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Raising kids to handle money wisely is about more than teaching them dollars and cents. It's about shaping their hearts to see their true identity in Christ. Hi, I'm Rob West. As parents, we all want to help our kids and teens understand their true value and develop a biblical foundation for both money and identity. Brian Holtz joins us today to share how we can do just that right from the start.
And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, it's always a pleasure to have Brian Holt, CEO of Compass Financial Ministry, join us to share what God is doing through their work. And today is certainly no exception. Brian, great to have you back. Thanks, Rob. It's always fun to be with you.
So, Brian, we're really excited about this new resource right from the start. I know it was created for kids ages 11 to 15.
So, just talk about the genesis of this project. Yeah, you know, we saw a real gap in discipleship for this age range in particular. We have lots of things out there for little kids and for high schoolers, but middle schoolers are forming their worldview, including what they believe about money and identity.
Now, this study helps them see that their worth comes from being made in the image of God, not in what they own or what others think of them. It takes scripture and helps them learn and apply it in fun, interactive lessons. Oh, man, we're going to give a lot of these away on this program. I'm so excited about this. You know, it's a timely message, Brian, especially during this holiday season when there's so much pressure to spend more and have more and do more.
So what are the key themes you explore and write from the start? Yeah, there are six chapters. Identity, giving, saving, spending, building on your foundation, and finishing well. Each one takes a biblical perspective and turns it into a hands-on experience. There are short daily lessons, memory verses, and something we call life hacks.
Simple, practical challenges that help students apply what they're actually learning. The goal, of course, is to make faith and finances personal, relevant, and fun. I love that. Clearly, this goes beyond just teaching them financial literacy, how to handle money. It really is about shaping their hearts and even their character.
So, Brian, how does it help them understand who they are in Christ? The very first chapter is all about identity. Students read passages like Genesis 1 and Psalm 139 to learn that they were made in God's image and that they are loved by the creator of everything. They learn that their value doesn't change with their possessions, their popularity, or their performance. And once they grasp that, then they're able to view their giving, saving, and spending as acts of worship.
Oh, and obviously that is a solid foundation that we all need. Could you share an example of one of those life hacks? I love this idea, these practical ideas that parents or youth leaders might find helpful. Yeah, one of our favorites is the good old trustworthy one that we're all familiar with, the three jars exercise, where the kids will divide their money into a giving, a saving, and a spending jar each time they earn or receive it. It simply turns an abstract idea into a habit that they can see and touch.
And of course, parents love it because it opens up that conversation about generosity and wisdom with money. Yeah, that is so good. It's such a great way to encourage gratitude during this season as well. How can families or churches put this resource into practice, Brian? Yeah, we've designed it to be used at home, in youth groups, and in Christian schools.
There's a student book and a leader's guide that has all the discussion prompts and activities. It fits naturally around these holidays, especially Thanksgiving, but really works any time of the year. Our hope is that it helps parents disciple their kids in a practical and joyful way. I know Howard Dayton, the founder of Compass, always talks about being MVP parents, that we need to model this. We need to have some verbal conversations.
We need to get practical.
Sounds like this is woven all through it. But this idea that more is caught than taught is a big one, isn't it? It absolutely is. We just can't get enough of showing it to our children, explaining it when they ask questions, and then helping them do the same. Yeah.
Brian, let's finish with any ideas or anything you used with your own kids that you found especially helpful as you try to get really practical about teaching them biblical financial principles? Yeah, we love making our kids make real choices about where money is spent.
So it's not just, hey, do I buy a piece of candy or not, but there is an actual cost that if I choose to buy a piece of candy today, tomorrow I might not get to do something that I want to do. And that exposure to real consequences, both good and bad, is just invaluable in the development of their character and financial habits. There is no doubt about that. Folks, helping your kids understand who they are in Christ may be one of the most valuable financial lessons you teach them over time. Brian, great to have you here, my friend.
Thank you so much, Rob. It's always a pleasure. That's Brian Holt, CEO of Compass Financial Ministry. To learn more about their new resource right from the start, visit compassfinancialministry.org. Back with your questions after this.
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Uh Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. This is the program where we help you navigate the financial journey you're on. Here's one of the things we recognize: your money management and mine tell a story about what's most important to us as we think about that daily spending of God's money as we allocate capital in very short-term decisions, just monthly and daily spending, or longer-term decisions, how we invest or how we give. We're reflecting our values and our priorities. And remember, Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Now, what's interesting about that is you could very easily say, well, that, you know, directionally, when I allocate God's money, my heart will naturally follow. And I think that's true to a degree. We certainly see that. Our heart will move and gravitate toward those things that we allocate money to. In my life, Life, every quarter, every semester, I send money for my two boys, Julie and I.
Our two boys are in college. And I guarantee you, as we make those payments, our heart is following our money. But what if Jesus was getting it something deeper? What if it was that the way we allocate money is really the clearest reflection of our affections? And what does that say about really the affections of our heart?
Could those things that are here and now, the temporal, actually become the affections that crowd out our affection that should be solely dedicated to God?
Now, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy God's money. It was intended to be enjoyed. It's right there in God's word. In 1 Timothy, among other places, we see enjoyment as part of God's design. He created it, he's the author of delight and enjoyment.
So, there's nothing wrong with enjoying God's resources as long as he remains our ultimate affection, our ultimate treasure, and money is a tool to accomplish his purposes. We put everything in its proper place, its proper order. We don't worship the creation over the creator. We worship the creator and allow the creation to be something to use to glorify God and to promote human flourishing and to love our neighbors and to provide for our families. And yes, to enjoy.
And when we get all Of that, right?
Well, then these decisions that we make every day begin to reflect what's most important to us. That's what we want to help you do each day on this program. But we realize there's very tactical, very practical questions you're navigating as you pay off debt and order your budget and as you look to give generously and invest for the future.
So, whatever you're thinking about today, go ahead and give us a call. We'd love to chat about it. That number is 800-525-7,000. That's 800-525-7,000. We do have some lines open today, and we'd be delighted to dive into your question.
In fact, let's do that right now. We're going to begin in Texas. Tim, go ahead. Hi, um I'm struggling with whether or not to pay off our mortgage. I am 64 and don't want to.
Um draw until sixty-seven We don't have any debt except for the house, but our income is such that. Um it's something If one of our vehicles were to go bust or something we we couldn't really replace it. Yeah. And so my wife subscribes to Soundman Investing and has done a lot of research, but she's just stuck. She doesn't know what to do.
Um and it could be that it doesn't matter. I don't know at this point, but I thought I'd call because she hates talking on the phone.
Well, I'm glad. First of all, you're doing a lot of things right. I love the fact that you are in this position where your only debt right now is your mortgage. You're trying to delay Social Security, which I think is a good thing because getting that check up to at least your full retirement age benefit, if not more than that, is a good idea. Right now, if you were to take it at 64, you would take a pretty nice haircut on that, which we don't want to do.
And so, to your point, if you all can kind of make it through, living a little bit, you know, on the edge there in terms of income and expenses, obviously, once you get that full retirement age check monthly from Social Security, you know, that will take care of a whole lot of the challenges that you've got on a monthly basis. Not to mention, once you pay off that mortgage, it's really going to get you in a nice spot. But the question is, how do We get between now and there.
So, what I would do is: well, let me ask a couple of questions. Do you have any emergency funds at all set aside? Yes.
Okay. But my wife does all of the finances. She should have majored in math, but she didn't.
Okay. I know we have some. I don't know what it is. Yeah, no problem. But there's really not any margin.
I mean, once the bills are paid, as long as you've got the mortgage and you're not taking Social Security, you're kind of right up to the edge. Is that correct? Yes, we're in the month of October, I worked to try to make budget for the month of December or November. Got it. Yeah, makes sense.
And what do you have left on that mortgage? I am not sure, but we could pay it out right now, tomorrow.
Okay. Um, but you don't know what the balance is or the interest rate, roughly? It's pretty low in interest rate. I'm thinking four. Percent, perhaps.
Okay. All right. If that's low, yeah, that is low for sure. And where would the funds come from? They are just sitting in savings currently?
Yes, I think it's She hasn't It's probably left over from Our college fund, the 928, or something like that, that we didn't use all of for our boys. Um Yeah, 529. Yeah, 929. Probably.
Okay. Yeah. Well, that would be important. You know, there's going to be some penalties if you pull that out just for any purpose, but that is money that you could tap into. You know, here's the thing: I mean, if you can trim expenses right now or increase income even modestly to create some breathing room each month, you know, I think the key would just be: I mean, that is a low interest rate.
If we could just continue to work to pay that off out of current cash flow and keep plenty of liquidity, that would be a good thing.
Now, if you told me we've got the money, even after any kind of penalties or taxes that would be due on a, let's say, a 529 plan, college savings, we've got the money such that we could pay off the mortgage. And we would still have a fairly decent emergency fund. I'm going to call that three to six months' worth of expenses. Then I would say, let's go ahead and do that because then that's going to right-size the budget. It gets rid of that largest expense.
Now you're debt-free.
Now, all of a sudden, the pressure's off a little bit where you're not having to work just to get to cover each month's expenses. And then you ride it out between now and full retirement age. And then, you know, we're in a much different situation once you start taking Social Security because then, you know, hopefully you could work even less. And now we're balancing the budget, especially with the mortgage gone. But if you getting to being debt-free on the mortgage really wipes out all of your liquid reserves, I would be hesitant for you to do that, just given what you're saying about how tight everything is without the Social Security.
Because I just wouldn't want something unexpected to come along and you all not have any kind of ability to tackle that without taking on debt, like credit card debt. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. So the bottom line is if we if we can pay it off and have Three to six months free and clear, then that might be a good thing.
I think it is because that fixes, it right-sizes the budget on a monthly basis, gets you the peace of mind that comes with being debt-free, and it'll get rid of your largest expense, which takes the pressure off until age 67. Tim, thanks for your call. Folks, we've got room for additional questions in the remainder of the broadcast. Call right now, 800-525-7000. I'll be right back.
Stay with us. What we do is very special and it's very unique. This is Bethany. She is a Certified Kingdom Advisor. I became a CKA because we're not building bigger barns and we're not trying to figure out how we can just amass more and more and more.
We're figuring out how much do you really need? What are your priorities? What has God called you to? And then how can we give it away? How can we be more generous?
You can find an advisor like Bethany at findaca.com. 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. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. The number to call today, if you have a question, we've got nearly all the lines full, but room for actually two more questions at the moment: 800-525-7000. Let's head back to the phones. Louisiana is where Carlos is located.
Go ahead. Hey, I have a question with my 1099. I own a trucking company. And I have this customer. That They did not send me By 1099 Oh.
concerning how much money that I made. Yeah. And they told me they don't have to send us The same ninety nine.
So My wife and I We paid already taxes on that money. on last year.
So My question is: Do I need to claim that I'm making that money? Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Yeah, you do. You're still responsible for paying the taxes even if you don't receive a ten ninety nine.
Okay. The IRS requires you to report all income you earn, whether or not it's reported to them.
So, if the companies you're working for aren't sending 1099s, then you need to keep detailed records. Invoices, banks, deposits, receipts to document what you earned, and then you report the total income on your Schedule C. If you're self-employed, when you file the taxes and you pay the self-employment taxes and the estimated payments, the 1099 simply helps the IRS match the records. but the obligation to report and pay taxes remains regardless.
Okay, that's a good one. That's what my wife and I discussed. My wife is a CPA herself. Oh okay. She said, Should we claim every penny or can we?
Not live, but not report. The whole a hundred percent. Yeah, you do need to report 100%.
Now, you should take every advantage of any business expense deductions against that. And as a CPA, I'm sure she'll, you know, a lot of those laws are changing all the time. But I think the key is keeping really detailed records and receipts so that every legitimate business expense can be taken against that income. But you certainly need to start with claiming 100% of the income you received, whether you get a 1099 or not, and then look for every opportunity to reduce that income, not by just excluding it, but by putting legitimate business expenses against it. Correct.
We are doing that. We are doing that. Great, great. I was wondering, you know, hey, if they don't they're not planning that I'm making that money. Right.
What should I do? And she said and she said that the government don't care about that. They'll find out. Yeah. Well, whether they find out or not, as Christ followers, we just want to do the right thing.
We recognize, you know, Jesus, the plan that we see in scripture is that we render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, whether or not we agree with every decision being made. And we certainly, when that was said at that time, there was a press of rulers and leaders, you know, taking that were in power at that time. And yet Jesus said, we give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and then we give to God what is God's.
So he has created a structure of authority. We enjoy a lot of blessings by living in this country. And we follow the pattern in scripture that we're to pay what we owe, not a penny more. But regardless of whether or not somebody provides that documentation, that does not change the fact that you owe it, the taxes on every dollar of income you receive, whether you get the 1099 or not.
So I think you're on the right track here. It sounds like you were already headed in that direction, Carlos. Hey, Lord bless you, my friend. Thanks for being on the program today. Christine is in Arkansas.
Christine, go ahead. Uh, hello. My name is Christina.
Well, you know that. Um I have recently left full-time work. And I just do part-time nurse. I'm a nurse and I want to keep my license, so I just do a little bit here and there. I have two IRAs already from my husband left full-time work and he works for himself.
and when I left another job.
So I have two IRAs and now I've got another four hundred one K that they want me to move somewhere. And I'm not sure if I should put it in another IRA or if I should do something different. Yeah. What is the total investable assets if you were to put all these accounts together, the 401k and the IRAs? Um let's see, two ten hundred of them.
Probably about $400,000. Yeah, so you got a lot of money there that you've been diligent to build over time through your working career, which is great. Yeah, I would consolidate whatever you can into IRAs.
So, once you separate from employment, you have the option to roll that 401k out to an IRA.
Now, if the IRAs are all in your name and they're all traditional IRAs, then they could all be merged into one IRA. If you're married and you've got one in your name, one in your husband's, well, those can't be put together. There are no joint IRAs. That first letter in IRA, I, stands for individual.
So it's only for one individual, but you can have one IRA that's the recipient of multiple IRAs. Other accounts as long as they're titled the same way.
So your 401k could go into an IRA, and then any existing IRAs could be also, you know, transferred into that.
So you'd have one. And so if you had 400,000, let's say, in one IRA, the next step I would take is to hire an advisor to manage that for you. I mean, that's a lot of money. You want to make sure that it's not just on autopilot. I mean, even though the market's been going crazy on the upside, you know, that's not going to do that forever.
And even then, you need to make sure you're properly diversified, you're not taking too much risk, all of those things.
So if I were you, I would be thinking about finding a certified kingdom advisor there in Arkansas, which you can do at findaca.com. Certified Kingdom Advisor are those men and women that have achieved the certified kingdom advisor designation. That means they've met really high standards in character and competence and experience. They've been trained to bring a biblical Worldview, regulatory review, pastor, and client references. I mean, they've jumped through a lot of hurdles.
And, you know, I would interview two or three, find the one that's the best fit. And then, if you decided to go that direction, the advisor would open the IRA for you wherever he or she custodies their client's assets. And then they would help you just roll all of those into that one new IRA where the advisor would then begin managing it. Does that make sense? Yes, it does.
I appreciate that.
Okay, very good, Christine. All the best to you. Again, that website, findacka.com. You could do a zip code search and find some certified kingdom advisors right there in your area. God bless you.
Well, folks, that's going to do it for us. We covered a lot of ground today. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to come alongside you to talk about our role as stewards, to look to God's word, to encourage one another and realize that as we see God as our ultimate and true treasure, well, money changes its entire focus. It becomes a means to an end to accomplish God's purposes. And that's what we want to encourage you in as we gather together on this program each day.
Hey, check out the Faith Buy app. You can download it today and set up your spending plan, faithby.com. Just click app on behalf of my team, Jim Henry, Devin Patrick, Robert Youngblood. I'm Rob West. This has been Faith and Finance.
Come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by Faith By and listeners like you. Uh
