And is there going to be any income, even on a part-time basis? What assets do you have? How do we minimize taxes and maximize the income that you've got and the assets? How should you invest what you've spent a lifetime accumulating with your 401k? All of these questions can be addressed.
And when you use a certified kingdom advisor, you could do that in light of a biblical worldview.
So if I were you, I would head to faithfi.com. That's our website, faithfi.com. Click find a professional, do a zip code search there in Ohio, perhaps interview one or two or three CKAs, find one that's a good fit, and start with. You know, that consultation, that initial meeting where you'd get to know one another and I think map out a plan. Whether or not that advisor ends up managing, you know, the assets in the 401k that might be rolled to an IRA is, I think, secondary to this advisor putting a plan together.
So you all have the peace of mind to know where you stand, how are you going to fund your expenses, and if there's a gap, how you're going to address it, and perhaps whether you need to work longer or add some part-time income along the way.
So again, that website is faithphy.com. Just click find a professional. Thanks for your call. Hudson, Florida, Glenn, you'll be our final caller. Go ahead.
Thank you for taking my call. I've tried to apply all of your principles: debt-free living, emergency fund, and so forth like that. I've got students that I work with and we're talking about investing in So I Came up with a project where I told them that I'd invest $4,000 and they could pick some stocks and we'd see how that would work. Yeah. Is there a way to purchase just individual stocks?
Because it's only 4,000, and there's several students that have picked these out. Yes. And I didn't know if there was a way to do that. That's a great question.
So are you going to gift the money to them or are you going to keep control of it and just let them make the investment decisions? They're going to make the invest I'll keep the money, but I'll make the investment decisions. I want to do real dollars. What's behind it?
Okay, great. Yeah, I mean, there's plenty of apps out there now that and platforms that allow you to essentially start with little to nothing in the way of investments. I mean, even Fidelity has now what they call stocks by the slice, allowing you to buy fractional shares starting at a dollar. Charles Schwab has something similar called Stock Slices that allow you to buy fractional pieces of any of the SP 500 companies. And then there's some of the newer offerings in this space like Robinhood, which would be another one offering fractional shares.
There's also some user-friendly platforms like Public. And SoFi Invest.
So I would check those out. Again, I'd start with Fidelity, Robin Hood, Public. And SoFi Invest, any of those really are built for this kind of thing that would allow you to essentially invest in fractional type shares, which is probably going to be what you need for the type of investing you're looking to do. I'll throw one more out there. They really are designed for micro investing, and it's called Stash.
And I think as you look through these, the ones that are going to have probably the best web and app experiences are Robin Hood and Stash. But if you're really just looking for a great platform, I think you can add fidelity to that mix.
So hopefully that helps, Glenn. I love what you're doing here. How many kids are we talking about? Um 15 teenagers right now, so far. All right.
And they're in high school? Yes. Yep, they're 11th and 12th graders, and I'm trying to encourage them to follow the principles that you're teaching on the radio. That's incredible. Let me send you a workbook that I think you might really enjoy.
If you like it, I'll get you one for each of the kids and we'll pick up the cost on it because I love what you're doing here. It's called Open Hands Finance, and it's a combination kind of workbook alongside a podcast that I think they may enjoy. We'll start by sending you one, see what you think of it. If you like it, give me a call back, and we'll send you a bunch more, okay? Oh, well, thank you very much.
All right. Hang on the line, Glenn. We'll get some information out to you, and we'll put those in the mail. Thanks for your call today. All right.
We're almost out of time today. A few thoughts. First, let's tackle a couple of emails. We don't get to these as often as we should, and they come into us regularly at askrob at faithfy.com. This one from Vanessa: My daughter's credit score is 625, and she's committed to repairing it.
My credit score is over 800, and I've heard you talk about making someone an authorized user on a credit card to help with their score. Can you elaborate on how that works and how it might affect both of our credit scores? I sure can, Vanessa. And basically, if you designate your daughter as an authorized user, the issuer will report your activity to the credit bureaus. Under your name and hers.
And so here's why people do that. Even if you don't give her the card, and most people don't, she will then get the benefit of your entire credit history with that account, including the length of time it's been open.
So if this is an account that's been open for a decade, that's going to come over to hers as well, the credit limit and the payment history, and that can improve her score while having no impact on yours.
Now, keep in mind, first, she doesn't have to use the card to get this benefit.
So there's no reason to give her access to the account. Second, the negative history passes with the positive.
So let's just play this out. Let's say you were to miss a payment. You're on vacation. You forget, you have an auto payment set up and it fails, something like that. Your late payment is going to pass right over to her as well.
So just keep that in mind. This is not for everyone, but it is something you certainly can consider. Thanks for writing to us. Ashley writes this, Hey, Rob, unfortunately, I'm completely lost when it comes to whole things financial.
However, I'm I want to set my family up for financial success later on.
So I was wondering if you could point me to a resource that could help me learn what I need to learn about finances. I'd be happy to. Two of our all-time favorites, Ashley, are one, a quicker read called Your Money Counts. By Howard Dayton. Howard's a good friend, a mentor, and a Former host of this program.
It's a fabulous kind of tome, if you will, on biblical finance. And then, second, a little bit of a thicker read, but still very practical and very well written, it's a classic, Master Your Money by Ron Blue. Either of those, Your Money Counts or Master Your Money, would be a great beginning point for you. And then you can progress from there. There's some great books that you could move on to, like Redeeming Money from our friend Paul David Tripp, or Money Possessions in Eternity, a little thicker by Randy Alcorn.
But I think Your Money Counts and Master Your Money would be great beginning points. Thanks for writing to us. By the way, folks, if you have a question, send it along, askrob at faithfy.com. Big thanks to my team today, Dev and Robert and Taylor. We'll see you next time.
Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
