This Faith in Finance podcast is underwritten in part by Timothy Plan. Good news! Since 1994, Timothy Plan has shared good news with investors and advisers by offering a family of funds that honor your faith. Learn more at TimothyPlan.com. Mm.
What if your investments did more than earn returns? What if they helped shape the culture for good? Hi, I'm Rob West. Today we'll explore how your money can not only grow, but also advance God's purposes in the world. Brian Mumber joins us from Timothy Plan to share how faith-based investing allows believers to engage the culture with an eternal impact.
And then it's on to your phone calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
Well, it's always great to have Brian Mumber back with us. Brian serves as Vice President of Regional Sales at the Timothy Plan, a pioneer in faith-based investing and a valued underwriter of this program. Brian, great to have you back. Thank you, Rob. Great to be here.
Brian, Timothy Plan is well known for its commitment to biblically responsible investing.
However, there's another aspect of what you do, and that is engaging with and impacting the culture through generosity. Tell us about that. Yeah, that's right, Rob. You know, Timothy Partners Limited, the advisor to Timothy Plan. For lack of a better word, ties from its prophets to support ministries that align with biblical values.
These partnerships that we have kind of focus on issues like protecting life, combating exploitation, defending religious freedom. Equipping biblical entrepreneurs and promoting family values. And really, the goal here is not just to avoid the harm in the investments where we screen out different companies for what they do, but to do good in the world. And so. We want to be active on the other side of our screens, and this is a way for us to do that in supporting pro-life, pro-family causes.
I love this. You're really putting your money where your mouth is, or God's money, I should say. Give us just a few examples of some of these ministries. It's really cool.
So, locally, there's ministries like Choice's Women's Clinic. They're the largest pro-life pregnancy center in the central Florida area. House of Hope Orlando and the Orange County Jail Ministry. I also just did an event for another crisis pregnancy center this past weekend for Seminole County in Florida as well. And then, more nationally, big groups like Movie Guide and Florida Family Voice.
Movie Guy is really interesting. They're the only lobbying group in California that are Christians. And in order to really lobby for family-friendly films, you have to be in California, in Hollywood.
So we sponsor Timothy Plan, the Kairos Prize, which is given away every year. Given to aspiring Christian filmmakers for Seat Capital to develop their vision. And then outside of that, Nehemiah Project, you know, I'll never forget they came here to our office, brought 30 plus people from Kenya who had all started their business as biblical entrepreneurs, which is what Nehemiah Project does. And we got to hear their stories, how they started their business, and every one of them saying, you know, without Timothy Plan and their partnership and some seed capital for our companies, we would have never been able to start these.
So it's just so exciting. Wow, those are incredible ministries. I love this idea, Brian, of business tithing. We talk about it often on this program. How does that principle align with the broader mission of Timothy Plan?
You know, Art Alley, our founder, was fascinated by R. G. Leturno. He's a Christian industrialist who dedicated his life to being a businessman for God. The whole thing that he was dealing with was he wanted to make sure that 90% of his income was given back.
And so he always was fond of saying that I shovel out the money and God shovels it back in, but God is a bigger shovel. And that's what Timothy Plan works with. That's such a powerful idea. And you're exactly right. What would you say to an investor who's listening today, Brian, who's never thought about this idea that their portfolio, their investments, might be shaping the culture?
As an investor, really just understand where your dollars are going. When you invest with a biblical worldview, you know, many times you're thinking about your own investment, but there is so much more that can be done through companies like Timothy Plan and others in the faith-based space. To really push out how we can be involved in the culture and how we can really make an impact on the other side of all of these screens that everyone knows so well. Have you seen it working, Brian? Is it really making a difference?
It truly is. When I go to these events that we sponsor and that we're a part of and to see the faces of the people that are impacted by tangible dollars that were given to Timothy Plan that we are stewards of, stewards of God's money, you can truly see the looks on their faces, the difference that it makes in these ministries and the impact that we can have just in the small circle of Central Florida, but also nationally. Folks, when you invest with purpose, your portfolio can do more than generate returns. It can bring redemption and renewal to our culture. Brian, we're honored to be partnered with you and the team at Timothy Plan, and thanks for your time today.
Yes, thank you, Rob. Our guest today has been Brian Mumber with Timothy Plan, a pioneer in faith-based investing. To learn how your investments can positively impact culture, visit TimothyPlan.com. That's TimothyPlan.com. 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. We are grateful for support from Timothy Plan.
Since 1994, Timothy Plan has shared good news with investors and advisors by offering faith-honoring mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. More information is at TimothyPlan.com. The investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses are contained in the prospectus and summary prospectus available at TimothyPlan.com. Mutual funds distributed by Timothy Partners Limited and ETFs distributed by Forside Funds Services LLC. Investing involves risks, including possible loss of principal.
Uh Ah! Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Boy, I can't wait to hear your questions today as we help you live as a wise and faithful steward of God's resources. The way you get in on the conversation today, simple. Just call 800-525-7000.
Again, that number is 800-525-7000. You can call right now. We've got some lines open today, and we're ready to dive into your questions. Again, 800-525-7000. It's a Chicago Mini.
Go ahead. Hey, Rob, how you doing? I'm doing great. Thanks for your call. You're welcome.
Hey, I'm a retire in 2027, and I wanted to move my deferred comp. Could you tell me how I do that? Uh yeah, absolutely.
So you've got a deferred compens uh compensation plan, which is a tax deferred vehicle. And so you would have the ability to roll that out. When you separate from service, what is your age right now? Did you say? I'm only fifty six.
I'll be fifty seven this year, but I'll be fifty eight next year.
Okay. Yeah. And so you would have the ability to roll that to an IRA, which is typically what I would recommend.
So you'd connect with an advisor that you would interview perhaps. And then once you landed on that advisor, unless you wanted to manage it yourself, I would have that advisor open the IRA wherever he or she custodies their assets. And then you'd essentially just do that rollover from the deferred comp. At that point, the money would come in as cash. And then based on the discovery that was done and your goals and objectives and risk tolerance, that advisor would then begin to invest on your behalf at that point.
So, that would be really the next steps. Are you seeing a need to pull any of this money out, or are you just going to get it invested and let it grow for the future? Yes, sir. Get it invested in the growth for the future. Yeah, I love that because you really want to leave that there and let it continue to compound and then be able to pull that out as needed down the road if you supplement Social Security or something like that.
Are you how do you like the idea of having an advisor manage this for you versus doing all that yourself? Oh, I like someone else, man. I'm really like a student. I don't know anything about investments, just hearing in. Here and say now and then I'm like, okay, I would like to learn more, but I don't have a lot of time.
That's why when I retire, I would like to sit with an advisor to learn how to do it and understand. Yeah, very good.
Now, are you retiring now or you're just changing employers? No, no, I'm retiring in twenty twenty seven. Oh, you are?
Okay, in 2027. Got it. Yeah. So this wouldn't be too soon to go ahead and start interviewing and selecting that advisor.
So if I were you, I would head to our website, faithfi.com and click find a professional, and you could do a zip code search for a certified kingdom advisor there in Chicago.
So CKA is the only industry-accepted designation in financial services across Wall Street, all the major firms for biblically wise financial advice.
So, you know, they have to have at least 10 years of experience, a pastor reference, a client reference, a statement of faith, a code of ethics, 50 hours of training, annual continuing education, a regulatory review. I mean, it's a high bar. And the idea is for investors and Christians looking for an advisor who shares their values as a Christ follower to be able to have a designation that's trusted and has high standards. And so when you head. To faithfy.com and do a zip code search for a CKA, you'll see all the certified kingdom advisors there in Chicago.
I'd probably interview two or three, find the one that's the best fit. And that way, you've already established that relationship so that when you retire, you know, you're ready with the account open to do that direct rollover from the Deverd comp into the IRA. And then the advisor would begin managing it at that point. And then you would sit down, you know, based on the frequency you determined, maybe quarterly or semi-annually to kind of review it. You'd obviously get a statement every month, but in terms of your face-to-face with that advisor, that would happen on a regular rhythm throughout the year.
Okay. Yes. My last question would be, do I need to get insurance when I retire? Yeah, are you talking about health or what? No, my free insurance.
I'm sorry.
Okay, got it. You know, I generally would say no. I mean, unless you've got a buy-sell agreement because you own a business. I'm not hearing that, but oftentimes that's why people will get a whole life policy. Maybe if they have lifelong dependence.
Children that have special needs, something like that. But apart from that, generally, life insurance is only to offset the risk that exists. Let's say if you're married and you're working, providing an income to cover the lifestyle expenses of your spouse, maybe your family. And if the Lord calls you home and you pass away, now all of a sudden that income is gone and there's a significant need there. That's a risk.
And your family's not able to maintain their lifestyle.
So we keep the life insurance in place to cover that risk. But once you hit retirement, if you were to pass away, the assets that you've accumulated are still there.
So, there is no need for life insurance at that point.
So, generally speaking, you know, that's an unnecessary expense when you get to that season of life. Thank you so much. Thank you, Rob. Absolutely, many. Listen, all the best to you.
Stay on the line. I'm going to send you a book by my friend Jeff Hainan. It's called An Uncommon Retirement. And I think you'll enjoy reading about a biblical approach to retirement.
So stay on the line. We'll get your information, get that right out to you. Thanks for your call today. Let's head to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Mike, go ahead.
All right, Rob. Thank you for taking my call. My wife and I, we just bought a house and we moved in July first. We have it was a new construction, so we had to do an adjustable rate mortgage. And our interest is six point one eight eight, and it's for three years.
We're already one year in. And so I'm wondering, as rates have been coming down, if it would be a good idea to go ahead and get into a thirty year fixed so that we don't have the risk of it going up after the three years. But rates right now are at about six point one two five percent. Or should we continue to wait and see if rates come down over the next couple of years? Yeah, is this a three-year ARM mic, meaning that it stays at 6.188 until the end of the third year fixed?
Yes, three years. Yeah, yeah.
Okay, and then at that point it would start to adjust. Correct. Yeah. You know, I mean, nobody knows what the future holds, where rate's going to be in three years. I have no idea.
But what I would say is, just given the fact that you would essentially be locking in the 30-year at just about the same as the arm, if we think the general direction over the next three years of rates is down, it'd probably behoove you to wait. But timing is unpredictable. And you might be in a situation where it's higher than it is today. But I would say most economists would expect. that thirty year rates would be below what they are today in three years.
And so I think for that reason, I would probably try to lock in something at the fi in the fives, if not the high fours, before you convert this to a fixed mortgage.
Okay. And so you're recommending just kind of weighted out that, that would that the risk of it going up is not as high versus locking in kind of my worst case scenario for a thirty year Yeah, I mean, is there any cost to you going ahead and locking it in as a third of your fixed right now? I mean, the cost to refinance, I was quoted about two thousand seven hundred, which I was assuming I would just roll into the loan. Yes. And so that's with the current lender rolling it into an a fixed mortgage with the same lender?
Yeah. Yeah. So I would say now, yeah, now is not the time to do it. I'd rather you avoid that $2,700, continue to ride out the arm for the next three years with the expectation that when you do refinance for a fixed, you're going to have the opportunity to do it below what you're at today.
Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. All right, Mike. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for calling.
Well, folks, we're just about halfway in, which means we've got room for more questions today. We've got some great ones coming up, but perhaps room for one or two more: 800-525-7000. You can call right now. We'll be right back. Imagine having biblical financial wisdom delivered to your inbox every week, helping you integrate your faith and financial decisions for the glory of God at FaithFi.com.
You can join a community of over 70,000 people who are already receiving our weekly wisdom email, filled with articles, videos, podcasts, and exclusive offers on resources that will deepen your understanding of biblical stewardship. Start your journey today by creating your FaithFi account at faithfi.com. Just click sign up. Are you looking to maximize your charitable impact this season? The National Christian Foundation has a smart solution.
It's called a Giving Fund, and it helps you give more strategically, grow your balance tax-free, and amplify your charitable impact. If you want a donor-advised fund that aligns with your values, open a giving fund today and start making a bigger difference for the causes you love. Learn how at faithfi.com forward slash NCF. When we recognize our role as stewards in managing God's money, it changes everything. Each day on this program, we want to help you understand the implications of stewardship-that is, faithful responsibility in managing God's money, not ownership.
He owns it all. 100% is his. Our job to be found faithful in managing those resources. We want to help you do that in light of a biblical worldview. By the way, phone lines are open for your financial questions today at 800-525-7000.
You can call right now, Arkansas. Charlie, go ahead. Rob, I'd like to know, since I am going to be drawing my full benefit of Social Security in December, I was wondering how much can I make without being taxed. Yeah. So you are at full retirement age.
And so that means that you no longer have an earnings limit. That limit in terms of what you can earn only applies to people before full retirement age. But once you reach full retirement age, which is, you know, no later than 67, then you can earn any amount and still receive your full Social Security benefit with no reduction. Hopefully that helps you, Charlie. But it sounds like you're in good shape there.
You can work away, earn as much as you want. You're going to continue receiving that benefit. Hey, thanks for your call today. Let's go to Tennessee. Hi, Mary.
How can I help you? Yeah, I'm on a couple questions.
Okay. What was the comparison difference between your plan and Ramsey's plan? And the other was with Social Security, they have had me apply for death benefits as a widow, and do I pay taxes on that or not? Yeah, it depends on your total income. Survivors' benefits, like Social Security benefits, can be taxable.
If you're working full-time and have wages, those earnings are added to your survivors' benefits to determine whether a portion is taxable. And so, it's going to have to do with your total income. As to Dave Ramsey, Dave's a friend. We share a common mission to help people find freedom from financial stress and manage their money in a way that honors God. I think the difference in the approach is in the emphasis and the tone.
You know, they emphasize debt elimination, personal responsibility, building wealth. We take a more holistic discipleship approach. He's a good friend and a good guy. He's doing great work. Thanks for your call.
Let's go to Mississippi. John, go ahead, sir. Yes, sir, I I want to find out should I invest in gold? Or for gold and silver. And how do I do this?
Yeah, yeah, good question. You know, we've seen just an incredible run-up in gold, nearly 50% this year, 26% last year. And it's been quite a run. And there's real fundamentals, you know, as to why that's happening. It has to do with central banks buying gold.
It has to do with the backdrop of geopolitical tensions. You know, there's a number of factors there driving it. It's not just pure speculation. But I think we have to be careful when it comes to any asset that's rising rapidly. The tendency is to violate time-tested principles and wisdom that govern how we should manage money, finding its roots in biblical wisdom.
And we tend to overweight or concentrate in assets that are rising quickly to try to pull some of that return into ourselves. we can get out of balance with a properly diversified portfolio.
So I like gold, always have. I think having precious metals as a part of a diversified portfolio makes sense. But I would generally say no more than 10%.
So, the way I like to do it is to say, you know, 5% I would call your forever allocation. And you might buy that in actually physical gold, gold coins or, you know, gold bullion and store it safely, keep it forever, and maybe think about passing it down. And then, if you want to get another 5% to a total of 10, you know, a really easy way to ratchet that up is through what's called an exchange-traded fund. And there are a number of ETFs now, GLD is one of them. There's a lot of them that basically trade like a stock, but they're trackers.
So they track the underlying movement of an ounce of gold, the spot price. And so it rises and falls with gold. And they actually have gold backing these ETFs, but you can buy and sell it like a stock, which is really nice because you don't have to take physical possession of the metal and you get the rise in gold. But if you wanted to dial back that percentage, now you're not dealing with a dealer and actually shipping it somewhere and the safety concerns and all that. You literally, as long as the stock market's open, you place a trade and you're out.
So, it's really nice.
So, I think the combination of those two that would get you to that 10% allocation is probably the right approach. But, give me your thoughts on that. How do you do the ETF part? Yeah, I mean, so any brokerage account, so you could open an account at Charles Schwab or Fidelity. You know, those would be two of the biggest discount brokerage houses in the country.
And then you literally just place a trade, just like if you were buying Coca-Cola, you'd buy the exchange traded fund GLD. And again, there's probably a dozen of them out there from the biggest ETF providers in the world. But as soon as you make the trade, now you own shares of that ETF, and your investment is now going to follow the spot price of gold.
Okay, I have other questions. All right, go ahead. Bitcoin, investing in Bitcoin or digital currency. How do you do that or do you recommend that? Yeah, you know, I think first of all, it's important to understand that there's Bitcoin and then there's everything else in crypto.
So at this stage, Bitcoin clearly stands apart from the rest of the crypto industry. When you're talking about crypto, I would only be focusing on Bitcoin, and it has reached critical mass. And that's due to two major changes in the past couple of years. One is the regulatory environment has completely reversed from being hostile to being welcoming. And, you know, I think also, you know, the approval of the Bitcoin ETFs.
I was talking about the gold ETF. There are now Bitcoin ETFs as well. That's now opened the door to institutional adoption, which means big players with big money and influence are now allocating into Bitcoin. And it's simpler because you don't have to have the digital wallet.
So you get to invest in Bitcoin without, you know, having to take again possession, even though it's electronic as opposed to the physical gold. It's still a bit simpler. I like to think of it, and a lot of people call it digital gold. And the reason is because it, like gold, is a store of value that can protect a person's purchasing power against the constant debasement of government currencies.
Now, I know it may sound crazy to call an asset that rises and falls routinely 50% a store of value, but it has scarcity built into it because there's this strict limit. Of 21 million Bitcoins that will ever be produced.
So it can't be debased. And as a result, especially with what's going on with global governments and central banks around the world, including here in the US, Bitcoin investors like it for the same reason.
So I would fold it in to that gold allocation.
So if we're thinking 10% for your gold and your digital gold, Bitcoin, maybe we do 5% in the gold ETF and 5% in the Bitcoin ETF. And again, there's a number of them. And, you know, with a quick internet search, you could find out which ones are the biggest.
So I hope that helps, John. Gives you some things to think about. Lord bless you. 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 Faith Buy and listeners like you.
