Can Money Buy Happiness?

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Uh 18th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke once said, If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. I am Rob West. It's a familiar question, can money buy happiness? We've all thought if I had just a little bit more, life would be better.

But that thought rarely delivers what it promises. Today we'll explore the role money plays in our happiness and why it so often falls short. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. We don't know how much Edmund Burke studied his Bible, but his words reflect a timeless truth: money can't buy happiness.

And if we're not careful, it can make life worse. Paul warned Timothy in First Timothy six ten, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Expecting money to fix our problems or fill our hearts is a recipe for disappointment. Financial teacher Ron Blue explores this in his book Generous Living. He notes that there's a major disconnect between what people say and what they do about money.

We all agree that money can't buy happiness, yet, nearly every message around us insists that it can. The world doesn't just tempt us to spend more, it disciples us to depend on more. It teaches us that joy is something we can purchase rather than receive. Think about advertising. Commercials tell us that the right car, clothes, or gadget will finally make life better.

The message beneath it, that more money equals more joy. But often the opposite is true. The more we have, the more pressure we feel to protect and manage it. Instead of owning our possessions, our possessions begin to own us. And when our hearts become attached to things that fade, anxiety always follows.

History and scripture prove it to be true. John D. Rockefeller, worth about 30 billion in today's dollars, once said, I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness. Henry Ford, another billionaire industrialist, admitted, I was happier when I was doing a mechanics job. And King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:10, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.

This also is vanity. Three men, three eras, same truth. Money can't satisfy the soul. Ron Blue explains that this confusion stems from two wrong assumptions. First, that more money brings more freedom and satisfaction.

Second, that more money removes fear and worry. In reality, both are false. He writes: Since there are always unlimited ways to spend limited dollars, it doesn't matter whether you make $20,000 or $200,000 a year. You will always have choices to make. More money simply means more choices and more complexity.

Instead of freeing us, wealth can create anxiety. The more you have, the more you have to lose. We see this when markets fall and panic rises. And yet, even in those moments, God invites us to a deeper trust, to remember that His provision isn't measured by our portfolios, but by His promises.

So, what's the solution? It's what we often say on this program. The only way to be free from financial fear is to realize it's not your money. You're a steward, not an owner. Everything you have belongs to God.

When you accept that, your trust shifts from your paycheck or portfolio to the Lord Himself. Philippians 4:19 promises: And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. God promises provision, not luxury. He provides enough for his purpose in your life, not necessarily for every preference. What he asks in return is faithfulness to manage his resources wisely, give generously, and hold loosely what he entrusts to you.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying his provision, but things go wrong when we expect money to give us peace or security. Those can only come from God. Psalm 37:3 through 5 says, Trust in the Lord and do good. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. When our delight is in God, He reshapes our desires.

We stop chasing what fades and start finding joy in what lasts. True wealth isn't measured in net worth. It's measured in contentment. When we command our wealth, instead of being commanded by it, we experience real freedom.

So can money buy happiness? Not the kind that lasts. It can buy comfort, convenience, even moments of pleasure, but only God can give joy that endures. True happiness is found when we trust him as our provider, not our paycheck. As you trust God, you'll discover that freedom and joy don't come from having more money.

They come from knowing that everything you have belongs to Him. Because when your hope rests in Christ and not in your wealth, you'll experience what Edmund Burke described centuries ago: true freedom that never fades. All right, your calls are next. Stick around. What does your money say about what you truly treasure?

Hi, I'm Rob West, and I want to invite you into a 21-day journey through God's Word in my new devotional entitled, Our Ultimate Treasure. It'll help you align your heart and your money with what really lasts. With your generous one-time gift of $400 or more or $35 a month before December 31st, we'll send you an early copy as our thank you. Just head to faithfy.com slash give. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind Investing.

For more than 30 years, they've offered financial wisdom for living well. SMI provides step-by-step guidance for do-it-yourself investors, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. More information, including a short video webinar on profit and peace of mind no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Ah!

Well, if there's something on your mind today in your financial life, this is the place we'll help you think about it in light of biblical wisdom. I'm Rob West. This is Faith and Finance. Our phone number is 800-525-7000. Hey, if you love the program, maybe you found something valuable in the past, you'd like to be a part of supporting our work, that'd be great.

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So if you'd like to know more, just go to faithfi.com/slash partner and check out our new website while you're there. All right, let's head to the phones, headed to Indiana. Hi, Jake. Go ahead. Hi, Rob.

Thank you for taking my call. I really appreciate it.

So I wanted to first ask, I am thirty years old and I'm looking at I've heard a few people recommend that I should look into potentially starting the process of looking at purchasing long term care insurance. I want to make sure that as I continue to age and whatnot, I want to make sure I'm proactive in that regard and making sure that I'm protecting my assets and protecting the long term care aspect. I'm healthy and whatnot, but just wanting to be proactive in that manner. I wasn't sure what your thoughts were on that. Yeah, yeah, it's a good question.

Would you do a paid up policy and do you have the ability to put a big chunk of money in it? Or would you be looking to just pay regular premiums? I was looking at either or. I wasn't sure if that would be something that I should take out of my portfolio, take a portion out and just do a paid up aspect or if I should do a paid pay per month type of smaller premium and then kind of going from there with that. Yeah.

I mean, the challenge is that the whole long-term care insurance mark with a dedicated policy has just been obliterated. You know, really these days, folks are really looking at the hybrid policies, you know, where you have the ability to have a death benefit and then use a portion of it for long-term care while you're alive, just simply because there has just been dramatic increases in the cost of these premiums as the cost of health care has gone up. And, you know, I know people that bought them early, you know, in their 40s, thinking they would lock in a really high quality policy. But, you know, now here they are, you know, or even in their 30s, and here they are 20 years later, and they're dropping them because they're just so expensive. And so, I think, just given the increases that we've seen, I just wouldn't take that kind of risk on paying into this policy, you know, for 20 or 30 years only to find that it just doesn't make sense anymore on paper.

So, if you're going to do that, you'd probably want to, you know, do a paid up kind of policy where you have no premium risk in terms of the increases, but then you have to be able to justify, you know, dropping a massive amount of money in there because these things are not cheap.

So, I think that again goes back to these hybrid policies, which really I think are what most people are doing now.

Sometimes they're called linked benefits plans, and it combines the life insurance with the long-term care. And if you never need the long-term care, your heirs still get the death benefit. If you do need the care, you draw from the policies value tax-free. And I think those can be good options or better options, I should say, for people in their 40s to 60s who've built some. Assets and want to protect them.

But often, you know, we're kind of in a situation there where some people will say, you know, if I've got over a million dollars or I'm on track to by that season of life, I'll just self-insure and not spend all the money for an expensive permanent policy combined with long-term care, which can be costly. I'd rather take that money and get it compounded, you know, for the next 35 years between, you know, your 30s and your mid-60s, you know, because you're going to end up with a lot more to show for it and you'll have total flexibility. You know, you won't have to rely on your need for long-term care and, you know, all the fine print that goes along with it, if that makes sense. It does, it does. Thank you very much.

And I wasn't sure also if you would recommend purchasing some annuities as well. Or do you think that's something that I should add to my portfolio a little bit later in life? Yeah, you know, I'm not a big fan on annuities just because, you know, they're complex, they're expensive, and often with the downside protection, you get an upside cap. And, you know, the reason we get these 9 plus percent average annual returns is. Those dramatic up years that we have, you know, even with the down years like 1929, 1987, 2000, the dot-com bubble burst, the you know, 2008, 2009, the housing crisis, despite those, the pandemic, COVID, you know, the market has done well because of those dramatic up years.

The problem with the annuity is you give those up. And so they say, well, listen, we're going to give you a downside protection so you can't lose, but the most you're going to get is, let's say, 9%.

So if the market's up 26%, you know, you don't get any of that. They keep it. And that's how they pay for these policies, not to mention they're expensive and just they're complex and so forth.

So I would rather a young guy like you who's astute, who's really trying to manage money wisely, I'd rather you get unlimited upside potential, you know, without having that tied up in a complex insurance product. And then for your pure life insurance to protect a legitimate Risk where you've got a loved one depending on your income, just get term insurance for that, but get all the term insurance you need so that if you were to pass away, not only could that loved one fund their living expenses until retirement would have kicked in, but they can pay off the mortgage. And if you have kids, fund college. I mean, you might get a $3 million policy, but the goal from the very beginning would be that once you reach retirement, you drop it because you don't need it anymore. That risk is gone.

And that's the least expensive way to do that because you're just paying for the pure mortality expense. You're not paying for the savings vehicle as well. You do that in your retirement accounts and in your investment portfolios. Perfect. Thank you so much, Rob.

I really appreciate that. And just trying to build as many resources as I can to be prepared for retirement when that time comes one day.

Well, it sounds like you're doing a great job. I'll tell you, Jake, the thing you're probably going to struggle with the most, just given how early you're starting and how well you're thinking about it, is answering the question: how much is enough? Because you'll likely, with the kind of years you're talking about for compounding, you'll likely overaccumulate. And I think that's just as much of a danger. And so I'd be asking myself now how much lifestyle is enough.

And I'm not telling you you need to live in poverty or, you know, there's none of that here. It's just being intentional to say, what lifestyle has God called me to, above which I'll be able to accelerate my giving? And what is my ultimate finish line in terms of my assets? Above which I could accelerate my giving, those are going to be just as important as, you know, where should I be investing?

So, hope that helps, Jake. Thanks for your call, my friend. Lord bless you. Back after this, stay with us. FaithFi is grateful for support from One Ascent.

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That's ChristianCreditCounselors.org. I'm so glad you're with us today on Faith and Finance. I so appreciate your questions, you tuning in. And, you know, listen, each day we just want to encourage you, cheer you on as you live as a faithful steward of God's resources, and try to provide some wise counsel, recognizing, listen, we all make mistakes. Maybe we wish we would have started saving earlier or not taking on that debt or, you know, whatever it is.

But listen, you know, we put everything at the foot of the cross. We serve a God who's in the business of restoration. We hold it loosely and we just seek to be found faithful one day at a time over a lifetime. And when we do that, I believe God honors that.

Now, we will not be free from any challenges. We live in a fallen world. But when we apply biblical wisdom to our financial decisions, we put ourselves in a position to experience God's best. And that's certainly what we try to help you with each day on this program. Let's head right back to the phones to Georgia.

Sheila, go ahead. Hi. Hey, I'm a veteran and I have a VA loan at 6.75%. I've been there for just a year and three months. And I keep getting letters that I'm eligible for a VA.

IRLL, I think is the term. Yeah. So reduction. And I don't know whether to go ahead and do it. I'm a single mom, I'm 60, and I could definitely use some extra money during the month from a lower mortgage rate, but I don't know if now's the time to pull the trigger or should I wait.

I just wondered what your thoughts were. Yeah. You know, it really does come down to that interest rate on it.

So, you know, that does make it pretty streamlined.

So the VA offers, you know, with little to no cost, what they call a streamlined finance or the IRRL. And, you know, if you're if you don't have a lot in the way of savings, it's probably, you know, worth it to wait until rates drop a bit further.

Okay. I mean, the nice thing is there's no appraisal, there's no income verification, there's minimal paperwork, but the goal really is to reduce the interest rate or switch from an adjustable to a fixed rate.

So if you're already on a fixed rate, then really the only reason you do it is to drop that rate. And if you're currently at six and three quarters, I would probably wait till rates fall closer to five and a half or below. Um before you consider doing this. Perfect. Okay, that's the number.

I was kind of wondering if there was a magic number.

Okay, well, thank you, sir. Thanks for watching. You're welcome.

Well, thank you for your service to our country, Sheila. Lord bless you. Let's go to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rick, go ahead. Yes, hi.

My employer currently offers a four hundred one pay, which I have been contributing to for a while. And they also offer a Roth And I I'm wondering if If I contribute to the Roth. Can I get the match to go to the Roth? And will that still be tax free when I withdraw it? Yeah.

Yes, that wasn't always the case, but you can get the employer match. Into the Roth.

Now, in many cases, my understanding was that the employer contributions go into the traditional. Um and so you know your contribution would go into the Roth. And then your employer match would go into that traditional. I believe they were working on changing that. And I don't know for certain whether that has gone through.

So I would call your HR department or the plan administrator and just ask that question. Because my understanding is when Secure Act 2.0, That they have the ability now for the employer to match directly into the Roth. But that's not always available. And if that happened, the contributions would be taxable to you in the year that they're made, and that would be reported on a 1099R. And then you would do that, you get that money going into that Roth.

So I would call your plan administrator and just talk through these options because it does depend a little bit on how their plan is set up as to whether or not the contributions are possible directly into the Roth or whether they have to go into the traditional and then how the taxation will work on that. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. Thank you very much. Okay, Rick.

I like the fact that you're contributing to that Roth 401k, though, regardless of whether or not the employer match hits it.

So thanks for your call today. Great, great question. Let's go to Wisconsin. Hi, Ken. Go ahead.

Hi, Rob. Thank you for taking my call. I really appreciate your heart for responsible use of our resources financially. Thank you. Thanks.

I have a question. Dive. owned a a truck that I bought brand new. Uh 17 years ago. And it's really beyond its useful life.

It's got almost 300,000 miles on it. We bought a newer truck. It's used. It's a twenty twenty three And The gentleman I bought it from is offering me the extended warranty. It's still under warranty for six months for the drivetrain, but this extended warranty that he's offering me Is $4,000 and it says it covers everything, everything there is.

Um it's got a deductible every time you take the truck in for service if you need it. But everything I've read about this particular company and all extended warranties is less than favorable. And I'm wondering what you think of extended warranties, aftermarket, extended warranties on a vehicle. Yeah. Did you say the reviews on this particular company and or warranty are not good?

Is that right? Yeah, I've heard none of them none of them I read. Yeah. Positive. Just wondering.

I mean, that's generally my take. I think there's going to be some in our audience right now that are like, wait a minute, I've got an extended warranty and I love it. And it's done everything I hoped it would do, and I've saved thousands. If that's the case, great. That's just not my experience, just generally speaking.

They generally, based on the calls I've taken and the people I've talked to and the research I've done, say that the extended warranties cost more than they're worth. And that you're just better off saving that money yourself for future repairs.

So, if you were to take the cost of the extended warranty and then just create your own car repair fund and put even $50 to $100 a month, that's going to add up fast and the money stays whether you use it or not. I mean, these things can run between $1,500 and $3,000. In some cases, they're financed into the car, which means you're paying even more. They just have limited coverage. They don't include the wear and tear stuff.

And then they deny claims often based on the fine print. You know, some of the repairs may already be covered.

Now, in this case, because it's an older car, probably not. But there's company risk too. You know, are they hard to reach? Could they go out of business? I mean, those things I think when you put it all together, just on the average, I kind of prefer you just hold on to that money yourself personally.

That's what I initially decided after thinking it over. And then I called the fella back that we're kind of, we know each other, they're great people. Um but I said, hey, can I still get the extended warranty? He said, yeah, that's fine. You can get it for another month or so.

Just let me know. And I said, yeah, I could pay for quite a few repairs for the between $4,000 and $5,000. for the full coverage thing. And like you said, if I put a little bit aside, Toward that event, then I'm covered anyway, and I still have the money. I just think that's a better option at the end of the day.

Yeah, absolutely, Ken. Lord bless you. Thanks for calling today. That's going to do it for us today, folks. Hey, check out our website.

Support our work there when you click give at faithby.com, and we'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.