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To learn more about making a positive impact in the world through your portfolio, please visit investments.onascent.com or speak with your financial advisor about OneAccent Investments today. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has life with darkness. 2 Corinthians 6:14. Hi, I'm Rob West. The Apostle Paul's warning is often applied to marriage, but it also speaks to any relationship that joins our values with others.
So, what does it mean for business partnerships? Today, Ron Blue joins us to unpack both biblical and practical wisdom behind this question. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
Well, we can always say class is in session when Ron Blue joins us. Ron's the co-founder of Kingdom Advisors, a much in-demand author and speaker, and a personal mentor of mine. Ron, great to have you back. It's always a pleasure, Rob. Good to be with you.
Rod, let's dive into this passage. Paul wasn't just talking about marriage in that particular passage, was he? No, talking about partnerships. And there are so many kinds of partnerships. you see it most likely in the professions that are typically organized as partnerships.
But you can have businesses also that have multiple partners and owners.
So partnerships can last a long time. I spoke to the CPA firm that I founded. not long ago, and they've been a partnership for fifty years and still operating as a partnership.
So it applies to business partnerships and other types of partnerships also. Yeah, that's helpful. Ron, what I've appreciated so much about your teaching, among other things, is that you've taught us principles that are transferable. What principles guided you in your experience with partnerships?
Well, I got this question a lot, Rob, over the years. And probably the most significant illustration is let's say you have two OBGYNs who want to go into partnership, one a believer and one not, one who believes in abortion and one not. And I was asked many times about that type of relationship. And I always said, there's a couple things to think about from a principal standpoint. The first thing is, what will it do to your testimony to be in partnership with somebody that you're unequally yoked with?
And only you and God can answer that. But that's a really big question because you could lose your testimony by the partnership that you're in. And the second thing is that partnerships a lot of times go sour. It's like marriages. 50% of them end up in divorce.
Well, I don't know what the percentage is, but a lot of partnerships end up dissipating. And so I always advise have your exit strategy in place before you form a partnership so that either one can get out of the relationship in an equitable basis. And maintain their testimony if they're the believer that's leaving that partnership. The other thing that it does, if you have an exit strategy, you avoid a lot of the conflict that can come from the separation of any partnership. It's like a marriage, but it's the same thing in a business.
Yes. And I always also said, thirdly, that Remember the most critical thing that you want to preserve, assuming that you've got a business that has a testimony already. You want the testimony to live beyond the relationship. And you know, this financial planning firm that I had started, that was a partnership, and I left after 23 years. But nobody left.
with me because they were committed to the mission. Yes. And that's what you really want to see happen. And you also want to see that the exit strategy makes sense economically to everybody.
so that you don't find yourself in conflict and over the terms of the exit strategy.
So, those are just three principles that I used to talk about with people when I've been asking those questions. Ron, that's such wise counsel, and a great reminder that shared faith isn't just good for business, it's essential for a lasting witness. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us today. Oh, good to be with you, Rob. Thanks for having me.
That was Ron Blue sharing insights from his article in the latest issue of Faithful Steward magazine, a quarterly publication sent exclusively to Faith Phi partners who support our mission. And right now, when you become a Faith Phi partner before December 31st, you'll receive our brand new devotional when it's released, entitled Our Ultimate Treasure, along with Faithful Steward and other special benefits. Learn more at faithphy.com/slash partner. That's faithfi.com/slash partner. Your calls are next at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith in Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. We'll be right back. 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. Healthcare is complicated. It doesn't have to be.
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And select the program that fits your needs and budget. CHM is the original faith-based way of taking care of your medical bill costs. Learn more at chministries.org/slash faithfy. No! Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.
All right, let's dive into your questions today. We're going to begin in Arkansas. Hi, Charlie. How can I help?
Well Rob, there's a it's not a growing trend. It's been around a good while And I kinda want to see what you think about it. A lot of these vendors and people who do services for you For them to collect the money from you, they have a tendency to want to go into your. account and take it out of there. I had a lawn service.
that I've been doing for three or four years And they were taking care of my lawn, and I was paying them with money orders and never late or anything. And one day they called up my wife and said, We can no longer do business this way. We need your account number. And I told her, then you can tell them we no longer do business with them. We cannot let people go into our accounts.
That's kinda evasive, isn't it? What do you get? I think you're onto something here exactly right. You know, why do they want access to our bank accounts?
Well, many vendors and subscription services push for these automatic withdrawals or what's called ACH access because it's cheaper, first of all.
So it avoids the credit card processing fees, typically 2% to 3%, and it's more reliable for them because payments arrive automatically.
So there's less risk of a missed or late payment. And it locks in that recurring revenue, which is really great for the company, not always for you. Why?
Well, there's risk. You see, once a vendor has direct access to your checking account, they can pull the money automatically, sometimes even after you cancel, if the company doesn't process it correctly. And it's much harder to dispute an ACH withdrawal than a credit card charge. And if your account numbers ever compromise, thieves could drain funds directly instead of running up a credit card balance that you dispute and never have to pay.
So, what is the safer approach?
Well, I would say whenever possible, as long as you have the discipline to pay it in full and only use it for budgeted items, use a credit card or a digital payment service like Apple Pay or PayPal for those recurring charges. That's going to give you fraud protection and dispute rights. And if you have to use a bank account, maybe you consider a separate quote bill pay checking account with limited funds, and that's going to maintain safety on your main account. But I think the bottom line here, Charlie, is what you're hitting on: in that, you know, vendors want your bank info for convenience and profit, but you don't have to give it to them.
So protect access and always read the fine print before linking accounts. Does that make sense? Yes, sir, and have a great day and thank you very much. Lord bless you, Charlie. Thanks for being on the program, sir.
Call anytime. That was a great, great question and remark. I'm sure a lot of folks listening today will benefit from it. All right, to Texas we go. Paul, go ahead.
Yes, hello. I am seventy. My wife is soon to be seventy in a few months, and we have decided that we are ready to Actually, retire. I haven't had a payroll job in years, but. People ask me if I've retired and I'll say, yes, I've got ten rent houses.
Mm-hmm.
So well, that's which is a joke, obviously. We're not we got a lot to do. Yeah, you're a busy guy. You're a good person to try to move those assets into something that I don't have to take so much care of and frankly worry with so much. The assets have grown madly in the last decade or so.
I'm very pleased about that. But we're starting to, we've made a decision, we are ready to do this. What do I do next? That's what I'm looking for. Yeah.
In terms of how to sell them or what to do with the proceeds once you get it. No, no, it's what to do with the proceeds. Whether I know how to sell them, believe me, I've been in the property business a long time.
Sounds like it. But if I do liquidate them, I've got to deal with capital gains and I know how to check on all that stuff, too. But basically, I mean, I hear you guys talking about a. properly diversified portfolio and stuff such as that. I understand what that is.
I do not want the responsibility to make decisions of exactly which stock to purchase, for example.
Well, and I think that's well said because, you know, you're going to have a substantial, you know, amount of assets here, and really you need some wise counsel. We'd recommend a certified kingdom advisor. You know, Paul, I think you mentioned something very wise there in that wise counsel is going to be really important here. The last thing you want to do after building all of this wealth over your working years in the form of real estate is now go into another full-time job and have to develop the expertise and the know-how, you know, to pick stocks and bonds. And so I think having an advisor that could come alongside you, somebody who understands your values as a Christ follower, who's got all the experience and can really help you think about what are your income needs and what level of risk do you want to take.
I mean, often a starting point for this in terms of a stock bond ratio, and that's all it is. It needs to be tailored to your unique needs and goals. Used to use 100 minus your age.
Now, with people living longer, we use 110 minus your age. But 110 minus 70, you know, would tell us that maybe a 60-40 portfolio, 60% bonds and fixed income type investments, 40% stocks, probably a good percentage of those would be income producing, dividend-paying stocks. But, you know, that might be the type of allocation that you'd start with. Maybe you mix into that 5% to 10% in precious metals. And then overlaid over top of that, you could look at a faith-based investing strategy to make sure that the investments are screened for your values.
Well, all of that can be handled and thought through and then actively managed by an advisor. And we recommend the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation. It's the only industry designation in financial services for advisors that have met high standards and experience and pastor reference, client reference, statement of faith, code of ethics, regulatory review, and they've been. Trained how to bring a biblical worldview of money to their advice and investing.
So you could find a CKA in your area there in Texas by going to findaceka.com and do a zip code search. I'd interview two or three, find the one that's the best fit, and then see if you can get all that set up so that when you're ready, you've already got that advisor relationship in place. Let me just also mention one final thing, and I'll get your thoughts on all this: is that if you want to do any giving out of These, you know, the proceeds of these property sales, giving a portion of one or more of the properties to a donor-advised fund prior to the sale would allow you, on at least that portion of the sale, to miss any capital gains. Fund a donor-advised fund with whatever the proceeds are equal to that percentage. And then you could give it away by granting it out to your church or any other ministry.
So don't miss that opportunity if you want to do any giving out of this. But what are your thoughts on all that?
Well, yes, we have considered charitable gift annuities as part of this. And again, I understand all that. I did actually graduate from business school. I did okay with all of that, but I understand that there's a load of details. You need to get right in something like this.
And charitable giving definitely will be part of it. Again, I just don't know how to dot the I's and cross the T's and run the percentages to fill that in. But I've been talking to people, I've already talked to one CKA that's in the Dallas area, or two actually. Cool. And so it sounds like I'm on the right track, and I just wanted a little confirmation about that, because this is a big decision for us.
It's huge, and I think you're right. Take your time, get that trusted relationship in place to help you, as you're to your point, dot the I's, cross the T's, be ready with your strategy on any giving that you're wanting to do. And again, I think that donor advise fund could be a great resource there. I love the charitable gift annuity. Paul, I think you're on the right track here.
Well done, sir. That's what I was looking for. Thank you so much. All right, hang on the line. I'm going to send you something.
I'm going to send you our magazine, Faithful Stewart. I think you'll find some articles in there that you'll enjoy. And we appreciate you being on the program today, sir. Lord bless you. We'll be right back.
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Soundmindinvesting.org. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. We'd love to take your calls and questions: 800-525-7000. Let's go to Grand Rapids. Hi, Luke.
Go ahead. Hi, um, I'm calling. I have um some money saved up for a car, about 15,000. Um, but had kinda made the decision with my financial advisor that I would Keep the car I have right now kind of going as long as I can, but it's a 2007 with 235,000 miles on it and. Starting to have a few problems, but I had a I saw a a deal on a good car come up, a brand I was kind of thinking of.
And the price of the car is about $8,500.
So just trying to wrestle with the idea of do I Continue to try to drive this car until it won't go anymore? Or do I jump on that deal, which is about half of what I've already saved? Yeah, got it.
So you had saved this money specifically for the car purchase, is that right? Yeah, I knew that it was probably coming up within about a year or two and You know, I've never really planned on buying a new car. I've always been planning on buying a used car, but had kind of thought I would buy a newer used car, which is why I had the 15,000 saved. Um But this vehicle that I saw come up, um, you know, was has about one hundred and fifty thousand miles a twenty thirteen Toyota Rav four has you know uh good reliability ratings and a vehicle, a brand I was looking at. Um And I take fairly good care of the vehicles that I drive.
And if I don't have to spend the $15,000, I'd obviously love to spend less. Yeah. And so just trying to decide if I should jump on that now or still try to get this car going as long as I can. Yeah, great questions. Love it.
What is the condition of this car? I know it's old. You said 2007. But are you having a lot of challenges with it? Are you having to put a good bit of money in it?
You know, I've probably put I I've put more money into the car than I paid for it back in 2019. Um but you know all in for the vehicle over the six or seven years I've driven it, I probably only have about seven thousand to eight thousand into the vehicle, purchasing it and fixing it.
So it's honestly been a pretty good deal for me because it's only been about $1,000. $1,500 a year. You know, if I were to divide that money amongst those years that I've been driving it, um, has still been good for me in that regard. What about the last 12 months? Have you seen more repairs in the recent past?
Nothing that I've had to put in, but I can tell there's starting to become a few more problems that I'm going to have to start investigating now. And especially as I'm getting into the winter months, it makes me a little nervous. I mean, I'm a single guy, I know how to. Fix things and I can take care of those things fairly quickly. But at the same time, it is somewhat enticing to find a little bit more of a reliable vehicle.
Yeah, no, I totally get that.
Well, first of all, well done. I'm delighted to hear that. I kind of take your same approach. I drive cars until they just don't drive anymore. That's how you get the most life out of them.
And the last van we turned in had about 225,000 miles on it. My current car has about 160,000.
So if you take care of them, they should last you quite a while. And I think that's the right approach. But there does become a time where it makes sense to replace it. And I mean, the rule of thumb is: if you're going to spend more than the car is worth on repairs, it's not a good investment. A lot of times, if there's still a car payment, which you clearly don't have, but if it's more than 50% of the year's car payments, then you want to get rid of it.
But in your case, you're really looking for: are you going to begin to exceed the car's value, which there's probably not a whole lot of value left.
So, if you're going to start to get into some more costly repairs, it's probably time to let it go. The only downside is at least you know what you've got and you know how it's been taken care of, at least over the last eight years or so, versus something you're going to get into where you can have a mechanic check it out, you can check it out yourself, but you don't really know exactly what you're dealing with and you probably won't until you drive it for a while. And so, there is some risk there. But I think, given what you've said here, just in terms of your diligence here, the saving that you've done, as long as you'd have still at least three to six months' worth of expenses set aside, you're not depleting that, then I would say if you feel like, or when you feel like the more costly repairs are right around the corner, I would say rather than starting to pump a bunch of money into it, let's go ahead and make that change. And if you feel like you've found something that fits that bill now, this may be a good time to do it, just based on what you're anticipating in terms of upcoming repairs.
Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you.
Okay, absolutely, Luke. Hey, God bless you. You're doing a great job, my friend. Thanks for your call today. Let's go to Ohio.
Jennifer, go ahead. Hi, thank you so much for sharing your financial wisdom. We all appreciate it so much. Thank you, Jennifer. That's very kind.
Sure.
Well, I live in Ohio. My parents live in Las Vegas, and their health is declining.
So we are trying to move them back to Ohio. Their house is in an ir irrevocable trust.
So we're getting ready to put it up for sale. We have found a condo here in Ohio that they want to purchase. And they can purchase it without selling the Vegas house first. My question is. Um Can this condo go into the original irrevocable trust?
And what happens to the money when they do sell their house in Vegas? Yeah, I guess that's a great question. I don't understand all of that. Yeah, and at some point, you probably need to get some legal counsel. I'm not an attorney.
I'll just give you kind of generally how all of this works, but these are great questions. Because your parents' house is in an irrevocable trust, and you're going to want to confirm that because that's a big deal, the irrevocable versus revocable. But assuming it is irrevocable, things do get a bit more rigid than if they were simply personal property or in a revocable trust.
So, when the house is sold inside an irrevocable trust, the trust, as the legal owner, has to comply with the terms of the trust agreement.
So, if the trust grantor, which is probably your parents, place the house into the irrevocable trust. Then, once in the trust, your parents no longer directly own it. The trust does.
So the trustee, and that would be the person named in the irrevocable trust, has the duty to sell the property in a way permitted by the trust agreement and the state law.
So, typically, it just says they have to seek a fair market value.
Now, after the sale, the proceeds from the sale of the house go into the trust, into either a trust account or some other trust asset, unless the trust directs immediate distribution to beneficiaries. And then, capital gains tax and other implications have to be addressed.
So, for instance, If the trust sells the property, the trust may own the capital gain unless distribution and other planning change the picture. It likely specifies how and when the proceeds should be distributed to the beneficiaries, if at all. And if it's silent, then the state trust law will govern how that is handled. In your parents' case, if the house in Vegas is sold While still held in the irrevocable trust, the trustee would execute the sale, the proceeds would go into the trust, and then the decision about buying the condo. Has to tie into what the trust documents allows.
So, does it allow to acquire new real estate? Does the trust terminate and then your parents act personally? But it's all gonna come down to the language of that trust. I hope that helps you. Thanks so much for your call.
On behalf of my team today, Devin, Jim, and Robert, I'm Rob West. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you. Yeah.
